Many thought Chingy would be a one-hit-wonder after his chart-topping debut single, “Right Thurr” in 2003. The rapper formerly signed to Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace label proved naysayers wrong with his next hit, “Holidae In.” The song was named after the hotel chain, but he claims he’s never repped the benefits of its success.
Despite ‘Holidae In” reaching gold status in 2005, Chingy said he’s never been offered a free room at a Holiday Inn.
He told HipHopDX, “We tried to work with them when I came out with that song. I’m pretty sure I made them millions, I’m pretty sure I made them a lot of money. They wouldn’t work with us. They wouldn’t work with us.”
“Holidae In” was featured on Chingy’s debut album, “Jackpot.” The song and video detail a wild night of partying at a hotel with Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, who were both featured on the track.
“That song is true. We used to kick it at the Holiday Inn,” said Chingy. “We used to throw parties there. Play dominos, play spades, and drinking, and smoking and s—. We really used to do that. So we wrote a song about it, but they done messed with us.”
The St. Louis native shared that he crossed paths with a woman who did marketing for Holiday Inn back in 2011. Apparently, she seemed interested at first, but nothing came to fruition.
Chingy has always believed his song “Holidae In” resurrected the hotel’s brand and name back then. In a 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly he said, “It was like my ability of making hit songs was undeniable at that point.”
The 42-year-old expressed how unfortunate it was they were never able to collaborate.
“I guess they didn’t want to do it, which I think was probably their loss,” he said at the time. “Well, I’m not going to say their loss; they capitalized, just in a different way. To this day, people stay at the Holiday Inn based off that song.”
