Paul Wall

Houston rapper Paul Wall’s commercial success brought nationwide attention to his city’s signature chopped and screwed sound. • By working on promotional street teams for labels like Cash Money, Wall hustled his way into the music industry at the age of 14. • Wall’s promotions efforts led him to the Houston indie label Swishahouse, where he convinced founder Michael “5000” Watts to let him and his close friend Chamillionaire rap on his radio show. • In 1999, Swishahouse released Choppin Em Up Part 2, a mixtape featuring verses from Wall and Chamillionaire. This made them artists to watch on the Houston mixtape scene. • The two left Swishahouse to form the group The Color Changin’ Click, but Wall returned in time to drop a verse on Houston rapper Mike Jones’ 2004 debut single, “Still Tippin’.” • Wall signed to Atlantic Records for his 2005 debut, The People’s Champ. The critically celebrated album topped the Billboard 200, earning platinum sales and spawning two gold singles. • A big fan of the dental jewelry known as grillz, Wall partnered with jeweler Johnny Dang to open TV Jewelry, a shop that crafted grillz for Lil Jon, T.I., and Diddy.