Subject: Chamillionaire

• Chamillionaire? Aight, BET!

  October 26, 2006

• All Up in the Ozone

  July 19, 2007

• Radio on the TV: Chamillionaire Debuts New Video

  July 26, 2007

• Chamillionaire: Not So Dirty

  October 24, 2007

• Slideshow: Listening Party for Bun B's II Trill

  May 20, 2008

• Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire, Immortal Technique, 50 Cent, Damon Dash, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Raekwon, South Park Mexican and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Chamillionaire, “Swagger Like Us Freestyle” We normally reserve this section for unknown local artists, but goodness gracious Cham went to work here. The first line, a spin on Jigga’s "I Can’t Wear Skinny Jeans Because I Have So Much Money" claim, is noteworthy. Wire To Wire Immortal

  November 17, 2008

• Los Magnificos: Like a Live H-Town Mixtape

  Los Magnificos 2008 bounces into Reliant Center Sunday. Bun B Whip, ride, slab, some bit of street slang Rocks Off won't even hear for another eight months - cars are as essential to hip-hop as crossfaders and lyrics that rhyme. But no city's rappers place their wheels on a higher pedestal than Houston, so it's no surprise that Sunday's Los Magnificos auto show, sponsored by 97.9 the Boxx, features as many local rap luminaries as gleaming Cadillacs hopping all over the place. Get a load of

  November 21, 2008

• Chamillioniare & Martin Luther King: They Have A Dream

  Houston's MLK Parade Foundation recently announced the crowning of Chamillionaire as a co-Grand Marshal in the 2009 MLK parade. At first blush, some might think that a dude who spends a great deal of time talking about his dick, his riches, and his gun is an unusual choice to represent Dr. King's vision, but a close reading of Cham's lyrics reveal a kinship with some of Dr. King's writings. Hair Balls broached this subject with Foundation CEO Charles Stamps by first reciting lyrics from Cham's "

  December 18, 2008

• Slideshow: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade

  Photo by Chris Gray This bright, blustery morning, Rocks Off ventured to Minute Maid Park to take in Houston's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, featuring Mixtape Messiah and Co-Grand Marshal Chamillionaire, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rockets mascot Clutch, the mighty U of H and Willowridge High School marching bands and lots more. Click here for a slideshow. As soon as the parade was over, Chamillionaire - whose Fly Rydez custom detailing shop tricked out many of the parade vehicl

  January 19, 2009

• Chamillionaire's Inaugural Diary, Part 1: Getting There

  [Houston rapper Chamillionaire, whose Mixtape Messiah 6 is in stores now and LP Venom will be out soon, was kind enough to keep a diary of his trip to Washington, D.C. for Barack Obama's inauguration last week. Rocks Off is glad he's feeling better, too. Today: Leaving Houston from an auspiciously named airport.] Photo by Massa Mohawk How i ronic. You have to be able to see the humor in the fact that I was flying out of an airport with the same first and last name as the person that th

  January 26, 2009

• Five Spot: Slim Thug is Back

  Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it's either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Photo by thebestbradley Numerous emails from PR people over the last two or so months have informed us that but a scant four years after his first official solo album dropped, Slim Thug is prepping for the release of his sophomore effort. While the inappropriately titled debut left many disappointed (Already Pla

  March 20, 2009

• Slideshow: Slim Thug CD Release Party at Level

  Bill OliveDevin the Dude, Chamillionaire and lots more came out to downtown nightclub Level last night to salute Slim Thug at the release party for his latest CD, Boss of All Bosses. Bill Olive was on the scene - click here for a slideshow.

  March 25, 2009

• A New Class of Rappers Finally Bucked Houston's Syrupy Stereotype This Year

  It Is What It Is

  December 25, 2008

• Los Magnificos Car Show

  Web exclusive!

  November 20, 2008

• Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar Has an Open-Mike Night That Doesn't Suck?

  July 31, 2008

• Bun B's II Trill

  May 29, 2008

• Sayonara , Matt Sonzala

  Talking SXSW and rap's current malaise with a soon-to-be ex-Houstonian

  December 6, 2007

• Chamillionaire, Ultimate Victory

  CD Review

  October 4, 2007

• Local Motion

  August 2, 2007

• Lost in Rotation

  Rounding Up Recordings by HPMA Nominees

  July 26, 2007

• Houston Hip-Hop

  Mike Watts and his stable of northside rappers take a southside legend's style to the masses

  March 22, 2007

• SXSW Preview

  March 8, 2007

• That Was the Year That Was

  Looking back on the local scene in '06

  December 14, 2006

• Frankie J

  Priceless

  October 12, 2006

• Hip-hop as She Is Rapped

  Translating the German Wikipedia entries of Houston's top MCs

  June 22, 2006

• Bayou City Music Mindbender, Part II

  Another chance to test your knowledge of local lore

  January 12, 2006

• Base Raps

  Paul Wall and Chamillionaire each release Astros tributes, while rock radio churns out the cheesy montages

