Howard Bailey, Jr. (born March 9, 1980 in St. Louis, Missouri), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Following in the footsteps of his heroes Ice Cube and RUN-DMC, he began writing lyrics at age nine and was recording at ten. He originally considered the stage name H.Thugzy before settling on Chingy, a slang term for money. With the release of the track "Right Thurr" Chingy became an overnight sensation, with the track peaking at number four on the Billboard 100. His highly anticipated debut album Jackpot was released in 2003, and it was received well by critics and fans alike. Within a year of its release, Jackpot was certified RIAA 3x Platinum. Chingy released his second album, Powerballin', on November 16, 2004, and his third album Hoodstar was released on September 19, 2006. Hate It or Love It is the fourth studio album by Chingy, released in 2007. His newest album, Success And Failure, will be released sometime in 2009.

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His hits date back to 2003 and include: "Right Thurr," "Holidae In," "One Call Away" featuring J-Weav, "Balla Baby" and more recently, "Pullin' Me Back" featuring Tyrese and "Dem Jeans featuring Jermaine Dupri." He has also taken part in the "Get Low (Remix)" music video. Chingy goes by the logo "G.I.B.", which stands for Git It Boyz. He was on the road from August 06-January 07 and is now in his hometown St. Louis helping his younger cousin Young Spiffy create his debut album Troublemaka. Spiffy will be the first off his label Slot-A-Lot.

Career

St. Louis based Fo-Reel Entertainment home of artists such as Nelly claim to have discovered the talented Chingy, and he was often seen during his early days with their entourage. However as time passed Chingy began to distance himself, during which time a feud emerged between Nelly and Chingy. Shortly after, he emerged once again as a member of Ludacris' southern hip hop record label DTP. His relationship with DTP was hugely successful and lead to a successful debut consisting of the lead single "Right Thurr", "Holidae In", and "One Call Away". But later in 2005, Chingy had a monetary dispute with DTP, causing him to leave the label. He released Powerballin' the same year, yielding the singles "Balla Baby" and "Don't Worry". His debut single only made success into the Billboard top 20. In 2006, he squashed his beef with Nelly and appeared in Ali & Gipp's new video "Go Head". He stated in Rap City that he has no beef with Ludacris. He released his third album Hoodstar, releasing "Pullin' Me Back", "Dem Jeans", and "Nike Aurr's and Crispy Tee's". He is currently dating a girl called Georgia Lowell who was a former prostitute and stripper in the United Kingdom, however he recently announced it to be rumours. Around March 2007, Chingy started appearing in advertisements for Party with a Star.com, with whom he has signed a contract to have a one hour meet and greet with the contest winner, along with other former celebrities and reality stars Ant (comedian), Cindy Margolis, Traci Bingham, Steve-O, and Vanilla Ice. Chingy has appeared on Goerge Lopez and The Jay Leno Show.

Albums

* 2003: Jackpot

* 2004: Powerballin

* 2006: Hoodstar

* 2007: Hate it or Love It

* 2009: Everything or Nothing

Solo singles

* 2003: "Right Thurr"

* 2003: "Holidae In" (featuring Ludacris & Snoop Dogg)

* 2004: "One Call Away" (featuring J-Weav)

* 2004: "Balla Baby"

* 2005: "Don't Worry" (featuring Janet Jackson)

* 2006: "Pullin' Me Back" (featuring Tyrese)

* 2006: "Dem Jeans" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)

* 2007: "Nike Aurr's and Crispy Tee's

Featured singles

* 2003: "Shorty" (Busta Rhymes featuring Chingy, Fat Joe, & Nick Cannon)

* 2004: "I Like That" (Houston featuring Chingy, Nate Dogg, & I-20)

* 2004: "Fightin' in the Club" (I-20 featuring Lil Fate, Tity Boi, & Chingy)

Videography

From Jackpot:

* 2003: "Right Thurr"

* 2003: "Right Thurr" (Remix) (featuring Jermaine Dupri and Trina)

* 2003: "Holidae In" (featuring Snoop Dogg and Ludacris)

* 2004: "One Call Away" (featuring J-Weav)/"Chingy Jackpot"

From Powerballin:

* 2004: "Balla Baby"

* 2004: "Balla Baby" (Remix) (featuring Lil' Flip and Boozie)

From Hoodstar:

* 2006: "Pullin' Me Back" (featuring Tyrese)

* 2006: "Dem Jeans" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)

* 2007: "Nike Aurr's & Crispy Tee's"

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