2 CHAINZ

FROM TITY BOI TO TITY MAN

AS ONE OF RAP MUSIC’S MOST

CELEBRATED ARTISTS, TAUHEED “2 CHAINZ” EPPS IS THE EMBODIMENT OF SECOND CHANCES —

two lives, two names, two careers and perhaps more importantly, two eras of hip-hop where he made an impact. This year, the artist formerly known as Tity Boi — and not for the reasons you expect — celebrates 20 years in the game. Rapping wasn’t something he aspired to do, but something he fell into as a means of escaping criminal activities, and ultimately, saving his life.

2 Chainz spent several years making music with his childhood friend Dolla Boy, and reached moderate success after signing to Ludacris’s record label Disturbing Tha Peace. However, he didn’t realize his potential as a solo artist until his early 30s, and since embarking on his solo career in 2011, has become one of hip-hop most valuable players. 2 Chainz has not only illuminated rap with his floating delivery and memorable hooks, but a wealth of knowledge that comes from a longstanding career.

1977 to 1996

Tauheed Epps is born September 12, 1977 and raised in College Park, GA. An only child, Tauheed is nicknamed Tity Boy (or Tity Man), by his father — a Southern phrase to describe a spoiled brat. Living in near-poverty, Tauheed starts stealing. “I remember when we didn’t have hot water and I didn’t want my friends to know, so I told them it was something wrong with that bathroom,” he’ll recall in a 2015 social media post. “I remember using the oven to heat the house. I remember going to sleep hungry.” At the age of 12, Tauheed’s home is raided by police, and he’s thrown to the ground with a gun to his head. Tauheed attends North Clayton High School, where he sees his younger peer, R&B singer Monica, rise to fame. Tauheed becomes the star sixth man for North Clayton High School’s basketball team in grade 10, but is arrested at 15 years old for felony possession of cocaine. Despite the charge, Tauheed attracts attention from Division I colleges, and becomes the division’s number one basketball recruit at 17. Unfortunately, on the morning of his SATs, Tauheed is arrested on weed charges, deterring multiple offers.

Tauheed attends Alabama State University (ASU) on the HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) Scholarship, an athletic scholarship that requires a 3.4 GPA for qualification; he studies psychology while playing basketball. He transfers to Virginia State after freshman year, where he graduates.

1997

Tauheed and high school friend Earl Conyers, otherwise known as Dolla Boy, form the Playaz Circle (Preparing Legal Assets for Years from A to Z). They strengthen their collective with J. Hard, local producer Jook and mentor Chi. Tauheed adopts his childhood nickname, Tity Boi, as his stage name.

1998 to 2001

Local radio DJ Chris Bridges, known as Chris Lova Lova, moves into the same College Park housing complex as Tity Boi and Dolla Boy. Bridges will soon be known as Ludacris. Dolla Boy is sentenced to two years on drug possession charges. Tity Boi is shot in the foot on his way to meet Sean “Puffy” Combs — a mysterious incident about which further details on why or how remain scarce. While Dolla Boy is incarcerated, fast-rising success story Ludacris, who has co-founded record label Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP), gives Tity Boi the opportunity to work strictly on music. “Chris basically sent [DTP co-founder] Chaka Zulu to my house and said ‘Man, let’s do [the rap thing] for real,’” Tity Boi says of the offer.

Dolla Boy is released from prison in 2001, and sees a promising future with Disturbing Tha Peace when he notices that Tity Boi’s partnership with the label is blossoming.

2002

Tity Boi is asked to make a solo song for DTP’s compilation album Golden Grain, but chooses to collaborate with Playaz Circle; “Play Pen to the State Pen” is their first official DTP / Def Jam release. Frustrated with Def Jam’s lack of support, Playaz Circle independently promote their music throughout Atlanta via hand-to-hand sales and by pushing it in the strip club circuit — a commonplace route to breaking music in Atlanta. Playaz Circle pool their money to make an independent album,

United We Stand, United We Fall, which is released in October. “At this point in time, it was really a group, it was like maybe five or six MCs that put in their little trap money to put together a CD. [ We were] trying to sell it out the trunk, the whole Master P thing,” Tity Boi will tell hiphopdx.com ten years later.

2002 to 2007

Over the next five years, Playaz Circle continue working on music, but not as actively. They complete work on their debut, Supply & Demand but Def Jam isn’t behind it. In October 2007, Playaz Circle releases “Duffle Bag Boy,” featuring Lil Wayne. It peaks at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the U.S. Rap Chart. Two weeks after its release, Playaz Circle perform the single at the 2007 BET Awards. Playaz Circle finally release their debut Supply & Demand in October. It debuts at #27 on the Billboard 200 and sells 26,000 copies in its first week. It sells platinum by December.