  October 27, 2005

• Low Ride, Take It Easy

  A trip to the Los Magnificos Car Show sets us to pondering why there can�t be a local rock equivalent

  November 10, 2005

• Where's the Beef? Right here in H-town

  T.I. and Lil' Flip rumble in Cloverland, bringing one of the great rap feuds of recent years to a head

  April 7, 2005

• How Long, Oh, Lord, How Long

  Another outpost of crap plops onto the Houston dial, as this open letter reveals

  September 30, 2004

• Five Spot: Chamillionaire, Consistent as Oatmeal

  Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It's five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com.For some reason, there was this kid that we went to middle school with who, despite only having said about four words to him ever, we never forgot. He was a burly, hard-looking kid named Detective Torres. Actually, his name was Jesse Torres, but everyone called him Detective To

  May 1, 2009

• Local Motion: Top Sellers at Cactus Music, Sound Exchange, Soundwaves, Sig's Lagoon and Vinal Edge

  Cactus Music 2110 Portsmouth, 713-526-9272 www.myspace.com/cactusmv1. Ryan Bingham, Roadhouse Sun 2. Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey & the Groo-Grux King 3. Steve Earle, Townes 4. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest 5. Elvis Costello, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane 6. Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Live at Madison Square Garden 7. Neil Young, Archives vol. 1 8. Crosby, Stills & Nash, Demos 9. Bob Dylan, Together Through Life 10. The Flatlanders, Hills & Valleys Sound Exchange 1836 Richmond, 713-666-5555 www.

  June 11, 2009

• The Big Tweet: What a Few of Rocks Off's Twitter Friends Are Up To

  Rocks Off is no less fascinated by the Twitter phenomena as when we began Twittering in earnest back in February. (We still prefer that to the other term for those 140-character-or-less updates, 'tweeting.') Since then, we've built up a Twitter-verse of about 420 'followers' and about 100 more 'followees' (or whatever you call them) and decided to put all that scrolling through their messages to good use. Every day, we'll bring you 10 or so of the funniest, silliest or even most useful Twee

  June 15, 2009

• Slide Show: Bun B and Friends at Warehouse Live

  Marco Torres A who's who of rap talent from both Houston (Devin the Dude, Lil' Flip, Paul Wall, Chamillionaire) and out of town (Lupe Fiasco, the Cool Kids) turned up at Warehouse Live Saturday, June 20, to help the one and only Bun B "Swang on 'Em" for a couple of hours. Photographer Marco Torres was in the thick of the action. UGK for life! Click here for the slideshow.

  June 22, 2009

• Burnin' for You

  June 25, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Archie Lee & Coota Bang, R.I.P. Michael, Lil Jon, Jae Millz, Drake, 50, Tupac, Chris Brown and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Down For My Block," Archie Lee and Coota Bang Wire To Wire Michael passed. Three thoughts: 1. Michael was one of the greatest, most innovative musicians of all time, loved immensely by (it seemed) the entire world for the better part of his youth. So we're very curious to see how much the molestation

  June 29, 2009

• Twitter Ticker: Musicians Love to Overshare

  It's amazing the things that people have to say in 140 characters or less. Some take forever to update their adoring public, about their lives while others tweet like it's about to go out of style. Do they not realize everyone can read these things? And that they are, more or less, setting themselves up for being the punchline in a joke about themselves? Apparently not. Though, for the most part, things have been quiet since Michael Jackson's funeral, the twitter-verse has is always buzzing from

  July 15, 2009

• Bayou Beat: Movie Night at the Mink, Scout Bar Beaumont Shut Down, Yeah Yeah Yeahs at ACL? and More

  Seems the Mink has found an old movie projector and is planning to put it to good use this evening. After a couple of Charlie Chaplin shorts, the bar will screen the superb 2007 documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and even provide free popcorn. "A makeout row can be provided on request," they add. Doors at 7; no cover. The Beaumont Enterprise reported today that Scout Bar Beaumont, the hard-rock hub of the Southeast Texas city's Crockett Street Entertainment District was shut dow

  July 21, 2009

• Aftermath: Trae Day (Pre-Shooting) at TSU Stadium

  [Note: These are the notes from Trae Day prior to that whole pesky "six people getting shot" thing. For more info on that, check out our reports here and here.]Photos by Henry Rizoh/ Click here for a slideshow  Aftermath and hip-hop blogger Rizoh from The Rap Up arrived nearly two hours after Trae Day was supposed to start, and we're still too early. There are maybe 200 people here. On the bright side, at least it's really hot. There are two ambulances parked near the entrance of the parkin

