Chingy at the Rust Belt -- February 12.
Saturday, February 12, 7 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
With his discography currently composed of five studio albums, eight mixtapes, 13 singles, and an EP, the platinum-selling R&B and hip-hop musician Chingy headlines a February 12 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, the platinum-selling artist's professional highlights including three albums that made the Billboard top five and three singles that topped the charts.
Born Howard Earl Bailey Jr. in 1980, Chingy was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and began writing lyrics when he was nine and recording raps at 10. He was originally known as H Thugz, and was in the St. Louis group Without Warning on 49 Productions with M.G.D. & Mysphit. After changing his professional moniker to Chingy (a slang term for money), the nascent artist released his debut album Jackpot in 2003, and unable to secure a distribution deal through Def Jam, the rap star Ludacris negotiated a deal to release the recording through Capitol Records. Ludacris also made a guest appearance on the album alongside Snoop Dogg, Murphy Lee, I-20, and Jermaine Dupri, and fueled by the hit "One Call Away," Jackpot was received well by critics. Within a year of its release, Jackpot was certified platinum by the RIAA, with the up-tempo Southern-hip-hop track "Right Thurr" peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
The musician's second album Powerballin' debuted in 2004, with the eventual platinum seller peaking at number 10 on the charts and featuring the hit single "Balla Baby," as well as guest appearances by artists R. Kelly, Bun B, Lil Wayne, Lil Flip, Janet Jackson, David Banner, Nate Dogg, and Get It Boyz. Arriving in 2006, third album Hoodstar featured Mr. Collipark, longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, and Mannie Fresh, and its summertime single "Pullin Me Back" (featuring actor/R&B singer Tyrese Gibson), would find Chingy back on top on the Hot Rap Tracks chart and help Hoodstar debut at number eight on the albums chart. Since then, Chingy has released a pair of additional studio albums in 2007's Hate It or Love It (with a sequel to the album due this year) and 2010's Success & Failure, and his successful mixtapes over the past decade have included Jackpot Back, Chances Make Champions, and FullDekk Fullosiphy.
Chingy plays his East Moline engagement on February 12 with an opening set by the hip-hop tribute musicians of Too Hype Crew, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $20-30, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
