This is from Chamillionaire.com
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First off, before we get into this interview i wanna thank the people who submitted questions, i took a few and i combined a few, shouts to yall whos i used, Now enjoy...
Krak: First off give a little backround on yourself.
Cham: I started of doing mixtape verses with swishahouse and created a big buzz in the South from doing mixtape freestyles. Me and Paul Wall were a duo at that time so we both broke off from Swishahouse and started our own group called "The Color Changin' Click." We started makin our own mixtapes creatin a bigger buzz for ourselves than we already had and when we put out our first album which was a duo album called "Get Ya Mind Correct," it ended up being one of the most successful indie albums to come outta Houston. After the success of that album and a whole bunch of mixtapes later, me and Paul parted ways and he went back to Swishahouse who signed a deal with the majors and I went and signed a deal with Universal Records.
Krak: Whats the Deal On Paid In Full Records, From Beginning To the end, your outake on it?
Cham: The reason I signed with that label was because at that time I was only doing mixtapes in the streets and didnt really have a real record label established. I knew it would take me a little time to really learn the game before i could eventually put out my own album and be successful. Paid In Full was a local company that was ran by the main dj at 97.9 the box and at that time he had a song called "Down South" that he seemed to have pushed well on his label. See, Paid in Full put out a lot of albums and me and Paul both wanted to take a jump from the mixtapes to puttin out real material so when they came at us with a contract the terms were negotiated and the deal was signed to do some real albums. Me and Paul put out the "Get Ya Mind Correct" and were successful but we were not fully paid. Southwest Wholesale was the distribution company that the album went through and after they folded Paid in Full felt that they didnt have to cut any more checks. When the term on the contract was up I left the label and paul decided to let them put out his solo album. I didnt want to put out any more albums with them and I didnt have to so I chose to keep goin wit my own company and get serious about standing on my own. They didnt live up to the name of their label and only paid me partial. To be honest in over 2 years on that label I recieved probably 30 somethin thousand. Thats's close to 15 thousand a year and I know people that work fast food and make more money than that. I was still gettin money doin my mixtape thing in the streets but i had a very good reason to not record anymore with them. I was on all the records that they were comin out with and did my own that sold ghetto gold in the south and wasnt rewarded. They tried to put all the old material they had left and put it out under the title that I had been promoting for my solo album title, in a deperate attempt to fool the public I guess. I have been tellin the fans not to support it but most of them are smart enough to realize what they did was fake. In the past this info would have been family business but them guys aint family with me because family doesnt do that to each other.
Krak: With all the material you come up with for your fans in the past few years, what do you do to keep your material fresh? Many Down South artist have had their music fresh and to keep consistant material out there for their fans (at least the ultra-successful ones). What do you plan on doing to make sure that your material is fresh and that more and more people will hear your music and what you have to say?
Cham: I do market research on myself and pay atention to what the streets are sayin about my music. It doesnt hurt my feelings if someone says they dont like somethin about my music and doesnt get me overly hyped when a fan tells me everything I do is perfect. The term listen more than you talk describes me because you dont hear my voice as much as the next man but that doesnt mean im not gonna have my turn to speak. The difference is that what im gonna say when I do is gonna catch your attention more because I took the time to listen to how you felt. Some rappers dont care about that they just feed a bunch of garbage to you even though they know you want to hear somethin different. I have always reinvented myself and thats why im still here and thats why I havn't lost any respect and only moved upward. The content on all of my material in the past is different than today but I was smart enough to not switch styles overnight and shock my audience with somethin they aint ready for. I just gradually make the necessary changes and try to be in the middle of what people wanna hear. You cant please everyone but you can meet them halfway.
Krak: How has the past couple of months been for you since you've signed the deal?
Cham: Other than the hate that comes with havin more money it's been really good for me. A lot of weight was lifed off my shoulders when I signed but not because I felt any pressure to sign, it was because I was workin so hard handling a lot of stuff by myself. I was actually the person that was droppin the mix cds off in the retail stores, the person booking my shows, the person handling my website, and the person keepin everything together with what I was doin in the streets. When you get into corporate america there is always someone you can call that can help you handle stuff. I was making a lot of money doin what I was doing but I was working so hard to keep up that life for me and everybody around me. There were so many stores, promoters, and people all calling me at the same time and I can admit it was a little too much for me to handle myself. Since I signed I have been recording more than I ever have. I stay in the studio from morning to night with different producers trying to make a classic album. I was given a lot of money to sign and I could still be chasing every show and underground mixtape dollar right now but I really dont need it right now because im concentrating on the music and thats more important to me. I have turned down a lot of shows and people wanting verses but it will pay off later.