  July 23, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire & Z-Ro, UGK, Slim Thug, Trae Day, Chris Brown, Meth & Red, Diddy, MCA, O.G. Style and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Chamillionaire feat. Z-Ro, "Denzel Washington" Wire To Wire Slim Thugga cut off his braids. Not sure how we feel about that just yet. Check back with us next week. Been listening to UGK's Ridin' Dirty a lot lately. What Bun B does on "One Day," "Murder" and "Pinky Ring" might be the best three-song set

  July 28, 2009

• Twitter Ticker: Updates from Solange, Chamillionaire, Young Mammals, Fat Tony, Joe Mathlete, etc.

  Solange​We watched our pals @JanelleMonae @ofmontreal_fans tear up the stage before...and after...all sang "my jamaican guy" like we had one. 2:08 AM Jul 27 there was also a 4 year old glow-stick rave going on with Julezie & some other kids with Gracey dancing with a mannequin as the backdrop. 2:13 AM Jul 27 Chamillionaire​Man why everyone keeps talking about me cutting my hair today? I know I been low key but my hair been cut since before Obama got in office. 1:10 AM Jul 28 Everybody th

  July 29, 2009

• Five Spot: Chamillionaire's Mixtape Messiah 7

  Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It's five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com.​Say what you will about Chamillionaire's occasionally irritable nature, but the man is a great marketer. For those of you who don't feel the (sad) need to watch, chronicle and rank the moves of every Houston rapper and their inevitable pop-culture significance relative to ou

  August 7, 2009

• Ask a Rapper: Grammy-Winning Mixtape Messiah Chamillionaire

  The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email introducingliston@gmail.com. This Week's Rapper: Chamillionaire This Week's Subject(s): The currency rate of a Chamillion; Houston artists aiming for fans outside of Houston; the age-old question: did he ghostwrite for Paul

  August 18, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire, Kid Cudi & Jay-Z, Mike Epps, The Kanye, T.I., Chris Brown, DJ AM, Slim Thug, etc.

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Chamillionaire, "Good Morning" Wire To Wire Despite what you initially want to think about Cham's new single "Good Morning," it is very cool. We know people are going to try and hate on it like, "This sucks. Pimp C sampled 'Free Fallin'' like ten years ago." To which we'll reply, "Actually, it was thre

  September 8, 2009

• The H-Town Countdown, No. 15: Chamillionaire's Original Mixtape Messiah, or 20-Plus Ways to Dis Mike Jones

  Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. "You drop one track, he's still alive." - Chamillionaire, on why he aimed an entire dis album at Mike Jones rather than just one track Chamillionaire Mixtape Messiah (self-released - it's a mixtape, duh - 2005) For the most part, we've tried to avoid including mixtapes

  October 15, 2009

• The H-Town Countdown, No. 14: Trae's Restless

  Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Trae Restless (Asylum, 2006) ​Disclaimer: We dissected this album without referencing "Swang," the album's best song and possibly the finest representation of what it is that makes Trae Trae. We did this in part because we wanted to see if we could do it, but mostly be

  October 22, 2009

• The H-Town Countdown, No. 12: Street Military's Don't Give a Damn

  Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Street Military Don't Give a Damn (Wild Pitch, 1999)​Surprise. Kids, meet Street Military. If you know who they are, then you no doubt sing their praises at parties, business meetings, funerals, whatever. If you don't know who they are, don't feel too badly. They've som

  November 5, 2009

• Turning the Screw: ESG and Friends, Chamillionaire, Dustin Prestige, 50, Eminem, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Jeezy, Rihanna, Lil' Flip, etc.

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Break Dem Boys Off," ESG feat. Slim Thug and Big Hawk Wire To Wire Chamillionaire continues to market himself as one of the smarter rappers in Houston, speaks on independent promotion within the music industry at Stanford. The Single of the Week reminded us of the same-named song from Dallas' B. Hardy

  November 9, 2009

• The H-Town Countdown, No. 11: Z-Ro's Let the Truth Be Told

  Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Z-Ro Let the Truth Be Told (Asylum, 2005)​This is our second entry from Joseph McVey. He landed at the No. 20 spot with The Life of Joseph McVey, which, as we described in our write-up, "was important for one big, big reason: it represented the budding of the artist that Z-R

  November 12, 2009

• The H-Town Countdown, No. 10: OG Style's I Know How to Play 'Em!

  Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. OG Style I Know How to Play 'Em! (Rap-A-Lot/Priority, 1987) There are any number of reasons that you could point to as to why this album should've made the list. Here are a few: 1. It's one of the earliest Rap-A-Lot albums to be released, back before the label really got

  November 19, 2009