You can say that Chingy still “got it,” even after more than two decades since his breakthrough debut album, Jackpot, instantly solidified his status in the hip-hop history books. Today, as the older, wiser—and more muscular—rap superstar puts it, Chingy’s never actually lost a beat.
At age 44, Chingy’s still dropping tracks, like the recently released “Still Got it”—his syllabic sequel to 2003’s “Gettin’ It.” His latest work—Pick 3 Vol. 2—was just dropped on Nov. 15, just two months since Vol 1 hit the airwaves. Back to generating music at full speed, one of the main architects of the St. Louis rap scene is reacquainting himself with both lifelong fans and a new generation of hip-hop enthusiasts—this time as an independent artist.
“I don’t think I lost anything,” Chingy says. “A lot of people may have lost track of what’s been going on with Chingy—especially when you don’t have record labels behind you. But I’ve been doing the same things—putting out music and performing. I’m still doing everything I love to do. That hasn’t changed.”
In addition to his musical evolution, one noticeable change has been Chingy’s muscle growth. Fans who remembered a leaner Chingy collabing with Snoop Dogg and Ludacris on 2003’s “Holidae Inn” saw a thicker, more jacked version of the 40-something artist during his television performance with fellow St. Louisian Nelly at this year’s American Music Awards.
And while he’s proud to still show his onstage physique “to the ladies,” Chingy’s focus on his health is based on long-term performance, both in the gym and onstage.
“I get female fans who say, ‘You look even better than you did,’” the “Right Thurr” rapper says. “But it’s not just about big muscles, exercise keeps me healthy internally as well. I know for longevity, exercise is going to help—even on stage. To this day I’m performing like I’ve never performed before. I’m a new artist.”
His commitment to training dates back to the days of Ronnie Coleman gracing the Olympia stage. He admits his aesthetic ambitions were never to look freakishly enormous like his iron idols. Instead, staying strong, shredded, and athletic looking has always been his muscle-making motives.
He still hits the weights at least four to five days a week, but Chingy’s routine has now evolved beyond biceps and bench presses. Chingy, who’s been a vegan for well over a decade, has also implemented yoga and other mindfulness techniques into his daily plan. It’s the latest chapter of the star’s mindfulness evolution, and what he credits most with for being able to continue performing and dropping hits at a high level.
“I always have conversations with people, and they be like, ‘Man, how did you do this? And I’ll say mental discipline,” he says. “What are you trying to get, physically, mentally or spiritually? It’s always going to take that mental discipline to get it all done. “The outcome don’t happen unless you do the income.”
Chingy Once Curled for the Girls
Chingy says he’s been writing rhymes since the age of 6, using anything from a torn piece of paper to a napkin to jot down any idea. He says to this day many his original scribblings are still intact, although not necessarily in his possession.
“My little sister got the original lyrics of “Holidae In,” and she won’t give them to me,” he says. “She’s going to have to make me a copy.”
While his discography is filled with hip-hop classics, it’s safe to say Chingy’s fitness education came from studying the classic physiques he would find each month in Muscle & Fitness and other bodybuilding publications. From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Lou Ferrigno Lee Labrada to Ronnie Coleman, the physique photo shoots helped mold Chingy’s muscle-building mindset.
“Working out makes me happy,” he says. “I love working out. It starts my day.”
While admiring the mass monsters from a photographic standpoint, Chingy’s gym goals were much more modest: getting stronger while looking shredded enough to capture the attention of the female fans who showed up to his performances.
“I just wanted to make sure that I was healthy and had a nice physique to my liking,” he says. “Some of those guys were mutants—I had no desire to look like them. I just wanted a nice physique and be healthy—and let the ladies look.”
Chingy’s early training consisted of heavy lifting with the addition of some light sparring. In addition, he added kickboxing and mixed martial arts to his routine, working with former MMA fighter Jermaine Andre in St. Louis. “A lot of people didn’t know I kick-boxed, he says. “It wasn’t something I really wanted to get into, but I just wanted to learn it. I’m not really into fighting and all that. I try to stay away from that type of energy.”
Chingy 2.0 for 2024
Two decades later, Chingy’s training routine has become a little bit more refined. He’s placed a much heavier emphasis on wellness to even surpass the heavy weights that have helped him add nearly 35 pounds of muscle over the past two decades.
