Chingy

St. Louis rapper Chingy scored big with mid-2000s hits like “Right Thurr” and “One Call Away,” transfixing listeners with his Midwestern drawl. • Chingy originally rapped under the name H Thugz. He was a part of the group Without Warning, which notched a local St. Louis hit with “What’s Poppin Off.” • After touring with Nelly and signing with mentor Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace label, Chingy released his debut album, Jackpot, in 2003. The album yielded three Top 5 pop hits—“Right Thurr,” “Holidae Inn,” and “One Call Away”—and went double platinum in 2004. • His 2004 sophomore effort, Powerballin’, features high-profile guests like Janet Jackson, Nate Dogg, and Lil Wayne. • Chingy went independent after releasing his fourth album, 2007’s Hate It or Love It. In 2009, he released a whopping five mixtapes and returned the next year with the album Success & Failure. • In 2017, following several more mixtapes and EPs, Chingy signed with Bungalo Records, an indie label distributed through Universal Music.