“It’s a Vibe” is a pitch-perfect rap and R&B crossover with help from three singers who know how to walk that inter-genre line: Ty Dolla $ign, Jhene Aiko, and Trey Songz. He’s wistful but also quick to boast about making it out. On 2017’s Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, he delivered two quieter records that charted on the Hot 100: “Good Drank” and “It’s a Vibe.” The former is a somber trap song that celebrates, well, “good drank.” From the seats of his Maybach, 2 Chainz recalls late nights cooking dope in the kitchen while listening to Lil Wayne. Case in point: “I don’t feel good, but my trigger happy / Bet the stripper happy, bet they wish they had me / And I wish a n-a would, like a kitchen cabinet.” Before “I’m Different,” 2 Chainz let the world know how he wants to mark his birthday and how he wants to be buried with “Birthday Song.” (We don’t know if the Gucci store offers burial services.)Ģ Chainz has become an increasingly more reflective writer, but he’s continued to make commercial hits.
Maybe that’s why he titled one of his first major label singles “I’m Different.” Over plinking keys, 2 Chainz established himself as the trap comedian. The other part is that he knows how to balance the sincere and the ridiculous. It cuts through speaker-frying 808 drums and fits in the pockets between them. Part of it is his voice, which can be booming, energetic, or smooth. The Hits (Birthday Song I’m Different It’s a Vibe Good Drank)Ģ Chainz knows how to make massive, anthemic records. 2 Chainz hasn’t forgotten the struggle, but he’s always been quick to celebrate the Most Expensivest things he can and to make himself laugh along the way. On 2019’s Rap Or Go To The League, for instance, he remembers the grim realities of drug dealing. He is, and perhaps always was, the wise uncle who delivers life-changing game before making a sex joke so silly you cry laughing. With each record, he’s become an increasingly sharper, funnier, and more nuanced writer. If you need someone to rap very well about wealth, women, or moving weight, you call 2 Chainz. In the years since, his stature has become solidified. Story) and guesting on platinum hits with everyone from Drake to Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky. By 2012, he was an unstoppable force, dropping a commercially successful solo debut ( Based on a T.R.U. REALigion, the rapper now known as 2 Chainz was on the mainstream radar.
After some incredible ups and downs, a rebrand, and a flurry of increasingly auspicious mixtapes, like 2011’s still excellent T.R.U. The College Park, GA native started rapping under the name Tity Boi and formed the group Playaz Circle with childhood friend Dolla Boy. 2 Chainz continued to dominate the charts throughout the next decade, consistently hitting the Top Ten with albums like 2017's Pretty Girls Like Trap Music and material from his 2020 record So Help Me God. With three platinum hits - "No Lie" featuring Drake, "Birthday Song" featuring Kanye West, and "I'm Different" - the album hit number one on the Billboard 200, and easily reached platinum status. His breakout year was 2012, when he landed on Kanye West's "Mercy" and Nicki Minaj's "Beez in the Trap" before dropping his official debut, Based on a T.R.U. Epps launched a successful solo career in 2010 and began issuing a parade of Top 40 hits while becoming a go-to artist for guest verses. 2 Chainz is the stage name of Atlanta rapper Tauheed Epps, once known as Tity Boi in the Atlanta-based Playaz Circle.