After signing a record deal with Universal Studios in 2005, rapper Chamillionaire released his solo album, ‘The Sound of Revenge’, in November 2005. This is his debut as a solo artist. This was re-released in 2006 as ‘The Sound of Revenge (Screwed and Chopped)’ The first single released was “Turn it Up” featuring Li’l Flip. The second one, “Ridin’”, was released in 2006 featuring Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The video too features Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Play-N-Skillz. “Grind Time”, the bonus track, was used as part of the NBA soundtrack.
Hakeem Seriki went by several names - The Mixtape Messiah, King Koopa, Color Changin' Lizard, Chamilitary Man and The Truth From Texas but is best known for his stage name Chamillionaire. He is known for his wonderful rapping which varies in tempo and rhyme scheme within a single song itself and has been compared other rapping greats such as Twista and Bone Thus-N-Harmony. He started at the age of 17 with friend Paul Wall with Michael 5000 Watts studio Swisahouse. However, they left soon due to financial disagreements and started their own group called The Colour Changing Clicks. They released their debut album Get Ya Mind Correct and soldover a 100,000 copies. However with growing creative differences between him and Paul Wall, Chamillionaire left to release his solo album.
Chamillionaire’s latest single “Grown and Sexy” is his third and he will release “Think I’m Crazy”, which reportedly features friend and rapper Natalie in a cameo in the video, if “Grown and Sexy” is successful enough. For a debut album, Chamillionaire sure has the best stars featured on his debut album. BunB, Scarface, Krayzie Bone, Li’l Flip, Baby Juvenile and Li’l Wayne are just a few of the many that he has worked with on ‘The Sound of Revenge’. However, Chamillionaire biggest joy comes from the fact that he worked with Atlanta studio kings The Beat Bullies (BigBoi/Outkast), because he believes they understand him as an artist as they have the same roots.
‘The Sound of Revenge’ sure has gone places and has recently been certified platinum by the RIAA, which lead to the release of the ‘chopped and screwed’ version in February 2006. With his growing fame and popularity, Chamillionaire has been getting offers from various artists. He’s worked with a few - Li’l Wayne on his verses for the album, Fat Joe, and newcomer Jibbs, among various others. He also features on Ciara’s music video “Get Up”, Trick Daddy’s “Bet That” and many others. For himself, he has ‘The Ultimate Victory’ lined up for release in 2007, if all goes well.