Even though 2 Chainz, formerly known as Tity Boi, is known for his club bangers such as “Birthday Song,” “I’m Different” and the Playaz Anthem cut “Duffle Bag Boy” with Lil Wayne, in his most recent output, Collegrove, a tribute album to the New Orleans rapper, 2 Chainz showcases an effort to become more intimate with his audience.
“I went to jail, I might go to Hell, I used to sell drugs to my momma,” he raps on “Section.”
“To be real, it’s something that I still cannot even really comfortably talk about,” he says in an interview breaking down the song with Genius. “For me, music is very therapeutic. That’s why I like get into a booth. I’ve never been into talking to a psychiatrist or counselor. I handle myself a different way.”
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Lil Wayne chimes in and offers a hand to his fellow rapper.
“It’s all good. I went to school for psychology,” the University of Houston attendee says, “so if you ever want to holler at me, I’m here.”
“I got my degree in psychology,” 2 Chainz, who is an alumnus of Alabama State University, responds. “We just look this way.”
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The College Park, Georgia rapper continues to explain what it means to break down stereotypes of coming from a broken urban community. He details living with so many people that he had to go to the bathroom outside when he woke up and another experience that the average listener might not be able to relate to.
“It’s so much shit to deal with when you’re dealing with this shit,” he says. “You can look at a nigga like, ‘You ain’t shit, nigga. You fucking evil devil.’ Or you can look at a nigga like, ‘I understand.’ If you haven’t been there before, if you haven’t dealt with having to take your pants off and ball them in a knot and put ’em under your pillow and sleep on your pants, and your money still be gone when you wake up, it’s stuff that niggas will never fucking understand. For me, smiling every day releases those little pain enzymes that I’ve been through.”
2 Chainz is continuing to explore putting his personal experiences in his music. Moving forward from Collegrove, he says his next solo album will be his most transparent yet.
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He says that he and Lil Wayne should be applauded for using their platform to bring awareness and change to their hometowns. Both are active in the community and take pride in providing for their families through their music. 2 Chainz made $2 million off Christmas sweaters last winter. He used many of the profits to help families in need.
“When you overcome that poverty, when you talk about College Park and Hollygrove and people coming up and doing what we’ve done for ourselves and for our family and our community, it’s almost like a celebration album,” 2 Chainz says. “It’s really a celebration. …We ran up some M’s that made other people smile, made other people happy, made other people’s day. A lot of that shit you hear, or all that shit you hear from me and him, it has that realism in it.”
Watch the full interview with 2 Chainz detailing how his music is his therapy below:
For additional 2 Chainz coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
