Chingy’s Jackpot Album Broke The Mold and Raised His Star Above the Arch.
20 Years Ago, St. Louis Rapper Chingy Won Big and Changed His Life. Years Later He’s Still Embedded in our Minds.
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Classic music stands the test of time, capturing the pulse of the people, and spreading the seeds of whichever emotion out. At the turn of the century, a newer crop of artists from the Midwest changed the way we dressed and spoke when they introduced their lingo and style from St. Louis to rap. Out of all the names, rapper Chingy remains one of the most memorable voices and faces of the early 2000s.
His monster debut album, Jackpot, released on July 15, 2003, produced three top charting singles and brought him multi-platinum fame straight out the gate. Sneakily lyrical, catchy, and earnest, the album opened the door for success for Chingy and left its listeners with the soundtrack for their youth. Twenty years later, it remains a central part of Chingy’s catalog.
“Coming from where I come from and doing music since six years old, it’s a great feeling to know the music was so legendary and appreciated after twenty years is amazing. People tell me it was the theme song for their life. It’s like an antique car.”
Jackpot, an analogy for his desire for success with his debut album, was composed of several songs that he and local friends, Alonzo “Zo” Lee Jr, and Shamar “Sham” Daughtery of TrakStarz, created in the summer of 2002.
“I been knew Sham from a group called Out of Order. We were on the talent show circuit. I saw Sham at a gas station the summer of 2002 and he was like I got some tracks for you,” says Chingy.
After a random interaction with Sham, Chingy decided to partner with the duo and from there collaborated with them on a six-song demo that contained the…
