by Rashad Phillips
posted March 04, 2011
hiphopdx.com
To
celebrate his new-found independence, Chamillionaire returns back to his roots
with a free, digital release fans can have personalized if they choose to pay
for it.
After splitting from Universal in January, Chamillionaire is embracing a return
to independence with the digital release of Major Pain 1.5. In lieu of his shelved
Venom album, the tech savvy Houston-based rapper has been releasing free digital
offerings such as his recent batch of Playlist Poison tracks. On April 18, Cham
is offering another free digital album entitled Major Pain 1.5.
Taking an approach similar to Radiohead a few years ago, fans will be offered
the option of paying for a physical copy of the album. However, this is not
a “name your own price” affair, as interested parties will have
to pay $12. In return, the first 500 people to purchase the album get signed
copies, while the remaining 500 still get a physical copy. Chamillionaire’s
digital expertise led major labels such as Universal to initially seek him out.
And he was rewarded for his early adoption of the digital realm in 2006 by having
the most downloaded ringtone to date at the time. Ringtones of his song “Ridin’”
were downloaded over 3 million times, usually at $.99 each.
“I promised that once I got out my label situation I was gonna give you
more material and that’s’ what I’m gonna do,” Chamillionaire
wrote on his website. “Almost everyone knows Venom is not coming out anymore,
but Major Pain 1.5, Major Pain 2, and The Playlist Poison album will. Major
Pain 1.5 will be the first release of mixtape material that will lead up to
a real Playlist Poison album release. All the info about The Playlist Poison
album will be inside Major Pain 1.5 when you get it April 18. I "ll release more
Playlist Poison tracks leading up to the full album, but just know that the
album will be A FULL BODY OF NEW PLAYLIST POISON MATERIAL. Nothing but quality
all the way through. I know its been a rough road but just know that I "ve had
all my REAL fans in mind during every decision that I have made and now we can
finally get back on track. Looking forward to the future. Salute.”
"