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Oct
11
2007
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Chamillionaire Interview |
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Thursday, 11 October 2007 |
  Those of you who’ve heard of Chamillionaire (a portmanteau of “chameleon” and “millionaire”) would remember him from his debut hit, ‘Ridin’. The single received substantial playbacks and towering radio rotation despite being dubbed by critics as, “too hardcore for it’s own right.” Nevertheless, the US rapper and CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment, also labelled the Mixtape Messiah, makes a much hefty return with his second outing, Ultimate Victory.
Could you tell us about the album?
Well…. The album is called Ultimate Victory. It’s definitely a step-up from the last album ‘A Sign of Revenge’. It’s a conceptual album with bass heavy tracks and with concepts on them. There is a moral to the whole of the story at the end of the album. It’s like put together with different storylines and I just took a lot of time to make an album instead of some 12 songs that the label wanted me to do. I put 19 tracks on there, just to fill it up and tell a story with it. I feel like it’s definitely a step-up. It features Lil’ Wayne, Devin The Dude, Bun B and Pimp C, among others.
Are the stories on the album real life experiences or made up?
Really… I just wanted people to understand what the ultimate victory means. It means, when you’re really appreciating life; that’s when you actually win. You could be arguing with people over money etc. so it’s more or less like a soap opera you know? Not necessarily my life - just arguing about money and stuff like that.
Why should people buy this album?
Because I honestly think it’s one of the best albums to come out recently. I know a lot of artists say that, but my album leaked out in the US two weeks before its release date. At first, I was a little upset about it but the immediate response was overwhelming. People were like, “Wow! This album is actually super dope,” you know what I mean? You can tell that I put the time into it. I mean, look at the booklet inside of the CD cover, you can tell by all the pictures and stuff that I did not just come halfway, which is what a lot of artists would do. It’s really a full and complete album and I bet that if you give it a shot you’d like it.
What do you think of the current climate of the music industry?
It’s honestly disappointing to see where it’s come to now. You know, somebody puts a lot of work into an album, say for instance, like The Game or Nas or 50 Cent and none of them can sell what they used to. It shows that people are not buying the actual CDs nowadays but are actually downloading. It’s now more about ringtones and all that kind of stuff, you know? And I could see if I were one of those people who care about ringtones but I don’t have nobody’s ringtone, you know [he laughs]? So it’s like, I care about the music, I care about the booklets and when that stuff becomes a lost art then people will stop doing them. Of course this is going to change hip-hop for me so I’m not really happy about how everything’s going at the moment.
Do you have a message for the illegal downloader’s among us?
Well I just think that people should support music and I think that corporations are making it way too easy to get music. Back in the days, you would have a Walkman or a Discman and you used to buy music. Now you have all these different phones and iPods, which you can download music on. Kids are spending their money on so much nowadays.
How did it feel being Punk’d?
It was cool man. It was actually good because it lets me know that I’m actually a star I guess. I never used to look at myself as a big star and I was like, “you guys actually wanna punk me?”
If you could punk anyone, who would it be and why?
I don’t know man; that’s a good one. The people who I was going to say have already been Punk’d. But after I got Punk’d, the people who Punk’d me wanted me to help them punk Ice Cube. They said that they really want to get him but he wouldn’t let anybody punk him because he just does not want to get Punk’d. They’re really trying. They told me that they would blow up a building for Ice Cube!
If you could punk him, what would you do?
I wouldn’t punk him at all if he doesn’t want it that bad [he laughs]! I don’t want him to get mad at me; you know what I’m saying?
You also guest hosted an episode of Pimp My Ride. How did that feel?
Yeah that was big because I’ve never seen anyone do that before.
What would be your dream car to pimp?
I’d take something expensive man, like a Royals Royce or something. They always pimp these little cars that are like raggedy but I’d pick something that’s like a quarter of a mill; plus and then just tear it up with some candy paint, put some big rims on it and do something like that because some designs can really decrease the value of a car; that really surprises people.
Who do you think is hot and who’s not?
I’m hot [he laughs]! OJ Simpson’s not!
When was the last time you googled yourself in?
Maybe six months ago.
What did you find?
A whole lot of Chamillionaire impostors and blogs where people are telling me about my life! They know more about my life than I do, you know?
What is the wildest rumour you’ve heard about yourself?
That I used to be a gospel rapper. It’s probably because I never used to curse, which is why people said that, but it’s not true.
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