NEW YORK, NY (Atlantic Records) - "THE PEOPLES CHAMP," the new album from SwishaHouse/Asylum recording artist Paul Wall, is this week's undisputed chart champion, making a triumphant debut in the No 1 spot on the Billboard 200. The Houston-based rapper's highly anticipated major label debut also scores a career best, with first-week sales of over 176,000 copies.
"I am thrilled that so many people are realizing Paul Wall's talent," said Todd Moscowitz, President of Asylum Records. "Our ability to identify and partner with some of the leading urban labels in the industry and help them take their artists to the next level truly validates the incubator initiative and the value that these partnerships create for everyone involved. First, Mike Jones, then Webbie, now Paul Wall, it's been a great year for Asylum Records."
The initial limited edition two-CD release of "THE PEOPLES CHAMP" features a bonus "Chopped & Screwed" CD. "Chopped & Screwed" is the innovative sound that puts a hip-hop groove to a slower pace by pitching down the mix until a lumbering, often eerie, tone is achieved. Wall, a master of the technique, has Chopped & Screwed such albums as T.I.'s "URBAN LEGEND" and the Transplants' "HAUNTED CITIES."
A star-studded group of Wall's colleagues make special guest appearances on "THE PEOPLES CHAMP," including Kanye West, T.I., Lil' Wayne, Mike Jones, Trey Songz, BG, and others. The album's first single, "Sittin' Sidewayz," features original Screwed Up Clique member Big Pokey and pays homage to both the Screw legacy as well as Wall's hometown, Houston.
"Sittin' Sidewayz" has already made a name for itself on MTV -- where Wall charmed audiences on TRL just prior to the release of "THE PEOPLES CHAMP" -- as well as on BET and FUSE. The video has just been added to MTV, is in Elite 8 rotation on MTV2 -- where it has been the No 1 most-played video for three weeks in a row, and was named "Oven Fresh" on Fuse. Wall has been featured on MTV's "10 Spot Drop"; MTV2's "Sucker Free Sunday," "$2 Bill," and "2 Way" promotion; and BET's "106 & Park" -- where he performed in early September and his video has been a staple on the "106 Countdown" -- as well as "Access Granted." "THE PEOPLES CHAMP" was also premiered on "The Leak" on MTV2, MTV Jams, and mtv.com, and via a BET "Listening Party."
Wall has already garnered much critical praise for "THE PEOPLES CHAMP." New York's Daily News wrote that Wall is "the most credible, deeply embedded-in-the-hip-hop-community, Caucasian rapper since Slim Shady himself," while VIBE believes that among all Houston rappers on today's scene, "Paul may be the one to rise above the rest."
Wall's lyrics throughout "THE PEOPLES CHAMP" portray a life of hustling unlike any other rapper on the scene. On the track entitled "Trill," Wall raps: "Trill is when you hustle/Trill is when you grind/Trill is when you punch in that clock overtime/Trill is when you keep it real 100 percent/Hold it down for your team, run your game full sprint."
"My music is about hustling, not just hustling in terms of the block," explains Wall. "It's music that inspires you to go out there and get it -- doing whatever you gotta do."
Now that's a number one champ!
