"One Call Away" is a song by American rapper
Chingy, featuring actor
Jason Weaver singing the chorus, credited as J-Weav. It was released as the third and final single off his debut album, Jackpot (2003), on January 12, 2004. It was released through
Capitol Records and
Ludacris's
Disturbing tha Peace label. The song peaked at number two on the US
Billboard Hot 100, became a number-one hit on the BillboardHot Rap Songs chart for three weeks, and peaked at numbers three and six on the BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and
Mainstream Top 40 charts, respectively. It also reached the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. A video for the single (directed by
Erik White) was released that featured actress
Keisha Knight-Pulliam and streetball player
Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion.
Critical reception
Matt Cibula of
PopMatters was positive towards the song, admiring Chingy for taking on a rap ballad saying "It’s kind of adorable that he’s talking to her on the phone about politics and life when he can’t be with her, and his voice gets all softened when he talks about her, and his homeboys call him weak when he gives her a kiss on the cheek, but he doesn’t care, because he knows that she’s always just one call away from him, and vice versa."[2] In retrospect, however, the song has not fared as well; music critic Todd in the Shadows placed "One Call Away" at number 6 on his list of the "Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2004", citing the rapper's weak flow and poor lyricism in particular as dragging the song down.[3]
Music video
Directed by
Erik White,[4] the video takes place during autumn and follows Chingy going to the
DTP Bank in his
Cadillac, where he attracts the attention of a bank teller (played by actress
Keisha Knight-Pulliam) by giving her his phone number along with the deposited money in a canister tube for her to have. Their relationship starts out slow with her hanging out with his friends in his apartment, she and her friends watching him play
streetball to both of them going back to his apartment to get intimate with each other. The video features the chorus of "Chingy Jackpot" at the end. Streetball player
Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion appears in the streetball scene in the video.
^One Call Away (UK CD single liner notes). Chingy. Capitol Records, Disturbing tha Peace. 2004. CDCL 856, 7243 5 49325 2 6.{{
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^One Call Away (European CD single liner notes). Chingy. Capitol Records, Disturbing tha Peace. 2004. 7 2435-48810-2 2.{{
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^One Call Away (Australian CD single liner notes). Chingy. Capitol Records, Disturbing tha Peace. 2004. 7243 5 48991 2 6.{{
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