On his own terms - Chamillionaire's new CD is full of social commentary but no profanity.

NEW YORK — It's not every day that rappers are invited to hold court on "Larry King Live." It's also not every day that they decline the invitation. So before Chamillionaire told King last spring that he'd have to pass, the Grammy-winning rapper thought long and hard.

"I really wanted to do it. I want to be asked real questions about issues," said Chamillionaire, who had been asked to appear on a show about the hullabaloo surrounding hip-hop, misogyny and the N-word. "But I decided it might not be smart because I know how it goes on these shows: I'd be arguing to a brick wall. You're sitting up there as a scapegoat -- hip-hop is the new scapegoat."

Instead, he continued, seated in a conference room at his publicist's New York office and speaking with an intensity that borders on gravitas, "I decided that when I speak on these issues, it has to be in my own forum, and my forum is music."

And so was born "Ultimate Victory," Chamillionaire's sophomore release (in stores today). He designed it to deliver "social commentary but still be entertaining -- I'm not trying to go over nobody's head and preach to people." And ironically the artist who deems himself not a rapper but a "self-employed CEO" -- in addition to his Universal-distributed label, Chamillitary Records, he owns a car customizing business and plans to launch a talent agency -- touts the new album as an artistic personal endeavor that's profanity and N-word free, proving that hard-core hip-hop need not drown in offending terminology.

Case in point: the album's first single, "Hip-Hop Police," which features a jingle-like hook, a dramatic video, an alluring cameo from Slick Rick, the rapper known for his storytelling style -- and a weighty subject.

"It's about how nowadays loving hip-hop is the equivalent of committing a murder," Chamillionaire, 27, explained. The "hip-hop police" are not men in uniform, they're moral watchdogs: "Al Sharpton could be a hip-hop police, or Bill O'Reilly."

The Houston-born rapper finally cracked a smile. "Lately, I'm hearing people say, 'Cham, you've been thinking too much.' Thinking too much? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Those accusing Chamillionaire of excess thinking are probably those who know him less as an artist than as a ring tone. His blockbuster single "Ridin'," from his platinum-plus 2005 album "The Sound of Revenge," earned him a Grammy and the "Ridin' " ring tone went four-times platinum, signifying 4 million paid downloads. But on his new album, he says, deal-making has been trumped by creative pursuits.