Well.. I started off calling myself "Imperial Dukes" and that just didn't feel right to me because when we were at shows I got my boys calling me "Imperial" and that just didn't sit right with me so I just flipped it to "Chadd Dukes." My first name is Chad anyway and my father's last name was Dukes so I just added a "D" to Chad and threw my father's last name on there and kept it pimpin!

I have done shows in West Germany and Luxembourg. I have done shows in the states but that was when I was like 14 or 15. I haven't done anything in the states yet .. I guess I am just waiting for the right opportunity. I love performing live shows. I like getting the crowd response. My favorite moment was doing an afterparty for the Anger Management Tour when it came through Koln, Germany. I was throwing out my t-shirts and signing autographs... it was great!

It is positive for the consumer because they can choose specific tracks off of an album instead of wasting all of their money and buying a worthless CD. From an artist's point of view I think it makes us have to put out quality material to earn the whole retail price for the CD. Good luck to everybody!

I would still sign if they will stipulate that I keep my master's and my publishing because I have invested 100% in this album so far so I will not allow someone to step in and take everything I have worked so hard for. Especially if I am confident and I know that I will be a solid earner for a label.

Born in 1981 from the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, by way of San Antonio, Texas comes the Premier Artist of the South…… Chadd Dukes. This artist embodies the true essence of the “New South” movement with every single released into the public’s hands. With hard-hitting 808 drum patterns illuminating hard driven tracks the album “No Love Shown” will quickly become a classic throughout the South.

Chadd Dukes, born Chad Kontogeorgis, had an interest in music since birth. Born into a poverty stricken environment, losing his father at three years old, he was forced to be a product of a single parent household at an early age. Under these conditions he developed ways of occupying his mind and enhanced his creativity. While his mother did her best providing for the home, the television became a baby-sitter for the children.
Shows like “Good Times”, “The Jeffersons”, and other similar series became daily staple.
But of all this, music was the only thing that could satisfy the young child.

From childhood through adolescence, the power of music heavily influenced this artist.

“People like ‘Pac, ‘Face, Snoop, Dre… They all influenced me. I looked at each of them as an inspiration because if they could do it, then I could do it. And I felt that in some cases, I felt that some of the things they were doing, if I had the chance, I could do it better.”

All throughout his teenage years, this artist began penning song after song, learning the art of songwriting from studying the lyrical form of his idols. Then in September 1996, at the height of the East Coast – West Coast beef, the death of Tupac Shakur added fuel to the flame that was slowly igniting inside the now sixteen year old.

“I remember I was standing in the living room of the two bedroom apartment that Me, my mom, and my sister lived in, in San Antonio, TX. Me and my girl at the time and a few other people were just chillin and then that sh*** popped up on the TV that ‘Pac had died. The f***ed up part was that I liked Juice, I felt Poetic Justice, and at the time I was basically dissecting “All Eyez on Me”, I mean at that moment I had the sh*** in my CD player, it was a trip man.” But his death made me just turn into a historian on this nigga. I was f***ed up off that because I was intrigued with this dude and his work ethic and now I was automatically cut off.”

The tragedy exploded the artist into an all-out assault into the rap game. While working at a telemarketing company, a break-time impromptu freestyle session, turned into the forming of the “Outlaw Clik” with cousin Martin Dukes and friend Rogen Jefferson. Then, after seeing little progress in life and in music, he proceeded to focus on the future. After graduating from high school, he then joined the Air Force and after a brief stint in Missouri, he moved on to Germany where he connected with producers Charles Williams and Darrell White and began working on the “No Love Shown” album. While working on the album he connected with a fellow Air Force member and DJ Malik “DJ Whiz” Sultan and began mc’ing in clubs all around West Germany to sharpen his performance skills. He was such a hit that DJ Whiz’s business partner Mike began demanding Chad’s presence at every show to rock the crowd. While doing this, Chad hooked up with a few more Air Force members and created a rap crew called “Kuruption Klik.” “We started off with one song that I wrote and conceptualized called “Ride on ‘Em” and it was a hit. “Everytime we did a show with that song people went crazy!” The group did a few more songs after that but disbanded because off a lost connection. After that Chad got married to his wife Susanne and moved back to the states and found himself stationed in New Mexico at Holloman Air Force Base. He hooked up with producer Kristopher Smith and made tracks “Hit Up” , “Get Paid”, and “Undressed.” Then he connected with producers Jay Ripper and Lou Kane and created the as-yet-to-be-released anthem “Shinin’ and Gleamin.” Is the world ready?

“ I feel that this album is Me. It is how I feel about things, my personality, my fears, and my hopes, and my struggles all condensed in one CD. This is just the beginning for me because there are more aspects of my life and personality that I want to touch on that I know people will relate too. I know I’m special and I am not trying to be something that I’m not. I want people to see me laugh, cry, fight, and live. I know that I am here for a reason, so I am prepared to accept my destiny whatever it may be and live life to the fullest.”

I am a child of the 90's meaning when Death Row was in it's prime and Master P just came out and Mystikal was doing his thing and Scarface and UGK were putting it down.. you know, that is who I learned from. I don't know or appreciate what these rappers are doing today.

San Antonio, Texas

My music has been produced using Cakewalk, Fruity Loops, Pro Tools, and Cubase

"Hitman of the South" .... Yall are just gonna have to deal with me! I am available for features and I am an accomplished songwriter. If you need my services then hit me up at chadddukes@hotmail.com and hit me up on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/hitmanofthesouthchadddukes