Can Chamillionaire re-take The Game?

Of the fastest starts in hip hop, Chamillionaire’s has to be one of the fastest. Cham, as he is fondly called, began as an underground rapper in Houston, Texas. He frequently worked with fellow Swishahouse recording artists, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall.

Somewhere along the way, Chamillionaire had a falling out with Mike Jones and he ended up leaving Swishahouse Records to create his own label, Chamillitary Entertainment. In early 2005, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall all gained national fame, as they released their major label debut albums.

As a result, the remainder of 2005 in hip hop music was dominated by Houston rap. Not to be left out, Chamillionaire reached a deal with Universal Records to release his debut album, The Sound of Revenge, late in 2005. His first single was “Turn It Up,” featuring Lil’ Flip. Despite the big-name appearance, the song failed to become a major hit.

The song had no airplay and the album was selling no records. It was not until early in 2006 when Chamillionaire released his second single, “Ridin’,” that things changed. The song was released late in the winter of 2006 and went on to top the Billboard Hot 100, dominating the summer airwaves.

Suddenly, Chamillionaire was a bigger act than Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall combined. Due to his success and marketability, Universal Records pushed for him to release his next album in 2006. To the surprise of many, Cham refused to do so.

Instead, he decided to release his next album, a profanity-free release, on September 18, 2007. He built minor buzz with the album’s lead single, “Hip Hop Police,” with Slick Rick, but he did not do enough to top any charts. After the release of the album, Chamillionaire was quickly forgotten.

Soon after the album’s release, he returned to the mixtape scene. Late last year, Chamillionaire announced his plans to release his third album, Venom, sometime this year. However, due to the poor economy to start the year off, those plans were put on hold. Now, Cham is ready to release the album, but can he take the game back and dominate the way he did three years ago?