Pittsburgh Slim

Thanks to a simple, infectious beat and a chorus reppin' the most common of male fantasies, Sied Chahrour, aka Pittsburgh Slim, went from local hero to hip-hop superstar in late 2007. The half-Mexican, half-Algerian Chahrour first came on the scene in 1996 when he helped form Pittsburgh's popular rap crew Strict Flow. The group pressed their own debut album, Homegrown, in 1997 before being signed to J-Live's Raw Shack label in 1999. That same year their "People on Lock" single appeared, but the title to their 2002 release Without Further Ado referenced how slow things were moving for the crew. They dissolved after the album's release, so Slim was off to Los Angeles to get closer to the music business. He waited tables by day and shopped his music by night until his longing to see "Girls Kiss Girls" turned into a song. The incredibly infectious song began breaking on radio not in L.A., but back home in Pittsburgh, thanks to the city's KISS FM radio station. From there it began to make an impression on both coasts and offers to relaunch the single came in from some high-profile labels. None of the labels were looking for an album, and while Slim was well aware the song was a novelty hit, he also knew he still had the indie rap skills that made Strict Flow well respected, so he held out for a long-term deal. He got it after a meeting with Def Jam executive Jay-Z. The label released Slim's seven-track Tastemaker at the end of 2007. It was promoted by a "Girls Kiss Girls" video featuring Penthouse's 2007 Pet of the Year runner-up, Krista Ayne.