First Single, “Balla Baby,” Climbs Radio Charts As Video Is Added At MTV and BET; November 5 “Tonight Show” Performance First Of Seven Scheduled TV Appearances

Triple Platinum rapper Chingy is joined by a stellar crew on his sophomore album, Powerballin’, which will be released by Capitol Records on November 16. Janet Jackson, Lil’ Wayne, David Banner, Nate Dogg, R. Kelly, G.I.B., Bun B and Ziggy are among the artists featured on the St. Louis-based rapper’s follow-up to his debut album, Jackpot, which entered the Billboard Top 200 at #2 in mid-2003 and is still charting as a Top 40 Rap album.

In just two weeks, “Balla Baby,” Powerballin’s lead single, has reached an audience of 20 million. It’s in the Top 25 at Top 40 Rhythmic radio, and Top 40 Mainstream stations are jumping on the track well in advance of the mid-October add date at that format. The accompanying video has just been added by BET and goes into rotation this week at MTV after debuting on TRL on September 23. It was directed by Jeremy Rall (Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Bennie Man, Floetry) and features a guest appearance by David Banner.

A “Balla Baby” ring tune was made available to all EMI-approved wireless carriers three weeks prior to the radio add date. Capitol is the first major label to release a ring tune to Mobile Service Providers (MSPs) before street date. A special “Balla” edition of the CD with three extra tracks and a bonus 30-minute DVD documentary will be available at retail for a limited time.

Chingy will kick off a series of seven television appearances with a performance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on November 5. Also scheduled are “Showtime at the Apollo” (11/13), “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (11/16), “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (both airing on 11/23), “Last Call with Carson Daly” (11/26) and “Soul Train” (12/.