Hoodstar is the third studio album by the hip hop artist Chingy, following the release of Powerballin'. Released on September 19, 2006, the disc is split into two sides with different musical styles. While the "Hood" segment has the tracks "Hands Up" and "Cadillac Door", "Star" has more uptempo and club-oriented tracks like "Brand New Kicks" and "Dem Jeans". The guest features are by Three 6 Mafia, Chopper and Chingy's cousin Young Spiffy. The album was produced by Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, the Trak Starz, Mannie Fresh, Mr. Collipark and the dance group Hoodstarz, among others. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 9 with first week sales of 77,000 copies in the US. It was certified Gold by RIAA for shipping over 500,000 copies in the US.[1]

Hoodstar
An image of a man standing in front of a gold brick wall with graffiti and the artist's name, wearing a black hoodie with the album title colored in red, and holding his right hand as a fist that shows a star ring.
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 19, 2006
Recorded2005–2006
GenreHip hop
Length51:27
LabelCapitol
Producer
Chingy chronology
Powerballin'
(2004)
Hoodstar
(2006)
Hate It or Love It
(2007)
Singles from Hoodstar
  1. "Pullin' Me Back"
    Released: July 21, 2006
  2. "Dem Jeans"
    Released: August 8, 2006

Singles

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The first official single was "Pullin' Me Back", featuring the R&B singer/actor Tyrese. The second single was "Dem Jeans", featuring Jermaine Dupri.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic41/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Blender     [4]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[5]
Los Angeles Times    [6]
PopMatters          [7]
RapReviews7/10[8]
Rolling Stone     [9]
Spin6/10[10]
Vibe     [11]
XXLM[12]

Hoodstar garnered mixed reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 41, based on 11 reviews.[2]

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews commended the production and featured guests for providing appeal for Chingy, despite an overreliance on his St. Louis accented gimmick to overcompensate for his lack of charisma, concluding that "You can call it silly if you like, but you can't say that Chingy hasn't found a niche and laid fucking DEEP in its cut. As such I suspect Hoodstar will be another successful album for the man with pennies in his name, regardless of critical acclaim. He'll keep on reppin' St. Louis to the death and you can't fault him for that."[8] Thomas Golianopoulos of Spin said of the record, "Despite Chingy’s love for sneakers, freaky girls, and packed dance floors, the most memorable songs on his third album are decidedly buzz killers: "Pullin' Me Back" is a gloomy breaking-up-is- hard-to-do anthem crafted by superproducer Jermaine Dupri, and on the surprisingly candid "Cadillac Door," the St. Louis rapper laments lost friends. Of course, sandwiched between the two is the more familiar "Dem Jeans," an ode to, yup, women in tight jeans."[10] Julianne Shepherd of Vibe wrote that: "Occasionally, his drawled vernacular and sleepily melodic flow can compensate for his lack of thematic range (the holy trinity of kicks, chicks, chains), but generally, Chingy is blank, as flat as tap water."[11]

Jon Caramanica, reviewing for Blender, found the album inconsistent throughout its track listing and caused Chingy to run out of steam musically, concluding that, "At his best, Chingy raps in a whimsical tone that becomes a melodic element in its own right, and he delivers the odd sharp pick-up line: "I bet you had to jump up and down just to put 'em on," he leers on "Dem Jeans." But mostly he just sounds bored, a pretty boy tired of being denied his inner turmoil."[4] Clover Hope of Billboard said that despite some early cuts and "a few catchy club tracks," she criticized Chingy for remaining in his "stale comfort zone" and delivering basic lyricism, calling Hoodstar "a middle-of-the-road rap record."[13] Michael Harris of XXL criticized the record for its continued use of the typical hip-hop formula and Chingy's persona for delivering generic party tracks, concluding that "Although Chingy isn't ready to cash out just yet, Hoodstar, is another losing hand."[12] Hua Hsu of Rolling Stone found the album to be more of the same from Chingy's previous efforts but found him being overshadowed by the guest artists instead of being on the same level.[9]

Track listing

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Hood Side
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Intro (Rid'in Wit Me)"Vudu1:46
2."Hands Up"Poli Paul4:38
3."Club Gettin' Crowded" (featuring Three 6 Mafia)DJ Paul & Juicy J4:35
4."Nike Aurr's & Crispy Tee's"Poli Paul3:46
5."Bounce That"The Trak Starz3:53
6."Cadillac Door" (featuring Midwest City)Poli Paul3:40
Star Side
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
7."Dem Jeans" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)Jermaine Dupri3:49
8."Pullin' Me Back" (featuring Tyrese)Jermaine Dupri3:54
9."U a Freak (Nasty Girl)" (featuring Kanary Diamonds)Mr. Collipark4:07
10."Brand New Kicks" (featuring Mannie Fresh)Mannie Fresh4:31
11."Ass N Da Aurr" (featuring Young Spiffy)Sanchez4:05
12."Let Me Luv U" (featuring Keri Hilson)Timbaland4:55
13."Let's Ride" (featuring Fatman Scoop)Kwame3:48
Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
14."How We Roll" (featuring Chopper Young City)The Trak Starz3:58
15."All We Do Is This"The Trak Starz4:08

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Hoodstar
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ a b "Reviews for Hoodstar by Chingy". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  3. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Hoodstar - Chingy". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon. "Chingy - Hoodstar". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  5. ^ Dombal, Ryan (September 15, 2006). "Hoodstar Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  6. ^ Quinones, Ben (September 17, 2006). "Fergie is down with dirty". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  7. ^ Schiller, Mike (November 1, 2006). "Chingy: Hoodstar". PopMatters. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (September 26, 2006). "Chingy :: Hoodstar :: Capitol Records/EMI". RapReviews. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Hsu, Hua (September 29, 2006). "Chingy: Hoodstar". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Golianopoulos, Thomas (October 18, 2006). "Chingy, 'Hoodstar' (Capitol)". Spin. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ a b Shepherd, Julianne (September 20, 2006). "Chingy 'Hoodstar'". Vibe. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Harris, Michael (September 25, 2006). "Chingy Hoodstar". XXL. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Hope, Clover. "Hoodstar". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  14. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. October 1, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "Lescharts.com – Chingy – Hoodstar". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. ^ "フッドスター リミテッド・エディション" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  17. ^ "Charts.nz – Chingy – Hoodstar". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Chingy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "Chingy Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Chingy – Hoodstar". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
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