2008 to 2009

Playaz Circle join Lil Wayne for his 2008/09 I Am Music tour. In October 2008, a Disturbing Tha Peace compilation highlights its growing roster — Playaz Circle contribute to four songs: “Wet Paint,” “Look What I Got,” “Late Nite” and “We Workin.” Tity Boi releases Trap-A-Velli, his first solo mixtape, on DatPiff in January 2009. The 17-track mixtape, hosted by Southern veteran Bigga Rankin, features early production from Zaytoven, as well as a feature from Lil Wayne. It becomes the first of three installments of his Trap-A-Velli series that will

include Trap-A-Velli 2 (2010) and Trap-A-Velli Tre (2015). He also releases All Ice on Me later this year, continuing a theme that plays homage to Tupac Shakur.

On September 29, Playaz Circle releases their sophomore album, Flight 360: The Takeoff , featuring fellow DTP members Ludacris and Bobby V, as well as Lil Wayne, Raekwon and CeeLo. It fails to match the success of Supply and Demand, debuting at #74 on Billboard.

2010 to 2011

Tity Boi pays $100K to get out of his DTP contract. After accusations that his moniker is derogatory to women, as well as not being “family friendly,” he re-surfaces as 2 Chainz. In an interview with Vibe, he explains; “In my 8th grade yearbook picture I had on 2 chains. I had always been into jewelry so 2 Chainz just stuck.” Hosted by DJ Drama, 2 Chainz releases his seventh mixtape, T.R.U. REALigion, in November 2011. It’s downloaded over 500,000 times on DatPiff and peaks at #58 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. He becomes a sought-out artist for features, and appears on Kanye West’s “Mercy,” as well as Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap.”

2012

A music consultant named Torrey Cook files a civil lawsuit against Disturbing Tha Peace and Island Def Jam Music Group for trademark infringement and trademark dilution over the Playaz Circle name and logo, which he says he trademarked in 1995 as a consultant to new artists. As a result, iTunes removes both Supply & Demand and Flight 360: The Takeoff.

Chainz announces his debut album, Based on a T.R.U. Story in March; on May 8, he releases “No Lie” featuring Drake. Speculation arises of a G.O.O.D. Music label signing after Kanye West tweets “2 Chainz is charging 100K for a verse now cause he’s G.O.O.D.” 2 Chainz clarifies that it’s just business advice he’s following. “We was talking and I think I was jeopardizing my brand sometimes by doing the homeboy special,” he tells hiphopdx.com.

“So I think he felt like we should just put that out there, that we ain’t doing no more of that.” 2 Chainz also tells Complex that he’s now charging $100K for a feature, and by the end of the year, tells

Acclaim that he has done 98 features.

Based on a T.R.U. Story (B.O. A.T.S.) is released in August and 2 Chainz dedicates the bonus single, “Live and Learn It Will,” to his father. B.O. A.T.S debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 147,000 copies in its first week, despite mixed reviews. 2 Chainz uses it as a launching pad for several endeavours, including collaborations with Adidas and Beats by Dre; he’s named “Man of the Year” by Source magazine. He embarks on his first solo headlining tour and in November, announces a second installment, B.O. A.T.S. II: Me Time.

2 Chainz is nominated several times at the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards for his collaborative single, “No Lie” with Drake, but more importantly, he wins “Rookie of the Year” at age 35. The win sparks conversation about aging in hip-hop culture, and how it defies the community’s overall consensus that rap is “for the kids.”

By the end of the ear, 2 Chainz participates in Hip-Hop Caucus’s “Respect My Vote” campaign ahead of the U.S. election, and uses it as a platform to speak about voting as a felon, as well as the disenfranchisement of voting for communities of colour.

2013

On February 13, 2 Chainz is stopped by police for speeding; his property is searched on “probable cause” for drugs. Police find a marijuana grinder, and 2 Chainz is arrested, but it’s unclear to whom it belongs and charges are dropped in June. 2 Chainz earns 13 nominations at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards, winning four trophies; he’s also nominated for three Grammys, including Best Rap Album. 2 Chainz appears in an episode of NBC’s Law & Order: Special

Victims Unit in May, followed by an appearance on CBS’s 2 Broke Girls. He announces a September date for B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time and drops its first single, “Feds Watching,” at New York radio station Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam festival. The single, which features Pharrell, was recorded on the night of the 2013 Grammys.

On June 8, rumours surface that Chainz is robbed of his phone and wallet in Oakland outside a medial marijuana dispensary. Despite the police report, 2 Chainz denies it on Twitter. Two days later, while boarding a flight at LAX, he is arrested and charged with felony narcotics possession when TSA agents find marijuana and promethazine in his checked bag. He posts a $10,000 bond and is released.

