2 Chainz was robbed June 9 in San Francisco. The robbery was caught on a surveillance video and the Def Jam Recordings artist says he caught flak for running from the perpetrator.
“Anybody that tells you they wouldn’t run hasn’t been in situations like me,” 2 Chainz says in an interview with villagevoice.com. “I’ve been a felon since I was 15. Most kids at that age might still be sleeping in the same bed with their siblings. I’m trying to grow to be a wiser person…But you know I learned from the experience and like I said I’m striving to be a wiser person.”
As for his next steps, 2 Chainz says he’s almost finished with his new album, B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time. “That’s pretty much done,” the rapper says of his new album, which is slated for a September 10 release. “I’m just finishing up the mixing. I’m adding a few samples, taking away a few samples. I’m still arranging the album too and also getting the credits right to make that side of the business is taken care of.”
Even though 2 Chainz has become one of rap’s biggest stars in the last few years, he has also been criticized by a number of writers, fans and others for subject matter that Rich Nichols, The Roots’ manager, says is “a fucking object lesson in thematic narrowness, one dumbass idea repeated over and over again.”
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“My answer to the critics is this, and I quote: ‘Smart people can act dumb but dumb people can’t act smart,'” 2 Chainz says to The Village Voice. “That goes to every critic that doesn’t know I never made a C in high school, just A’s and B’s. It just so happens I have an understanding about real life. Where I’m from no one wants Jesse Jackso[n]–they want a nigga that tells it like it is, strippers and dope dealers who ride foreign cars. I take [listeners] on a walk though that neighborhood, through that lifestyle. When I came in the game with ‘Duffle Bag Boyz,’ I was already wearing Gucci. That’s how I came in the game. This album, of course, it’s some growth. I’m talking about prosperity more but I’m not going to stop talking real shit that we see on the news. So all those critics can miss me with that shit.”
In fact, 2 Chainz says his lyrics are not as basic as people might imagine. “When I say, ‘All I want for my birthday is a big booty hoe,’ all I’m really saying is, ‘I would like to have some birthday sex, please.’ When I’m talking about ‘I’m different,’ I’m saying that when I’m looking in the mirror I see a trendsetter. No one is doing it like me.”
2 Chainz says his next set of moves focus on expanding his business empire. “T.R.U. University label is my focus,” he says. “Have some projects coming out on that. I’m just looking to be competitive. I got that sports edge on these fools. I eat well, get my cardio in. I want it all. I’m amicable with people, but I want everybody up outta here. I want it all.”
