2 Chainz

Tauheed Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, is an American rapper, songwriter, and actor from College Park, Georgia. He initially gained recognition as part of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Circle alongside Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers. The group signed with Ludacris's Disturbing tha Peace label, a subsidiary of Def Jam Recordings, and achieved success with their 2007 debut single "Duffle Bag Boy" featuring Lil Wayne. Epps originally performed under the name Tity Boi before adopting the moniker 2 Chainz in 2011 to be more family-friendly.

Epps attended North Clayton High School, where he played basketball and graduated second in his class. He earned a scholarship to Alabama State University, playing on its basketball team from 1996 to 1997, before transferring to Virginia State University, where he ultimately graduated.

After leaving Disturbing tha Peace to pursue a solo career, Epps released the 2011 mixtape T.R.U. REALigion. In 2012, he signed a solo contract with Def Jam Recordings and gained further mainstream attention through guest appearances, including Kanye West's single "Mercy." His debut solo studio album, Based on a T.R.U. Story (2012), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It featured the top 40 single "I'm Different" alongside the multi-platinum singles "No Lie" featuring Drake and "Birthday Song" featuring Kanye West. He followed this with his second album, B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time (2013), led by the single "Feds Watching" featuring Pharrell Williams.

Over the following years, Epps maintained a prolific release schedule. His collaborative album with Lil Wayne, ColleGrove, was released in 2016, followed by the critically acclaimed studio album Pretty Girls Like Trap Music in 2017. He later released the solo studio albums Rap or Go to the League (2019), So Help Me God! (2020), and Dope Don't Sell Itself (2022). Following the release of a sequel collaborative album with Lil Wayne, Welcome 2 Collegrove (2023), Epps parted ways with Def Jam in 2024. Outside of music, Epps hosted four seasons of the Viceland reality television series Most Expensivest starting in 2017, and has made acting appearances on shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and 2 Broke Girls.

Throughout his career, Epps has received significant industry recognition. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance for his guest feature on Chance the Rapper's 2016 song "No Problem," out of six total Grammy nominations. His additional accolades include three BET Awards from 11 nominations and five BET Hip Hop Awards from 19 nominations.