On August 22, 2 Chainz’s tour bus is pulled over by police in Oklahoma City. After a nine-hour standoff, which includes a passenger holding a copy of the U.S. Constitution against the window, police obtain a search warrant. 2 Chainz and ten other individuals are arrested on misdemeanor complaints of obstruction for their refusal to leave the bus. Police also find two semiautomatic pistols, a 12-gauge shotgun, prescription painkillers and marijuana residue.

2014 to 2015

2 Chainz pleads guilty to a misdemeanor of obstructing a police officer in the performance of his official duties for the Oklahoma City incident. He pays a fine and victims’ compensation assessment totaling $771 USD.

2 Chainz releases a new single titled “I’m a Dog,” followed by the digital FreeBase EP, featuring Rick Ross, A$AP Rocky and Lil Boosie.

In 2015, 2 Chainz announces his new label, The Real University, aka The Real U or T.R.U, as well as signing frequent collaborators Cap 1 and Skooly as well as Fresh (fka Short Dawg). By the end of the month, the label releases debut mixtape, TRU Jack City.

A week later, 2 Chainz debates Headline News pundit Nancy Grace on TV about the legalization of marijuana. To the surprise of her audience, 2 Chainz speaks about the psychology of drug abuses, studies regarding medical marijuana and the economic benefits of legalization.

Partnering with Street Execs Management, 2 Chainz opens a studio in Atlanta, which becomes his “home,” as well as a base for locals Travis Porter, Young Dolph, Cap 1 and rising artist, Bankroll Fresh.

In August, Oklahoma City attorney Kent Bridge sues 2 Chainz “in excess of $10,000” for unpaid legal bills stemming from a 2013 arrest. The lawsuit will be dismissed three years later following a settlement.

In November, after nearly a decade of working together, 2 Chainz announces that he’s working with Lil Wayne on a collaborative album titled ColleGrove.

Through his T.R.U. Foundation, 2 Chainz starts selling “Dabbin’ Santa” sweaters for the holidays; proceeds of over two million dollars are used to help families in need, including paying rent for Deidre Plater, a disabled veteran and single mother.

2016

Following the release of the Lil Wayne-assisted single “Back on That Bullshit,” 2 Chainz release digital EP Felt Like

Cappin. He follows up with ColleGrove in March. Ironically, due to Lil Wayne’s legal issues with label Cash Money, 2 Chainz is listed as the primary artist. It debuts at #4 on the Billboard 200. 2 Chainz will release two more this year, including Daniel Son;

Necklace Don in August, and Hibachi for Lunch in October. A shooting outside the Street Executives studio claims the life of Bankroll Fresh on March 4. Days later, 2 Chainz appears on The Wendy Williams Show, saying, “It was super unfortunate, super unnecessary, super senseless. And it just made me want to step up and use my platform for more positivity.”

He buys the home of legendary guitarist Steve Vai for $2.45 million in October, which includes a 1,400-square-foot studio that’s been used by artists like Ozzy Osourne, Eddie Van Halen and Slash.

In November, 2 Chainz launches a fashion line called CEO (Create Every Opportunity) Millionaires, and re-launches the Dabbing Santa sweater. He sells a diamond-encrusted sweater for $90,000, and uses proceeds to gift a family in need with a wheelchair-accessible van; he also donates an undisclosed amount to the United Negro College Fund.

2 Chainz and Atlanta entrepreneur Mychel “Snoop” Dillard open a restaurant called Escobar Restaurant and Tapas in Castleberry Hill, GA in December.

2017

2 Chainz reveals on Instagram that he’s been invited to perform at the inauguration of President Trump, but declined. “I had to say ‘nah,’” he writes, “no matter how much money it was.” Instead, he shifts his focus to a new album titled, Pretty

Girls Like Trap Music. He starts asking several women (and a few men), including Erykah Badu and Nicki Minaj, to share their favourite singles for a weekly playlist. Despite his efforts to release

Pretty Girls Love Trap Music on April 7, at the end of March, 2 Chainz calls out Def Jam on Instagram and states that there’s no longer a set release date.

After six nominations, 2 Chainz wins his first Grammy in February for “Best Rap Performance” with Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne. Shortly after, he reveals a collaboration with Ewing Athletics for his own limited edition of the “33 Hi” signature shoe.

Five years after the release of “No Lie” and a year after “Big Amount,” 2 Chainz appears on Drake’s More Life for “Sacrifices” with Young Thug and announces a collaboration with 50 Cent.

Pretty Girls Like Trap Music is expected this summer.

I think I was jeopardizing my brand sometimes by doing the homeboy special.