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Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishahouse until forming the hip hop duo Color Changin' Click with labelmate Paul Wall in 2002. The two signed with Houston's Paid in Full Entertainment to release the collaborative album Get Ya Mind Correct (2002), which entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Seriki signed with Universal Records as a solo act in 2005. His debut studio album, The Sound of Revenge (2005), peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and received critical praise, along with his second album, Ultimate Victory (2007). The former was preceded by the singles "Ridin'" (featuring Krayzie Bone) — which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best Rap Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards — and "Turn It Up" (featuring Lil' Flip), while the latter was preceded by "Hip Hop Police" (featuring Slick Rick) and notable for its lack of profanity. His 2009 pop rap single, "Good Morning", peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 was intended to lead his third album Venom, which was never released.
In 2011, Chamillionaire left Universal Records and released his first independent extended play (EP), Ammunition, in March 2012. His second EP, Elevate, was released in February 2013, followed by his third, Reignfall, in July of that year. Prior, he released the mixtape series Mixtape Messiah from 2004 to 2009.
He was the founder of the Color Changin' Click, which was formed in 2001 and disbanded in 2005. Chamillionaire founded Chamillitary Entertainment in 2004. He joined Los Angeles–based venture capital firm Upfront Ventures in 2015, and has since focused on numerous entrepreneurial and business endeavors. He co-created the social media app Convoz in January 2018.
Rap and other forms of secular music, which his parents had highly opposed in their household, became very appealing to Chamillionaire, who was still in his teens at the time. Chamillionaire has stated that he was inspired by southern rap acts such as the Geto Boys, 8 Ball & MJG, and UGK, as well as other national acts such as N.W.A and Public Enemy. At a young age, Chamillionaire, along with fellow rap music artist and childhood friend Paul Wall, had decided to make music their careers. Chamillionaire has a brother, who is three years younger than him, Rasaq Seriki, who is also an occasional rapper and a past member of The Color Changin' Click.
Additionally, the bonus track "Grind Time" was featured in the video game NBA Live 06. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and a chopped and screwed version, screwed by OG Ron C, was released in February 2006. Guest appearances for the album included Lil' Flip, Natalie, Krayzie Bone, Bun B, Lil Wayne, Pastor Troy, Killer Mike, Scarface, singer Billy Cook, and his brother Rasaq. Chamillionaire won the Best New Artist award for the 2006 BET Awards
The second installment to the Mixtape Messiah series, Mixtape Messiah 2, was released January 5, 2006. Later in 2006, Chamillionaire was featured in the singles "Get Up" by Ciara, "That Girl" by Frankie J, "Bet That" by Trick Daddy, "King Kong" by Jibbs, and "Doe Boy Fresh" by Three Six Mafia in 2007.
Mixtape Messiah 4, the fourth title in Chamillionaire's Mixtape Messiah series, was initially set for release on December 18, 2007, but was released on August 27, 2008.
On September 29, it was officially announced that Chamillionaire's third album would indeed be entitled Venom after a fan vote on his website. The first single from this upcoming album was titled "Good Morning". The album was scheduled to be released on June 22, 2010.
Chamillionaire appeared on the remix for Weezer's song "Can't Stop Partying", from their album Raditude. He also joined Weezer for live performances as Lil Wayne, who is featured on the original version of the track, was convicted on gun possession charges and was unable to perform. On December 11, 2009, Chamillionaire performed a set for "Fort Hood Community Strong", an event described as a day of "healing, fun and entertainment" for those placed at the Fort Hood military base who were affected by the shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, killing 13 people. Other performers at the event included Nick Jonas, Dana Carvey and Zac Brown Band.
On December 23, 2009, Chamillionaire announced via his YouTube page that he would be initiating a new mixtape, Major Pain, through his website on February 2, 2010. Due to the 2010 NBA All-Star Game taking place in Dallas, Texas, Chamillionaire released a new song, "The Main Event", on February 11, 2010, via free download. It features fellow Texas rappers Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Dorrough. "Every artist on the song with me has independent hustle and strength in the streets," he said. "It's an All-Star song, so what better place to shoot the video than All-Star Weekend, right here in our own backyard." It was later released to iTunes on June 8, 2010.
On Chamillionaire's official website, he stated: "Right now the Venom album is set for March 16 and has been pushed back just like Lil Wayne's Rebirth, Game's Red album, and countless other hip-hop albums that this happens to." The date was later pushed back to June 22, but was not released that day. Venom has been confirmed as canceled as Chamillionaire has parted ways with Universal.
Venom was later released on DatPiff in 2011 as a bootlegged mixtape made by the fans.
During his live UStream on January 14, 2011, Chamillionaire announced he was officially leaving Universal Records. As part of this deal he was not allowed to release Venom or any material recorded during that time. He was then working on a new series called Playlist Poison and released tracks on a random basis. The first Playlist Poison song released was "When Ya On" which featured Nipsey Hussle and was followed by "This My World" featuring Big K.R.I.T., "Charlie Sheen" featuring Rock D & Killer Mike, and "Passenger Seat" featuring Short Dawg. On April 18, he released the next installment in his Major Pain mixtape series, Major Pain 1.5 for free download from his website, and subsequently released three other mixtapes entitled Badazz Freemixes, Badazz Freemixes 2 and Badazz Slowmixes. Chamillionaire's eight song EP titled Ammunition was released for digital download on March 20, 2012, and all physical bundles were released on March 27, 2012. His third studio album, Poison, was initially announced for a 2013 release, but is still unreleased .
