The five greatest guest verses from 2 Chainz
There may not be a hip hop MC who has a more peculiar background than Tauheed Epps, or as he’s more commonly known, 2 Chainz. Graduating second in his class from North Clayton High School in College Park, Georgia, and then going on to gain a basketball scholarship at Alabama State University, 2 Chainz appeared to be on the path to a ‘traditional’ career. Rumours even circulated that he graduated from college with a 4.0 GPA. These were soon quashed with the rapper saying, “Don’t believe anything on Wack-ipedia. There’s a lot of false stuff on there, to the point that every time I try to fix one thing, something else comes out”.
Given his aptitude in other fields, it would seem that a career in music wasn’t on the cards. Still, in 1997, alongside his high school friend Earl Conyers, 2 Chainz, or as he was known at the time, Tity Boi, formed the group Playaz Circle. After a successful stint as a duo, including getting signed to Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace label, a subsidiary of Def Jam Records, Tity Boi decided to pursue his solo career.
In 2011, he officially changed his name to 2 Chainz. Vibe magazine unearthed the meaning of his former name: “The name Tity Boi actually came from my big mama, from me being spoiled and an only child—breastfed.” Following the release of his debut studio album, Based on A TRU story, 2 Chainz has never looked back, building a career that would be the envy of the majority of MCs in the game.
His collaboration with respected figures outside of the music world has also been impressive, hosting his own YouUube series ‘Most Expensivest’ with Gentleman’s Quarterly, opening The Pink Trap House Museum in Atlanta, an ode to trap music, and also purchasing a minority stake in the Atlanta Hawks and their G-league affiliate based in his hometown of College Park. Going along with these excellent collaborations, arguably his greatest impact has come in his work alongside fellow musicians. Below we explore his top 5 guest verses.
The five best 2 Chainz guest verses ever:
5. ‘Talk Dirty’ – Jason Derulo (2013)
This might be an odd choice to include in a list of hip-hop features. But the reason that this guest verse is so impactful is down to the fact that it’s so surprising to hear the iconic, elongated “2 Chainz” after the bridge.
The lyrics are, of course, crass, and to the disliking of a few (myself included), repetitive. But the cadence of 2 Chainz’s deep voice in conjunction with the brass instruments makes this a guest verse to remember.
4. ‘3500’ – Travis Scott (2015)
Accompanying the vocals of some of the biggest rappers in the game is nothing new for 2 Chainz. His collaboration with Travis Scott and Future reached number 82 on the Billboard top 100. Which was perhaps overshadowed by the standout track from Scott’s 2015 album Rodeo, ‘Antidote’.
Contrast is the key to this flow’s allure. While Scott and Future leverage pace and auto tune, flitting between one another in the early stages of the track, 2 Chainz starts his verse slowly. The absence of drums allows space for his voice to set the tone before his message is hammered home, aided by 808s, even adding a reference to his former name.
3. ‘No Problem’ – Chance the Rapper (2016)
With an upbeat tempo that makes you want to jump around, this track seems like it was made with 2 Chainz in mind (He’s even seen taking and making a jump shot in the music video).
The verse starts with a nod to Petey Pablo and his 2001 track ‘Raise up’: “Petey Pablo take your shirt off/ Wave it around your head like a helicopter”, and continues with that energy throughout. The verse ends with a classic sign-off line which surely would feature on every teenage boy’s MSN Messenger status (if MSN Messenger was still a thing): “School of hard knocks/ I took night classes.”
2.’ X’ – Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q (2018)
In one of his faster flows, Two Chainz is once again able to show off his contrasting style compared to his collaborators, aided by the producers’ switch-up in the beat.
With only a few chords and notes from the piano accompanied by reverberations from the chorus, Kendrick still asks, “Are we on ten yet?” This verse takes the listener on a journey through its use of tempo, filtration, and clever word play.
1. ‘Mercy’ – Kanye West (2012)
As we’ve progressed along this list, it would seem that 2 Chainz has gradually increased the potency of his short stint on tracks. Straying away from convention, just like the man himself, we find ourselves going back more than a decade for the pièce de résistance.
Before the release of his debut studio album, his work alongside Kanye, Big Sean, and Pusha T reached a peak of 13 on the Billboard top 100, which could be argued to have paved the way for his future success.
Tasked with the last verse on this track, preceded by Kanye’s, which leverages synths, is bass-heavy and appears to be building to something big, 2 Chainz brings it all crashing down, accompanied by 3 piano notes on repeat.
There are too many bars to repeat here without mentioning the entire verse. However, two that still stand out today are “Drunk and high at the same time/ Drinking champagne on the airplane” and “100 bands, cut your girl/ Now you girl need a band-aid”, punctuated with an ad lib of “Damn” which may have been included due to its pure authenticity.