Krak: Alot of people want to know what they can expect from you on a nationwide level, what are you aiming for?
Cham: They can expect a lot of creativity, bangin azz beats, refreshing material, and the truth. All the ingredients that a classic album should have will be what people hear in my album. Music is supposed to catch your emotions and my album will catch all of the emotions you have and even the emotions you never knew you had. I am a student of the game and I think most of the people makin rap music nowadays are just following the person in front of them. The South is hot right now but I dont think people are seeing enough of how it should be represented. I think a lot of people outside of the south respect the sales but not the actual music that we are makin out here and im gonna try to change that from beginning to end. The material on my album is guaranteed to be better than all my past material and you can quote me on that one.
Krak: Have you wroked with any artist that youve always wanted to work with?
Cham: I like workin with people that I know are good people and that will tell me their honest feelings about my music. So my answer would be Killa Mike & Bun B cause they are always honest wit me and I know they are good people. I was recording in Atl at Big Boi from Outcast's studio before I even got my deal and the vibe up there is always good and they show the meaning of southern hospitality. I was workin with them before the major label deal but with most people an artist will meet it just business. I have worked with a lot of the biggest and most respected people in the game but I get more excited about the outcome of the music that is made than the person im in the studio with.
Krak: You and Davin banner did a song called "Talkin That Talk" how did that come to be?
Cham: David Banner records in Atlanta also and I would bump into him all the time out there. There was a track that I wanted to get from him before I signed but when I got in the studio with him he didnt have it anymore so he gave me a track to replace it. The song that I originaly made to the track that he didnt have was the one that universal heard and said I should do for "The Longest Yard" soundtrack. Since he didnt have the beat anymore I just made a new song to the track that he gave me. While I was in the other studio recording it he would come in and check on the progress and he told me he would spit a verse on it. He spit his verses and I finished the song and turned it in. Universal loved it and said it was going on the soundtrack. The movie drops in may so people will probably start hearing the song at the end of march. I wanted to put it in the streets early just because I think its a good record but i dont want to mess up the soundtrack thing and do it too early.
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Part1
----------------------------------------
First off, before we get into this interview i wanna thank the people who submitted questions, i took a few and i combined a few, shouts to yall whos i used, Now enjoy...
Krak: First off give a little backround on yourself.
Cham: I started of doing mixtape verses with swishahouse and created a big buzz in the South from doing mixtape freestyles. Me and Paul Wall were a duo at that time so we both broke off from Swishahouse and started our own group called "The Color Changin' Click." We started makin our own mixtapes creatin a bigger buzz for ourselves than we already had and when we put out our first album which was a duo album called "Get Ya Mind Correct," it ended up being one of the most successful indie albums to come outta Houston. After the success of that album and a whole bunch of mixtapes later, me and Paul parted ways and he went back to Swishahouse who signed a deal with the majors and I went and signed a deal with Universal Records.
Krak: Whats the Deal On Paid In Full Records, From Beginning To the end, your outake on it?
Cham: The reason I signed with that label was because at that time I was only doing mixtapes in the streets and didnt really have a real record label established. I knew it would take me a little time to really learn the game before i could eventually put out my own album and be successful. Paid In Full was a local company that was ran by the main dj at 97.9 the box and at that time he had a song called "Down South" that he seemed to have pushed well on his label. See, Paid in Full put out a lot of albums and me and Paul both wanted to take a jump from the mixtapes to puttin out real material so when they came at us with a contract the terms were negotiated and the deal was signed to do some real albums. Me and Paul put out the "Get Ya Mind Correct" and were successful but we were not fully paid. Southwest Wholesale was the distribution company that the album went through and after they folded Paid in Full felt that they didnt have to cut any more checks. When the term on the contract was up I left the label and paul decided to let them put out his solo album. I didnt want to put out any more albums with them and I didnt have to so I chose to keep goin wit my own company and get serious about standing on my own. They didnt live up to the name of their label and only paid me partial. To be honest in over 2 years on that label I recieved probably 30 somethin thousand. Thats's close to 15 thousand a year and I know people that work fast food and make more money than that. I was still gettin money doin my mixtape thing in the streets but i had a very good reason to not record anymore with them. I was on all the records that they were comin out with and did my own that sold ghetto gold in the south and wasnt rewarded. They tried to put all the old material they had left and put it out under the title that I had been promoting for my solo album title, in a deperate attempt to fool the public I guess. I have been tellin the fans not to support it but most of them are smart enough to realize what they did was fake. In the past this info would have been family business but them guys aint family with me because family doesnt do that to each other.
