2 Chainz

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2 Chainz’s ‘Lost Kings’ Performance On ‘Colbert’ Pays Homage To Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, And Young Dolph

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With 2 Chainz dropping his new album, Dope Don’t Sell Itself, today, the Atlanta rapper dropped by The Late Show for a stirring performance of “Lost Kings” featuring Lil Durk and Sleepy Rose. The song addresses America’s prevalent problem with gun violence — particularly when the victims are young Black men — while the performance was offered as a tribute to several of the rappers who were slain in the past few years, including Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, and Young Dolph, photos of whom are projected behind the performers.

Along with last night’s performance, the rollout for Dope Don’t Sell Itself included the release of videos for “Million Dollars Worth Of Game” featuring 42 Dugg, “Pop Music” with Beatking and Moneybagg Yo, and the “Laffy Taffy”-sampling “Neighbors Know My Name,” as well as an eyebrow-raising freestyle over Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By” on the LA Leakers radio show. The album itself has already received rave reviews on Twitter, and features guest appearances from Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Stove God Cooks, Symba, Swae Lee, and more. Before the album’s release, 2 Chainz claimed that it would be his last trap-focused album and if that’s true, he’s bowing out at the top of his game.

Watch 2 Chainz’s “Lost Kings” performance on The Late Show above.
Some artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

2 Chainz Is A Confident Dance Instructor With A Plan In His Video For ‘Neighbors Know My Name’

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After going a little over a year and a half without a project, 2 Chainz is back in action with his seventh album Dope Don’t Sell Itself. It’s an effort that 2 Chainz he been teasing and promoting since last summer and it’s also supported by singles like “Million Dollars Worth Of Game” with 42 Dugg and “Pop Music” with Moneybagg Yo and Beatking. The album is finally here, presenting 12 songs for listeners to enjoy as a new video for the D4L-sampling “Neighbors Know My Name.” In it, 2 Chainz takes on the role of a dance instructor as he teaches a few ladies to lean and rock with it like true millennials.

Throughout the 12 songs on Dope Don’t Sell Itself, listeners can catch additional guest appearances from Lil Baby, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lil Durk, Sleepy Rose, Swae Lee, Steve God Cooks, Symba, and Jacquees. The project serves as a solid follow-up to 2 Chainz’s 2020 album, So Help Me God. More recently, Dope Don’t Sell Itself arrives after 2 Chainz brought his talents to Power 106’s LA Leakers for a stellar freestyle over Pharcyde’s 1993 classic, “Passin’ Me By.”

As for what’s next, fans can expect 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne to deliver their long-waited ColleGrove 2 project at some point this year.

You can watch the video for “Neighbors Know My Name” above.

Dope Don’t Sell Itself is out now via Def Jam. You can get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

2 Chainz Shows Off New Dimensions Of Delivery With An ‘LA Leakers’ Freestyle Over A Pharcyde Classic

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2 Chainz gave more glimpses of his future musical direction in a new freestyle for the LA Leakers, a show that has been on an absolute tear when it comes to showcasing the most impressive lyricists in hip-hop. While dropping by the Power 106 studio has always been something of a rite of passage for rappers looking to promote new projects or introduce themselves to the world at large, the past year has seen rappers of greater and greater stature drop by, from rising stars like Cordae and Latto to established industry leaders like Big Sean and J. Cole.

Unsurprisingly, this was far from 2 Chainz’s first appearance. Back in 2017, he stepped all over Kendrick Lamar’s then-new single “DNA.” as he showed off his ability to adjust his flow to sound more like the Compton rapper’s. On his new freestyle, though, he went the other way, forcing a classic hip-hop single to mold to his own flow — although, it’s clear he’s been working on adding more dimension to his delivery as well. Busting raps over Pharcyde’s 1993 classic “Passin’ Me By,” Chainz references the meme-launching Mystikal rhyme about fighting a bear, turning the lyrical grizzly into a silverback gorilla. The result is the same, though: If you see Chainz engaged in fisticuffs with this wild animal, the one needing assistance won’t be the 6’5″ rapper from Atlanta.

Chainz’s song selection is right in line with his recent declaration to move on from trap rap and his recent output incorporating more classic hip-hop boom-bap sounds into his arsenal as he ages into elder-statesman territory looking to follow in the footsteps of other veterans like his ColleGrove 2 partner in rhyme Lil Wayne. Judging from his LA Leakers freestyle, that’ll be a good look on him, but first, he’s finishing his trap career strong with Dope Don’t Sell Itself, due sometime this quarter.

2 Chainz Shares An Update About His Upcoming ‘ColleGrove 2’ Album With Lil Wayne

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2 Chainz Lil Wayne 2016 Collegrove Tour
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In a little over a week, 2 Chainz will release his seventh album Dope Don’t Sell Itself. It’s a project that’ll check in with 12 songs and features Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Swae Lee, Moneybagg Yo, 42 Dugg, and more. 2 Chainz also billed the upcoming effort as his “last trap album,” but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

During an interview with DJ Akademiks on the Off the Record podcast, 2 Chainz gave an update on ColleGrove 2, his long-awaited joint project with Lil Wayne, and the sequel to the 12-track effort they dropped off back in 2016.

“We were in the studio together,” 2 Chainz said. “I think the last time we were in the studio together maybe twice. This time, we’ve been in the studio together multiple times working on this project. Whether going back in after we’ve done something or whatever.” He added, “I feel super excited about this f*cking project because it don’t sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before. And doing something like that with Wayne, it’s welcoming, it’s warming, and it’s going to be accepted.”

2 Chainz also noted that ColleGrove 2 is “definitely coming out this year” and that Wayne will appear on every song.

You can listen to 2 Chainz talk about ColleGrove 2 in the video above.

Dope Don’t Sell Itself is out 2/4 via Def Jam. You can pre-save it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.