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Chingy Out To Prove Himself As A 'Hoodstar' With Jermaine Dupri, Tyrese

Timbaland drops beats, Three 6 Mafia add verses for September album.

LOS ANGELES -- There was magic when Chingy and Jermaine Dupri got together in the studio earlier this year -- it just waited until Chingy went home to come out.

"I don't know who I was writing the song for, but I was at home and I was singing the melody and I put it on record," Dupri recalled. "And Chingy and I had just worked together, so I called back like, 'I got another song for you,' and they ain't even want another song! But I sent the song to him, he put his vocals on it, sent it back, and I was like, 'That's the single. You gotta put that out first.' So it was definitely magic."

The song is called "Pullin' Me Back," and Chingy made it his new single -- after adding someone else to it.

"I thought Tyrese would be a good selection to get on the song, so I sent it to Tyrese and he did his part and it's a wrap," Chingy said.

A few months later, and "Pullin' Me Back" is #18 on Billboard's Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"It's [based on] an experience that I had, but it's just really about being in this industry and dealing with your maid or whatever, and vice versa," Chingy explained. "You gotta travel, you gotta go here, you gotta do this, gotta be handling your business, and the person just don't seem to get it, don't understand. You're trying to give her quality time, but your job consists of you working and being gone. So it can be good, it can be bad, but every time you find yourself trying to leave, you always go back."

"Pullin' Me Back" is the first single from Chingy's long-delayed third album, Hoodstar, due September 12. "Pullin' Me Back" had a lot of early competition before being chosen as the first single (see [article id="1517201"]"Chingy Set To Drop First Single From New LP -- Just Don't Tell Kwame"[/article]).

Dupri, Timbaland, Kwamé, Mannie Fresh, Pauly Paul and the Trak Starz contributed beats, and Three 6 Mafia, Choppa and Chingy's cousin Spiffy add verses.

Song titles range from "You's a Freak" to "Nike Aurrs and Crispy Tee's" to "Bounce That Thang Girl."

"I matured," Chingy said of how the album compares to 2004's Powerballin'. "I'm training my business mind right now. I'm trying to handle more of my business versus just being an artist and letting people handle my business for me, because ain't nobody gonna do it how you want it to be done unless you do it."

In June, Chingy had to deal with some business issues when a St. Louis man claimed the rapper breached a 1999 contract by signing with Ludacris in 2002 (see [article id="1533887"]"Chingy Should Pay For Signing With Ludacris, Lawsuit Claims"[/article]). That lawsuit is still in court.

Chingy also has a movie in the can, "The System Within," although no release date has been announced (see [article id="1507910"]"New Single Meant To Squash The Question: Whurr's Chingy?"[/article]).

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