Chinga Chang Records is a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based independent

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

label. Founded by CEO Dan Herman in 2003, Chinga Chang has released music by artists including

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

and

Lil Scrappy Darryl Raynard Richardson III (born January 19, 1984), professionally known as Lil Scrappy, is an American rapper. Richardson was discovered by producer and performer Lil Jon while performing at a bar in their respective hometown of Atlanta. A ...

, including the Kool G Rap album '' Half a Klip'' in 2007. The label has also released two mixtapes, which include previously unreleased music by artists such as

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup The Hrsmn, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is als ...

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...

, and

Sean Price Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock. Early life and edu ...

History

Early years

Chinga Chang Records was founded as a boutique hip hop label in 2003, by

native Dan Herman, also known as DMAK. Herman, then only 18 eventually established offices in Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida. In July 2006, the label released its first single, "Meal of the Day", by company artist Temp, which became popular in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

. The label then released the mixtape ''Chang Gang Vol. 1: Stackin' Euros'', which included then unheard tracks from artists including

, and

. Each track from the album had a video made along with it, including one for Price's song "Ground Wit Ur Niggazz", shot in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant and the subsection of ...

. Also in 2006, CEO Herman signed

. According to ''

Hip Hop Weekly ''Hip Hop Weekly'' is an American hip hop news and entertainment magazine founded in 2006. The magazine covers celebrity news, music, film, fashion, sports and features exclusive interviews with many notable figures within popular culture. His ...

'', Chinga Chang "helped resurrect the career of Kool G Rap by backing the hip hop icon’s first studio disc in nearly a decade". Kool G Rap's album '' Half a Klip'' was produced by

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

, who is associated with the label, and had vocals by actress

Haylie Duff Haylie Katherine Duff (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Sandy Jameson in the television series '' 7th Heaven'', Amy Sanders in ''Lizzie McGuire'' and Summer Wheatly in ''Napoleon Dyn ...

. A month later Herman signed a distribution deal for the album with

Koch Entertainment Koch Entertainment was an American record label and a distributor of film, television, and music. It was purchased by Canadian entertainment company ROW Entertainment in 2005. History First years The company began in 1975 as part of Koch Inte ...

. In June 2007, the label released the mixtape ''The Official Joints LP'' via digital download, which included unreleased music by artists such as

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), better known by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. A lead member of Mr. Magic's hip hop collective Juice Crew, he is best known for his guest appearance alo ...

, J Live,

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Beatnuts The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernandez ...

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

, KRS-One, and Big Pun. The first single off the album, Rakim's "Original Style", was also made into an unreleased cartoon.

Later signings

In June 2013, it was announced that former

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

actress

Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress. Bynes began her career as a child actor, appearing on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series '' All That'' (1996–2000) and its spin-off series '' The Amanda Show'' (1999–2002). ...

had been offered a record deal by Chinga Chang, after Herman cleared the idea with The Orchard and

Sony Entertainment Sony Entertainment, Inc. is the umbrella entertainment division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by its American subsidiary, established in 2012 to oversee the corporation's ventures in film, televisio ...

. According to Herman, he retracted the offer after Bynes failed to show up to a meeting with

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

. Herman instead signed the artist D Rock Starr, who had previously provided the hook for the track "I Feel Bad for You Son" on '' Half a Klip''. D Rock's first single on Chinga Chang was "Sour Patch Kid", a diss track to Bynes. In October 2013, Chinga Chang signed the rap group G4 Boyz, with distribution provided through

. Also that month Chinga Chang signed Philadelphia rapper Cassidy, with Wyclef and

slated to help with Cassidy's next album; however, a few weeks later the deal fell through, with Herman quoting artistic differences. Herman instead signed Atlanta-based rapper

Lil' Scrappy Darryl Raynard Richardson III (born January 19, 1984), professionally known as Lil Scrappy, is an American rapper. Richardson was discovered by producer and performer Lil Jon while performing at a bar in their respective hometown of Atlanta. A ...

on November 1, 2013. Scrappy's first single, "They Hate Me" featuring

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), better known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 1997, formed the hip hop collective UTP with Juvenile and Soulja Slim in 2000, and j ...

, was released on December 5. His solo album ''Reparations'' is meant to be released in Spring 2014, with a distribution deal by Sony. Another early single from ''Reparations'', "Juicy On My Mind", was also released in December 2013. A new album by Drock Star was announced for September 15, 2014, titled ''American Dream''. Atlanta-based rapper 9Gotti signed to the label on May 20, 2014, after releasing a single on the label a week earlier.Witness Music Video: 9Gotti
/ref> Around July 2013,

TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...

reported that

Michael Lohan Michael John Lohan (; born April 25, 1960) is an American television personality, best known as the father of actress Lindsay Lohan. Early life Michael Lohan is the oldest of four children born to Marilyn (née Desiderio) (1942–2020) and Richa ...

had brokered a deal with Herman for a recording contract for

Ali Lohan Aliana Taylor "Ali" Lohan ; born December 22, 1993) is an American singer, actress, model and television personality. She is the younger sister of actress and singer Lindsay Lohan. Early life Lohan was born in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, on ...

. The deal had ended after Michael Lohan allegedly threatened Herman with violence.

Artists

;Current artists *D Rock Star *KoolK (Devine Hendricks) * King Joe *

*Rych *9Gotti ;Previous artists *Temp *

* Cassidy

Discography

Albums

*2006: ''Chang Gang Vol. 1: Stackin' Euros'' by Various Artists (

, and

) *2007: '' Half a Klip'' by

*2007: ''The Official Joints LP'' by Various Artists (

, J Live,

, and

) *2014: ''Reparations'' by

*2014: ''Potential Genius'' by Rych *2020: ''Walk By Faith'' by ELCAMINO

Singles

*2006: "Meal of the Day" by Temp *2013: "Sour Patch Kid" by D Rock Star ft. DMAK *2013: You Only Live Once" by D Rock Star *2013: "They Hate Me" by

ft.

*2013: "Juicy On My Mind" by

*2014: "Strange Fruit" by King Joe *2014: "Witness" by 9Gotti *2014: "Imagination" by Rych *2014: "Need I Say More" by Rych

References

External links

* {{Authority control American independent record labels American hip-hop record labels

History

Early years

Later signings

Artists

Discography

Albums

Singles

Further reading

References

External links