In 2012, Chamillionaire was featured on the track "Mayday" from the Krizz Kaliko album ''Kickin' and Screamin as well as the single "Keep Pushing" from the Saigon album '.
On the December 4, 2012, Chamillionaire released the single "Show Love" featuring D.A. of Chester French to iTunes. This was the only music video he released in 2012, although he appeared in the music video for the song "No Room in Hell" for the video game .
Chamillionaire announced that despite leaving Universal, Poison was likely to be released through a major label, unlike the various promotional EPs. On July 23, 2013, Chamillionaire released Reignfall, his third EP. Reignfall would be his first project since his second studio album to chart on a Billboard chart. On February 13, 2014, Chamillionaire released his first single of the year titled "Watching Breaking Bad" featuring Tami LaTrell, in recognition of the TV show Breaking Bad. The single "Go Getta" followed on February 28 and "End of a Knife", produced by Kato, was released on March 21, 2014.
Since 2010, Chamillionaire has stated his third album Poison is in the works. As of 2023, there is no set release date for the project.
Seriki founded his own record label; Chamillitary Entertainment. Seriki created the label after he had left his previous record labels, Swishahouse and Paid In Full Entertainment, as he was unsigned. It was distributed by Universal Records but has been independent since January 15, 2011, due to Chamillionaire and the label parting ways.
It is reported that Chamillionaire also owns a Tour Bus company. He founded the company in 2006 after seeing the business potential from touring around the US after the release of The Sound of Revenge as a rapper. In addition, most of the tour buses have internet, cable, studio, DVD, surround sound and a shower.
Seriki also invested Cruise Automation, a self-driving automation tech company, during its startup stage in 2013. This investment proved successful after it sold to General Motors for over $1 billion in 2016. The self-driving company includes features such as a kit in which customers can transform their vehicles to include self-driving technology.
On March 24, 2014, Maker Studios, Inc. agreed to sell itself to The Walt Disney Company for $500 million, rising to $950 million if financial milestones were met. Chamillionaire's investment in Maker Studios was $1.5 million and his payout was reported to be over $20 million. This investment forged a partnership between Chamillionaire and Mark in which Suster realised Seriki wanted to establish himself the tech industry. On April 14, 2014, Relativity Media submitted a competing bid of up to $1.1 billion, but Maker denied the bid. In December 2015, the company became a subsidiary of Disney Consumer Products and the Disney Interactive division of The Walt Disney Company. The Network also partnered with Fusion TV in a deal that falls under the corporate umbrella of The Walt Disney Company.
On February 23, 2015, Upfront Ventures, the largest early-stage fund raised in L.A since 2000, confirmed that Chamillionaire was appointed as an entrepreneur in residence. A spokesperson for Upfront Ventures has stated that; "Chamillionaire brings a wealth of expertise in this area to the table based on his own years of employing successful tech and marketing strategies as both an independent music artist and later a label partner with Universal Records. Add to that he has quietly been a fixture in the tech world for many years: attending major conferences both as a keynote and audience member, making him a sought-after promotional partner, advisor and potential investor. It was in this capacity that he met Upfront partner, Mark Suster, in 2009, becoming one of the earliest co-investors in Maker Studios, now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company." In a letter penned by Mark Suster explaining the week he's had at Upfront Ventures in Los Angeles, he explains the presence of Chamillionaire around the office. "The same Chamillionaire who was showing us how to get our respective shines on not a decade ago. But if Kanye West has taught us anything, it's that we can find success in multiple creative outlets. In the past five years or so, Cham has been quietly but actively involved in the tech startup scene, from speaking on social media engagement in the music industry to hanging out with Y Combinator associates."
In May 2019, Seriki, in an interview with Yahoo! Finance, announced that they are going to invest $25,000 into a startup founded and managed by a woman or person of color alongside rapper E-40. The move came after it was published that Caucasians make up 87% of Venture Capital-backed CEO's and 97% of those positions are held by men. In September 2019, Seriki invested in Atoms, the first footwear company to come in quarter sizes. The investment was led by Initialized Capital, the investment firm started by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Garry Tan. After seeing the success of his initial $25,000 investment pledge, Seriki and E-40 launched another, much larger, $100,000 competition for minority or woman start-ups. Shark Tank judge Daymond John and Republic.co also joined the team to narrow the search. The winner of the competition was Pierre Laguerre and it was announced in January 2020. His startup idea was "Fleeting Pro", a company that links certified class A & B drivers to trucking companies for scheduled, on-demand transportation needs.
On June 3, 2010, Chamillionaire's third mortgage property home was foreclosed on by the bank. The rapper told TMZ in a public video claiming to have given it back to the bank after paying just over US$2 million on it and claims it was a bad investment and he was never in it.
The dispute ended in 2010, when the pair reunited for a full tour. Paul Wall stated "It took a long time and us growing. You know, we started off as a group and a lot of times when you go your separates ways, a lot of people say, "Oh you can't do it without him" and so you wanna prove them wrong. I know for me, I wanted to prove everyone wrong and prove that I could make it on my own." Chamillionaire replied; "We had been bumping into each other a lot. It's kinda been died down for a little bit now but we just kinda needed that stamp of approval. I think the tour kinda just solidifies it for other people. It's not like today we just stopped beefing, we stop beefing a long time ago, but nobody believed us."
Collaborative albums
Extended plays
| 2007 | Punk'd | Himself | 1 episode (season 8, episode 2) |
| The Game | 1 episode ("When the Chickens Come Home to Roost – Part 1") | ||
| Pimp My Ride | 1 episode (season 6, episode 10) – featuring Chamillionaire as guest host |
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