Paul Slayton
(born March 11, 1981), [1] better known by his stage name Paul Wall
or "The People's Champ" is an American rapper. He is currently affiliated with Swishahouse Records, having released several albums under the label as well as
collaborating with other rappers signed to the label. He was formerly musical partners with rapper Chamillionaire releasing several collaborative albums including the independently released Get Ya Mind Correct
. In 2005, he was signed to Atlantic Records and became successful with his major-label debut The People's Champ
. Get Money, Stay True
followed in 2007. [2]
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PAUL WALL TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Paul Wall & That Mexican OT Tickets 3/13 | Mar 13, 2025 Thu, 9:00 PM | | Tacos and Tequila Festival: T.I., Lil Jon, Chingy, Paul Wall & Baby Bash Tickets 4/12 | Apr 12, 2025 Sat, 1:30 PM | | Tacos and Tequila Festival: T.I., Sean Kingston, Trick Daddy & B.O.B. Tickets 6/14 | Jun 14, 2025 Sat, 1:30 PM | | Rap Rewind: Ying Yang Twins, Paul Wall, Twista, Baby Bash & Yung Joc Tickets 6/27 | Jun 27, 2025 Fri, 7:00 PM | | Tacos and Tequila Festival: Ludacris, Timbaland, Trina, Trick Daddy & David Banner Tickets 9/20 | Sep 20, 2025 Sat, 2:00 PM | |
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Career
Wall graduated from
Jersey Village High School [3] and later studied
mass communications at the
University of Houston.
[4] After proposing to do promotions for Michael "5000" Watts' company,
Swishahouse, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall came to Watts' studio,
KBXX [5]. Paul & Chamillionaire convinced Watts to rap on his radio show and put the verses on one of his mixtapes. That mixtape was entitled,
Choppin Em Up Part 2
, which was released in mid 1999. The freestyle became so popular in the streets that Chamillionaire and Paul Wall became regular staples on Houston's mixtape circuit, appeared on several of Watts' mixtapes, and became permanent members of Swishahouse. Paul wall officially left his old underground group Meeshka Productionz, which still exists, with active members Finhum and Pooz.
[6]
After fellow member
Slim Thug left the label, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall followed suit and the two started their own group known as
The Color Changin' Click
(named after Chamillion's
Chameleon persona). Each successive mixtape released by The Color Changin' Click led to more business opportunities; the most notable of which being a contract to do a full album for Paid in Full Records. A one album contract was then negotiated between the Color Changin' Click and Paid in Full's label head, DJ Madd Hatta from 97.9 The Box, and the CCC's first album,
Get Ya Mind Correct
, would go on to sell over 200,000 copies. Wall's first music exposure came as a street team member on the Northwest side of Houston, promoting southern labels like
Def Jam Records,
Cash Money and
No Limit Records. He is also an accomplished and proficient mixtape and party DJ, known for producing mixtapes in the now well-known
screwed & chopped style, which was invented by the late
DJ Screw.
[7]
Paul Wall and
Chamillionaire were originally affiliated with Swishahouse Records, but left for Paid in Full Records a short time later. After several mixtape and independent releases including.
Get Ya Mind Correct
, the two parted ways, citing creative differences. Chamillionaire continued to release independent records, while Paul Wall returned to the Swishahouse fold. This move allowed him to appear on
Mike Jones' first commercially distributed single, "
Still Tippin'", from his first major label album
Who Is Mike Jones?
. The single is originally on Swishahouse's The Day Hell Broke Loose Part 2 aka Major Without A Major Deal, released in 2003, the album went on to sell over 500,000 copies two months after being released.
