Charles Hamilton, American rapper
Charles Eddie-Lee Hamilton, Jr. (born November 10, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer In addition to his solo career, he was a former member of The Chosen Few, and was also a member of the Lupe Fiasco's All City Chess Club. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, Hamilton signed to independent record label Demevolist Music Group. In 2008, Hamilton released a series of mixtapes entitled The Hamiltonization Process, and on December 8, 2008, Hamilton independently released his debut album entitled The Pink Lavalamp.
Hamilton gained major recognition after being featured on the cover of the XXL's 2009 Freshmen Class issue and signing an undisclosed million dollar distribution record deal with Interscope Records, in 2008. Hamilton was due to release his major-label debut album for Interscope entitled This Perfect Life but, in late 2009, due to Hamilton's undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time, he became a frequent source of controversy and public scrutiny for his conduct on social media and in public settings, causing Hamilton to be dropped from the record label.
In 2010, Hamilton signed a new record deal with NewCo Records and was due to release a new debut album entitled My Heart, but for unknown reasons Hamilton left the label and shelved the album. Through 2011–14, Hamilton began to independently release mixtapes, frequently from his personal blogs, and also had much of his unreleased shelved musical projects leak online.
In early 2015, Hamilton signed new record deals with Turn First Records and Republic Records. In 2014, Hamilton released an EP entitled The Black Box. Hamilton released his debut major-label album entitled Hamilton, Charles in 2016. In 2015, Hamilton made a musical cameo in the hip hop TV show Empire.