"One Call Away" is a song by American rapper

Chingy Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper. He toured as an opening act with fellow St. Louis rapper Nelly in 2002, and signed with Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' record label, D ...

, featuring actor

Jason Weaver Jason Michael Weaver (born July 18, 1979) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Marcus Henderson on The WB sitcom '' Smart Guy,'' Jerome Turrell on the short-lived sitcom '' Thea'' from 1993 to 1994, and the preteen Micha ...

singing the chorus, credited as J-Weav. It was released as the third and final single off Chingy's debut album, '' Jackpot'' (2003), on January 12, 2004. It was released through

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

Disturbing tha Peace Disturbing tha Peace Records (or DTP) is an American record label founded by rapper Ludacris, Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu, and Chaka Zulu's brother Jeff Dixon in 1998. History Beginnings Disturbing tha Peace was founded in 1998 by Christ ...

label. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, became a number-one hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart for three weeks, and peaked at numbers three and six on the ''Billboard''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

charts, respectively. It also reached the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. A video for the single (directed by

Erik White Erik White is an American music video director. In 2010, he made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy film ''Lottery Ticket'', starring rappers Bow Wow and Ice Cube. He appeared on the reality show competition '' The Glee Project' ...

) was released that featured actress

Keshia Knight Pulliam Keshia Knight Pulliam (born April 9, 1979) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. She landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992), and became the youngest person to ...

and streetball player Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion.

Critical reception

Matt Cibula of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

was positive towards "One Call Away", admiring Chingy for taking on a rap ballad saying "It’s kind of adorable that he’s talking to her on the phone about politics and life when he can’t be with her, and his voice gets all softened when he talks about her, and his homeboys call him weak when he gives her a kiss on the cheek, but he doesn’t care, because he knows that she’s always just one call away from him, and vice versa." In retrospect, however, the song has not fared as well; music critic Todd in the Shadows placed "One Call Away" at number 6 on his list of the "Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2004", citing the rapper's weak flow and poor lyricism in particular as dragging the song down.

Music video

Directed by

, the video takes place during autumn and follows Chingy going to the DTP Bank in his

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

, where he attracts the attention of a bank teller (played by actress

) by giving her his phone number along with the deposited money in a canister tube for her to have. Their relationship starts out slow with her hanging out with his friends in his apartment, she and her friends watching him play

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

to both of them going back to his apartment to get intimate with each other. The video features the chorus of "Chingy Jackpot" at the end. Streetball player Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion appears in the streetball scene in the video.

Track listings

US 12-inch single # "One Call Away" (edited radio version featuring J-Weav) # "One Call Away" (album version featuring J-Weav) # "One Call Away" (instrumental) # "Bagg Up" (edited version) # "Bagg Up" (album version) # "Bagg Up" (instrumental) UK CD single # "One Call Away" (featuring J-Weav) # "Bagg Up" European CD single # "One Call Away" (featuring J-Weav) – 4:36 # "Bagg Up" – 3:21 # "Chingy Jackpot" – 4:08 Australian CD single # "One Call Away" (edited radio version featuring J-Weav) – 4:18 # "Bagg Up" (edited version) – 3:21 # "

Right Thurr "Right Thurr" is the debut single of American rapper Chingy. Written alongside The Trak Starz. It was released on April 14, 2003, by Capitol Records, Priority Records, and Disturbing tha Peace as the lead single from his debut album, ''Jackpot (C ...

" (remix featuring

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

and

Trina Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...

) – 3:43 # "One Call Away" (instrumental) – 4:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2003 songs 2004 singles Capitol Records singles Chingy songs Contemporary R&B ballads Music videos directed by Erik White Song recordings produced by the Trak Starz Songs written by Chingy