Entertainment
Chamillionaire brings hip-hop music to India

New Delhi, (PTI): The name Hakeem Seriki is sure to elicit a blank from most people in the country, but 'Ridin Dirty' or 'Chamillionaire' evokes a burst of fast-paced rhyming words from young music lovers who nod rhythmically to beats of music popularly known as hip-hop.

This Grammy award winner was in the capital recently after stop-bys at Mumbai and Hyderabad as part of his India tour to promote his second album 'Ultimate Victory.'

True to rapper conventions, the singer is recognised more by the moniker, pronounced 'Kuh-millionaire, which he says means "rich in style," perhaps indicative of the music he has been associated with.

One of the best-selling artistes in the US, this Houston rapper, who says he was not permitted to listen to hip-hop at home while growing up, began performing in the streets of Texas.

Teaming up with a friend he found that his audiences started swelling and soon he was a name to reckon with. "I began rapping in 1998 mixing for style and the build-up was gradual, more people started coming to watch and the area started getting bigger and bigger," Chamillionaire told PTI before his performance here last week.

In India for the first time, he says, "the crowds are a lot better than expected. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm among them."

"My music is for who you can be rather than who you are or what you do. It is about whom you choose to follow. I hope it motivates the young people," he added.

Entertainment

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