2 Chainz

Real name Tauheed Epps, American rapper 2 Chainz was born on September 12, 1977 in College Park, Georgia. Initially known as a member of the group Playaz Circle, alongside Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers, he signed a solo distribution deal with the Def Jam label in 2012 when his partner-in-crime was imprisoned for several months. A debut album, Based on a T.R.U. Story, was released the same year. Although not immediately convincing, it eventually broke through and even reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, thanks to tracks such as "No Lie" (No. 24) with Drake, "Birthday Song" (No. 47) with Kanye West and "I'm Different" (No. 27). After contributing to the Fast & Furious 6 soundtrack in 2013 with the duet with Wiz Khalifa, "We Own It (Fast & Furious)" (no. 16), 2 Chainz followed this up with the album B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time, featuring a long list of collaborators: Pharrell Williams, Drake, Lil Wayne, Mase, Chrisette Michele, Pusha T, Fergie, Iamsu!, T-Pain, Dolla Boy, Rich Homie Quan and Lloyd. Production is handled by Diplo, Mike Will Made It, Drumma Boy, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Mannie Fresh, Wonder Arillo, Honorable C.N.O.T.E. and DJ Toomp. The album reached No. 3 in the U.S. charts, one place higher than its successor ColleGrove in 2016. With Pretty Girls Like Trap Music (#2 in 2017) and Rap or Go to the League (#4 in 2019), 2 Chainz remains at the top of the charts. In 2020, So Help Me God! reached #15 in the US charts, while Dope Don't Sell Itself (2022), at #23, marks a slight decline for 2 Chainz, despite the participation on the record of collaborators such as Moneybagg Yo, Lil Baby, Lil Durk and YoungBoy Never Broke Again. In 2023, he produced his first collaborative album Welcome 2 Collegrove, co-credited with Lil Wayne, followed in 2025 by another, Life Is Beautiful, with Larry June and The Alchemist. The same year sees the release of the soundtrack to Christopher Nolan Jones's film Red Clay, for which he wrote the screenplay and in which his daughter Heaven Epps stars.