Houston's Chamillionaire rides free

And then, as if to remind viewers that he's still an artist, he dropped one of the hottest verses of his career, a preview of the then-upcoming "Slow City Don." In it, he charged his rivals with being sweeter than Chik-fil-A lemonade and talked about "giving away vehicles like Oprah" and owning "more heat than Pat Riley." To some, Chamillionaire's departure from Universal may have looked like he made it to the majors and found them too formidable. But in the throes of his a capella verse (less a sample and more the entire song minus a few lines), he looked like a man unshackled, both as an artist and entrepreneur.

With such a spearheading, it's no wonder then that Chamillionaire dropped four mixtapes in 2011 — his Major Pain 1.5 and three volumes in his Baddazz Freemixes series. Meanwhile, he visited the Middle East in November to perform for troops and shoot a music video. Since October, he's regularly updated his fan hub chamillionaire.com, answering listeners' questions and discussing current events, everything from the Conrad Murray verdict to Michael Jordan siding with owners in the NBA lockout (as a player, Jordan was a key figure in a lockout over similar disputes in 1998). Chamillionaire's next disc, Poison, is slated for 2012.

Interesting title.

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