Chingy

Reminiscent of Nelly and repped by Ludacris -- the Dirty South's two biggest stars in the early 2000s -- Chingy had all the makings of a rap sensation and indeed lived up to his promise immediately, when his debut single, "Right Thurr," became an overnight summer anthem in 2003. Like Nelly and his St. Lunatics posse, Chingy is a St. Louis native, debuted at a young age, and boasts a Southerrn dialect. All of this made him considerably marketable in the wake of Nelly's massive success the summer before. Ludacris and his manager, Chaka Zulu, noted this and were quick to sign Chingy to their fledging Disturbing the Peace label and rush-released his debut single, "Right Thurr." The party rap track blew up in the clubs first, especially throughout the South, and quickly infiltrated urban radio in the midst of summer while simultaneously climbing to the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 chart (peaking at number four) and getting rotated heavily on MTV, where it was billed as "buzzworthy." "Holidae In" and "One Call Away," two other singles spun off the Jackpot album, fared almost as well. By the end of the following year, the follow-up -- Powerballin' -- was in stores. Anticipation sent it to the Top Ten of the album chart the week after its release, but it wasn't nearly as successful as the debut. The MC's third album, Hoodstar, was released in 2006, led by the Top 20 hit "Pullin' Me Back." ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide