Paul Wall

Paul Wall is proof that being a street team member can pay off and then some. A hip-hop obsessive from an early age, his entry into the music business as a whole came when he was 14 years old and he started doing promotional work for Michael "5000" Watts' record label, Swishahouse. As he approached the end of his teenage years he began rapping himself, regularly collaborating with Chamillionaire and recording any raps that he came up with. At the end of 1999, he convinced Watts to let him and Chamillionaire rap on his radio show, and the resulting freestyle was so good that it essentially made both of their careers.

Their freestyle appeared on one of Watts’ mixtapes, entitled “Choppin Em Up Part 2”, and both rappers were formally signed to Swishahouse for future releases. However, after Slim Thug left the label Wall and Chamillionaire both left with him and they formed their own duo called The Color Changin’ Click. They began releasing their own line of massively acclaimed mixtapes and they eventually inked a record deal with Paid In Full Records, who released their debut album “Get Ya Mind Correct” in 2002. The duo split soon after this but both would go on to have massively succesful solo careers, with Wall’s solo success coming in 2005 with the release of his debut album “The People’s Champ”.

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, knocking Kanye West’s “Late Registration” off the top spot at the same time. Its lead single “Sittin’ Sidewayz” was also a slow-burning hit, stalling at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 but was eventually certified Gold. He was the featured collaborator on Nelly’s 2005 number one hit “Grillz”, however, and ever since then he’s been one of the most beloved names in southern hip-hop. While he might not have achieved the success of some of his peers he’s still massively acclaimed by all who know him, and can blow the roof of any venue he plays in to boot. To this day, he comes highly recommended.