When Chingy emerged from his red sedan, he was a jittery ball of energy. “Sound check,” he said authoritatively. His 40-person entourage followed him to the stage, head-bobbing attentively as he bounced from number to number in his energetic set. When he performed at the Chaifetz Arena Saturday, April 26, the St. Louis-native pulled audience members onstage, sprayed the crowd with water and let the light reflect off of his “fly kicks.” Somewhere in between, the “Right Thurr” singer had time for an exclusive interview with The University News.

You recently relocated to Atlanta, but you call St. Louis home. What’s it like to be home?
I’m back in St. Louis; it’s the hometown. It’s different because it’s home. St. Louis reacts to me well. I performed once for SLU and it was great. [Tonight] we got the country, rock and rap. All types of people in the crowd . I love SLU-I should have ended up at the college but I was out chasing the dream [laughs].

In interviews, you’ve said that your new work is digging deeper. What did that mean?
I was talking about songs like “Lovely Ladies,” about my grandmother, my mom and my sisters-showing appreciation to all the women in my life . My songs cover different topics in my life that really mean something [now].

How does it feel to perform to an audience full of college kids who are celebrating this new arena?
College people always have fun. Always. It turns into a party. I might even pull someone onstage. I’m gonna bring flyness to it-a lot of energy.

You listened to music in your car before rehearsals. Is that how you get your energy up?
It’s all about having fun. I listen to my new music and it inspires me to do my thing.