Chingy’s career-defining Jackpot— the 2003 album that gave us “Holidae In” (featuring Snoop Dogg and Ludacris) and the Midwestern twang of “Right Thurr”—is two decades old, if you can believe it. Sometimes, the St. Louis rapper still can’t.
“After the project dropped, I remember the Capitol Records reps came onto my tour bus and were like, ‘Hey man, do you realize you’re selling 90,000 records a week consistently?’ That’s when I knew this was really blowing up,” he tells the Weekly. “I started seeing my videos being No. 1 on [BET’s] 106 & Park, and that’s when I knew: It’s finally happening.”
Jackpot peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, and Chingy’s career took off at the height of Southern rap’s reigning era. The arrival of Nelly’s Country Grammar (2000) and Nellyville (2002) thrust St. Louis into the spotlight, opening the door for Chingy and other Midwest prospects to blast through with club hits that still resonate.
“People appreciated that,” he says, “us coming out and representing for the city in a big way. It was always love. It’s love to this day.”
In May, Chingy performed in Las Vegas to a hundreds-strong crowd at the Lovers & Friends festival. And as he returns for We the Beat’s Confessions Pt. 4 party at Fergusons Downtown on July 8, early-bird GA tickets had nearly sold out at press time.
“I’ve had a long journey with this music thing and trying to make it in this business, so when someone tells me they’ve been a fan and appreciate my music [after] it’s been 20 years since my first album, it’s really humbling,” Chingy says.
But it isn’t just nostalgia that’s fueling the hype. The rapper has steadily released music over the years, most recently June EP Chinglish. Fans of his charismatic drawl won’t need to wait long for a follow-up, as Chingy plans to release two more EPs this year. “I have so much music, it’s ridiculous,” he says. “On these hard drives, I probably have over 30 albums.”
At 43 years old, Chingy has zeroed in on music and leading a healthy lifestyle. He follows a plant-based diet and doesn’t drink or smoke (which explains his youthful glow), and he’s serious about his peace, “because sometimes people get lost in this crazy business.”
“Over the years, growing as a MC, I got wiser in the sense of knowing myself internally,” he says. “I’m into meditation. I’ve got a degree in astrology and cosmology. I study the metaphysics of religion, the metaphysics of thoughts, and so I’m always reading and feeding my brain. I created some inner stillness for myself.”
Las Vegas, Chingy says, has always been a city he visits to clear his mind. “I was hanging out with Lil Jon at a club when I was last in Vegas,” he adds.
So what are the chances of him following the lead of his Jackpot collaborators Ludacris and Nelly with a Las Vegas Strip club residency?
“If that comes along, I definitely want to do it,” he says. “Let’s see what happens.”
CHINGY July 8, 7 p.m., $30-$40. Fergusons Downtown, tickets.wethebeat.com.