Krak: With all the material you come up with for your fans in the past few years, what do you do to keep your material fresh? Many Down South artist have had their music fresh and to keep consistant material out there for their fans (at least the ultra-successful ones). What do you plan on doing to make sure that your material is fresh and that more and more people will hear your music and what you have to say?
Cham: I do market research on myself and pay atention to what the streets are sayin about my music. It doesnt hurt my feelings if someone says they dont like somethin about my music and doesnt get me overly hyped when a fan tells me everything I do is perfect. The term listen more than you talk describes me because you dont hear my voice as much as the next man but that doesnt mean im not gonna have my turn to speak. The difference is that what im gonna say when I do is gonna catch your attention more because I took the time to listen to how you felt. Some rappers dont care about that they just feed a bunch of garbage to you even though they know you want to hear somethin different. I have always reinvented myself and thats why im still here and thats why I havn't lost any respect and only moved upward. The content on all of my material in the past is different than today but I was smart enough to not switch styles overnight and shock my audience with somethin they aint ready for. I just gradually make the necessary changes and try to be in the middle of what people wanna hear. You cant please everyone but you can meet them halfway.
Krak: How has the past couple of months been for you since you've signed the deal?
Cham: Other than the hate that comes with havin more money it's been really good for me. A lot of weight was lifed off my shoulders when I signed but not because I felt any pressure to sign, it was because I was workin so hard handling a lot of stuff by myself. I was actually the person that was droppin the mix cds off in the retail stores, the person booking my shows, the person handling my website, and the person keepin everything together with what I was doin in the streets. When you get into corporate america there is always someone you can call that can help you handle stuff. I was making a lot of money doin what I was doing but I was working so hard to keep up that life for me and everybody around me. There were so many stores, promoters, and people all calling me at the same time and I can admit it was a little too much for me to handle myself. Since I signed I have been recording more than I ever have. I stay in the studio from morning to night with different producers trying to make a classic album. I was given a lot of money to sign and I could still be chasing every show and underground mixtape dollar right now but I really dont need it right now because im concentrating on the music and thats more important to me. I have turned down a lot of shows and people wanting verses but it will pay off later.
Krak: Alot of people want to know what they can expect from you on a nationwide level, what are you aiming for?
Cham: They can expect a lot of creativity, bangin azz beats, refreshing material, and the truth. All the ingredients that a classic album should have will be what people hear in my album. Music is supposed to catch your emotions and my album will catch all of the emotions you have and even the emotions you never knew you had. I am a student of the game and I think most of the people makin rap music nowadays are just following the person in front of them. The South is hot right now but I dont think people are seeing enough of how it should be represented. I think a lot of people outside of the south respect the sales but not the actual music that we are makin out here and im gonna try to change that from beginning to end. The material on my album is guaranteed to be better than all my past material and you can quote me on that one.
Krak: Have you wroked with any artist that youve always wanted to work with?
Cham: I like workin with people that I know are good people and that will tell me their honest feelings about my music. So my answer would be Killa Mike & Bun B cause they are always honest wit me and I know they are good people. I was recording in Atl at Big Boi from Outcast's studio before I even got my deal and the vibe up there is always good and they show the meaning of southern hospitality. I was workin with them before the major label deal but with most people an artist will meet it just business. I have worked with a lot of the biggest and most respected people in the game but I get more excited about the outcome of the music that is made than the person im in the studio with.
Krak: You and Davin banner did a song called "Talkin That Talk" how did that come to be?
Cham: David Banner records in Atlanta also and I would bump into him all the time out there. There was a track that I wanted to get from him before I signed but when I got in the studio with him he didnt have it anymore so he gave me a track to replace it. The song that I originaly made to the track that he didnt have was the one that universal heard and said I should do for "The Longest Yard" soundtrack. Since he didnt have the beat anymore I just made a new song to the track that he gave me. While I was in the other studio recording it he would come in and check on the progress and he told me he would spit a verse on it. He spit his verses and I finished the song and turned it in. Universal loved it and said it was going on the soundtrack. The movie drops in may so people will probably start hearing the song at the end of march. I wanted to put it in the streets early just because I think its a good record but i dont want to mess up the soundtrack thing and do it too early.
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Part1