In 2005, Paul Wall released his debut release,
The People's Champ
, which debuted in #1 on
Billboard 200. The first single "
Sittin' Sidewayz" featuring
Big Pokey. The second single, "They Don't Know", featured
Bun B of
UGK, and the video version also featured
Mike Jones. The third single is "
Girl", receiving radio airplay and peaking at #35 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
[8] In
2007, Paul Wall released his second album
Get Money, Stay True
, which debuted in the #1 spot on the
Billboard Chart Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Paul Wall released the singles "
Break 'Em Off" featuring
Lil Keke and "
I'm Throwed" featuring and produced by
Jermaine Dupri.
Paul Wall was also featured on one episode of the podcast TAI...TV by the rock band
The Academy Is.
[9]
In
2007, Paul Wall appeared alongside other celebrities and regular people in the music video for Rockstar by
Nickelback. He also appears on Bermuda based reggae artist
Collie Budz' self-titled debut album.
[10]
Paul Wall is currently a member of the rap group
Expensive Taste with his good friends
Travis Barker and
Skinhead Rob (ex-
Transplants). The trio also collectively own a clothing line.
[11]
In the spring of 2008, Paul Wall joined
Strange Music recording artist
Tech N9ne on a nationwide tour, which also featured
Brooklyn rapper
ILL BiLL.
In the 2008 presidential campaign Wall spoke out in favor of candidate
Barack Obama. He was quoted in The Source magazine as saying "Barack seems to come off as a true leader for everyone, whereas most people campaigning, including
Hillary Clinton, seem to be just politicians. Barack seems to be genuine and sincere about his beliefs. He is selfless, while they are selfish. I'm gonna 'Barack the vote' this year and I've never voted before."
[12]
Fellow Houstonian and recording artist released a homage to Paul Wall and his jewelery partner Johnny Dang on his self-titled 2008 debut, entitled "Johnny and Paul."
Jewelry
Paul Wall is the part owner and proprietor of TV Jewelry with Johnny Dang in Houston.
[13] He was also featured in the
VH1 documentary
Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip-Hop
, while visiting
Sierra Leone, cautioning jewelers to check their source for diamonds.
[14] The store specializes in the production of
grills, silver, gold, or platinum caps and diamond inlays (usually
princess cut diamonds). Grills were a trend in the mid 2000s rap culture and have
even influenced its own song. "Grillz", by
Nelly featuring Wall along with
Ali and Gipp artists, where at one point Paul raps "Call me
George Foreman 'cause I'm sellin' everybody grills."
Discography
- 2004: Chick Magnet
- 2005: The Peoples Champ
- 2007: Get Money, Stay True
- 2009: Fast Life
Awards and nominations
- 2006: Ozone Awards
- *Won
in the categories of Taste Maker (style and trendsetter); Best Rap/R&B Collaboration (for "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper) (Remix)" by T-Pain featuring Twista, Pimp C, Paul Wall, R. Kelly, MJG, and Too Short); Best Rap Collaboration ("Holla at Me" by DJ Khaled featuring Lil' Wayne, Paul Wall, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, and Pitbull) [15]
- 2007: Grammy Awards
- *Nominated
for Best Rap Performance as a Duo or Group (for "Grillz" by Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp) [16]
References
- Paul Wall - Biography
- Paul Wall Biography
- Paul Wall (Paul Slayton)
- Paul Wall interview on AskMen.com
- Paul Wall World - Interview
- Chamillionaire 'The Sound of Revenge' album - MusicRemedy
- Paul Wall | New Music Release | Rapindustry.Com Promotion
- "The People's Champ" Charts & Awards - Singles. Allmusic: 2006
- Episode 14: Aust in Translation
- Collie Budz
- Travis Barker Gets Down With Paul Wall, Juelz Santana While Arm Heals
- ''The Source'' magazine, August 2008 issue
- Gold Teeth - Removable Diamond Gold Teeth and Diamond Jewelry by TV Johnny and Paul Wall
- Rock Docs | Get Info About the Bling\'d: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip Hop Episode, Find Info on the TV Show Online | VH1.com
- Kennedy, Keith. A Date with Destiny. TJsDJs.com.
[49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List - Field 7 (Rap)]