For starters, he’s swapped out the brutality of MMA for soothing daily doses of namaste, incorporating yoga and meditation into his regular wellness routine. As he puts it, adding daily mindfulness techniques is just as important as never skipping leg day. “People would be surprised that I do yoga,” he says. “I stretch a lot, which is my yoga practice. But where there’s mental discipline, there’s the meditation that disciplines the mind in some way. That’s how I get the mental clarity.”
He’s found a perfectly healthy balance of both. When he’s in the weightroom, Chingy sticks to his tried and true method of a two-on, one-off upper and lower-body split. Performing this twice a week still works, he says, so why mess with it.
There have been some subtle changes to his routine. At 44, he’s scaled back on using heavy dumbbells for upper body work. These days he utilizes machine work. He says he’s developed a fond admiration for Panatta’s line of equipment that his St. Louis gym uses. The new technology he says, still gives him the perfect old-school pec pump. “I like the Panatta machines,” he says. “They hit that center point of the muscle on a lot of the machines. They’re really good.
The set and rep schemes may differ according to how his body feels that morning. “If the energy level is high at that time, we’re going to rep out,” he says. “If it’s low, it might be a struggle to get a couple of reps.” But on any normal workout day, his routine, he says, regularly looks like this:
Day 1: Upper Body
- Machine chest press
- Lat pulldowns
- Biceps curls
- Dips
- Side laterals
On Day 2: Lower Body
- Reverse treadmill walk: 2 min.
- Quad Extensions’
- Calf raises
- Lying Leg curl
- Treadmill reverse walk at a 15 incline: 2 min. (“It really hits the quads and the hips,” he says.)
According to Chingy, looking good also requires eating good. He’s been vegan for more than 10 years, he says. He’s given up meat since 2011 and now relies on having one meal a day. It may sound unorthodox, Chingy says he gets by with rice or quinoa bowl with black beans and vegetables, and guacamole. It’s part of his mental discipline plan, which he says has been in successful in helping him overindulge over the years—with the exception of the occasional Ritz cracker.
“I feel great, and I think more people are starting to realize their health is wealth,” he says. “So you need to take care of yourself as a means to longevity live a prosperous, healthy life until you make that transition.”
Chingy’s Spiritual Journey
In 2014, XXL magazine crowned Chingy as the most fascinating rapper of his generation, and the title still applies today as Pick 3 Vol 2 is release. Part of the artist’s uniqueness has been unapologetic devotion to philosophy, and how as an independent artist—in which he’s now personally responsible for every detail of his music making business—he’s immersed himself even deeper into his spiritual journey.
“With a major record company behind you, you get the TV shows, the big performances and all the radio play,” he says. “Without a major label, you don’t get those. So you pretty much have to set the tone. So I’ve been grinding accordingly and doing all the things I can.”
If you ask Chingy about his curiosity in the cosmos—he’s studied astrology, astronomy, and even numerology—it’s been a part of his life since childhood. “I’ve always been one of those kids looking around, looking up at the sky and wondering, ‘What is this like? The sun is shining and the moon and stars and but what is this like?’ I’ve always been like this mystical kid, wanting to know what is existence and how we fit into it.”
Now, inspired by a wide-range of spiritual scholars and experts—from Osho to a Kabbalah rabbi, Chingy has found a way to channel his spirituality into his music.
His 2023 EP, “Chinglish,” is an example of how he continues to showcase his growth and evolution, as well as his signature pop-fun style that made him a household name since 2003. “You can hear a lot of the spiritual growth on there,” he says. “[Then] there’s songs that show I still like to have fun and enjoy music. I make music for everybody.”
At age 44, and with a new EP, Chingy is now proving that nothing was ever lost over the decades, and that anything is possible with a positive outlook on life. He’s still set on leaving lasting legacy with his music—for however long that takes. At the same time in his genuine quest to finding truth—through music, philosophy, and fitness—his ultimate goals is to make others feel good and treating them as he wants to be treated.
“This is what I was put here to do, and I’m gonna do that,” he says. “I’m just gonna try to live and enjoy myself till I transition on my deathbed. Hopefully I’m remember from these great records that I released, and just being a authentic individual and treating others as I want to be treated.”
