New York (Top40 Charts/ OGPR) - Few artists have embraced the monster that is the internet and its abundance of social networking tools quite as comprehensively as Platinum, Grammy-winning rap artist, Chamillionaire; using it to engage with fans for everything from Twitter takeovers to live broadcasts from his own highly trafficked site, Chamillionaire.com. Last week saw him go out to his legions of fans visiting the site daily and asking for their input in renaming his upcoming Chamillitary/Universal Republic third album release, which had originally been titled 'Venom'; a name
Chamillionaire felt he should change as the growth and direction of the album's intended tracks, to him, no longer fit the moniker. Thousands submitted title suggestions and after narrowing it down,
Chamillionaire put his top ten picks up for a vote on his site. To his surprise, his original album title 'Venom' won by an overwhelming margin and, a man of his word, the newly-entitled, highly anticipated 'Venom' is set to hit stores nationwide December 8, 2009.
'I wanna show all of my haters love. This song's for you�,' Chamillionaire sings melodically on the intro to Venom's lead single, 'Good Morning'. Produced by DJ Frank E., with a track inspired by Tom Petty's 1989 smash, 'Free Fallin' ', this ode to killing your naysayers with kindness feels as comfortable as an old friend and fits seamlessly into any Top 40 radio playlist. In fact, the single has already found a home on many Top 40 stations since being serviced earlier this month.
As far as other possible singles or artist features on 'Venom' go, Chamillionaire is keeping that information pretty close to the vest, saying cryptically on his site's blog, 'Venom stands for 'visually entertaining negatives of money'. I plan to shoot visuals to accompany the leakage of multiple records. I won't be talking too much about features and producers. Well, at least I will try not to. The visuals should do the talking.'
Plans for the first of these visuals, the music video for 'Good Morning' are already in the works with a shoot expected in Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks.
About Chamillionaire
Hailed around the world for his major label platinum-plus debut smash album, The Sound of Revenge, the disc became one of the most influential hip-hop records in 2006, with the versatile Chamillionaire emerging as a mainstream multi-platform entrepreneur. The single and video for 'Ridin' featuring Krayzie Bone' became the most requested hip-hop anthem, soaring to the top of the urban, hip-hop and mainstream radio charts, almost single-handedly transforming the digital landscape.
Chamillionaire was crowned the biggest selling Ringtone artist ever, with over 5 million ringtone sales, and was certified by the RIAA as the first multi-platinum Mastertone artist in history. His Myspace site has exceeded 15 million profile views, earning him over 4 million in digital sales, outselling established stars such as Nelly and T.I.
In keeping with the outpouring of recognition, the charismatic performer beat out proven superstars 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and others for Best Rap Video of the Year honors for the groundbreaking 'Ridin'' video, featuring Krayzie Bone, at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
In addition, the Houston rapper won 'Rookie of the Year' and the prestigious 'Alltell Wireless People's Champ Award' (viewer's choice) at the first ever BET Hip Hop Awards, as well as a nod at the American Music Awards for Favorite New Breakthrough Artist.
In February 2007, Chamillionaire received his first Grammy Award win in the Best R&B Performance By Duo Or Group category for 'Ridin'.'
In 2007, Chamillionaire released his sophomore effort, Ultimate Victory which debuted in the Top 10 of the Top 200 Sales Chart and was critically acclaimed as one of the best hip hop albums of the year.
