CD REVIEW

Chingyville

Review by Chris Blake

Chingy is cashing in on the St. Louis sound

Chingy

Jackpot

Disturbing Tha Peace

Is it any wonder that American rap star Chingy is Tata Young�s favourite artist? After all, the two are so similar. No Tata isn�t out rappin� in the clubs of St. Louis. But what she and Chingy do have in common is that both have pretty much copied the sound of hugely successful artists, recorded a couple of catchy songs and called the results an album of their own.

And you know what, it has worked. Tata has been lighting up Asia with her Britney knock offs, and Chingy has been steaming up clubs in the US ever since his ever-so-Nelly single �Right Thurr� hit the air last summer.

Another Nelly?

Chingy knows he sounds like Nelly and he has no problem with it, after all Nelly has been a mentor to him � the two are from the same city and were on the road together in 2002. Like Eminem has opened up Detroit to people looking for commercial rap stars, Nelly has done the same for new rappers in St. Louis. Chingy is just cashing in.

But the real brain behind the Chingy package is fellow rapper Ludacris. Chingy is part of his Disturbing Tha Peace record label of Southern rappers.

Ludacris has worked with famous producer Chaka Zulu and St. Louis newcomers The Trak Starz to produce Jackpot � or some might say overproduce.

The album is packed with the bouncy beats and catchy hooks that make up so much of today�s commercial club hip-hop. The lyrics are what are expected these days, but lacking the cleverness of something Ludacris had a hand in. But like Nelly, Ludacris and plenty of other �Southern� (St. Louis is really in the Midwest) rappers, Chingy delivers his lines with a bit of drawl, although Chingy�s is a bit overdone.

Jackpot offers nothing groundbreaking or new, but it still accomplishes what it set out to do: sell a ton of records and keep heads bobbing. This is a harmlessly fun album for any fan of mainstream hip-hop.

Highlights on the CD are �Right Thurr,� �Holidae In� featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, �He�s Herre� and  �Getting� It.�

Vocabulary

knock off (n): a copied or pirated version of something
mentor (n): an experienced person who advises and helps somebody with less experience over a period of time
to cash in (phrasal v): to gain an advantage for yourself from a situation, especially in a way that other people think is wrong or immoral
cleverness (n): in this use, the quality of being quick with words and able to use them in a unique way
drawl (n): a way of speaking slowly so that vowel sounds that are longer than usual
groundbreaking (adj): using new methods or making new discoveries

idiom

the brain behind something: the most intelligent person in a particular group