Image via Complex Original
This feature is a part of Complex Music's 2 Chainz Week.
Yesterday, 2 Chainz released his (often hilarious) debut solo album, Based on a T.R.U. Story. Needless to say, it's a victory that's been a long time coming for the artist who once saw his career stall out when he was rapping as Tity Boi.
Perhaps part of 2 Chainz's successful reemergence can be attributed to his vast knowledge of music history. "I was growing up on a lot of different music. Whether it was jazz, R&B, or bass music, I grew up on everything," he recalled while shooting hoops in our office.
That led to a conversation about his 25 Favorite Albums. 2 Chainz talked about his love for 2Pac, how is aunt and mother put him on to acts like Frankie Beverly and Keith Sweat, and why listening to his "father figure" Too $hort messed him up in high school.
As told to Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)
RELATED: Ranking Kanye West's Albums From Worst to Best
RELATED: The 50 Best Selling Rap Albums of All Time
Maze, Joy and Pain (1980)
Label: Capitol
2 Chainz: “That was my momma’s favorite artists. So I can’t not have that subconscious love for that because my momma would play that. The thing about old, traditional R&B had lyrics and lot of cadences so you could learn something from it. Hearing it just brings back memories.”
Keith Sweat, Make It Last Forever (1987)
Label: Vintertainment/Elektra
2 Chainz: “That’s my auntie’s favorite album. It’s baby making music. They don’t even do it like that no more, real slow. It wasn’t that impressive vocally but that vibe, that cuddle vibe. I remember being young and getting that feeling, I might have been young but you can feel it.”
Too $hort, Short Dog's in the House (1990)
Label: Jive Records
2 Chainz: “I remember being too young to buy it and trying to get someone to buy it for me. That was one of the first albums I actually tried to buy. And was teaching you how to have that “I don’t give a fuck” attitude and have that pimping in you. And it really fucked me up in high school because I was like, 'Beeyotch.' I was like, 'Too $hort ain’t got no girlfriend.'”
Geto Boys, We Can't Be Stopped (1991)
Label: Rap-A-Lot Records
2 Chainz: “They also put out a hard album later on that had Larry Hoover talking on the intro. They put together some of the illest tracks and they had game from the ghetto point of view.”
Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
Label: Death Row, Interscope, Priority
2 Chainz: “That was the best album because of the arrangements, the samples used, the introduction of Snoop, Dre’s hypnotizing horns. That shit was ill.”
Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle (1993)
Label: Death Row, Interscope, Atlantic
2 Chainz: “The debut album from Snoop. Can’t get no better than with all the anticipation. They sold it at 12 o’clock at night like Jordans, the mall was crazy. And I remember the whole experience of being super young and liking the animated cover. I had one of my big cousins buy the album for me.”
OutKast, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994)
Label: LaFace
2 Chainz: “That’s where it started at for Atlanta. It was their first album and it opened the door for Atlanta music.”
Scarface, The Diary (1994)
Label: Rap-A-Lot Records
2 Chainz: “He did a lot of teaching on that too. I learned on that album about phone tapping from the government, when the cops plant stuff on you, and not keeping important numbers on your phone. He gave up a lot of game on there, that was one of the best performances of sharing game.”
Mary J. Blige, My Life (1994)
Label: Uptown/MCA
2 Chainz: “She had that bounce on there. You could tell she was going through things. She didn’t hold anything back, it’s like she gave you her diary.”
Thug Life, Thug Life: Volume 1 (1994)
Label: Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru
2 Chainz: “That was dope. It was a group album, but 2Pac took over it. I enjoyed the music because 2Pac messed around with his voice on there. I got a lot of love for that album.”
Tha Dogg Pound, Dogg Food (1995)
Label: Death Row/Interscope
2 Chainz: “That was dope. Daz did a lot of those beats with Kurupt. Kurupt is really from the East Coast so it was dope seeing him spitting over those West Coast sounds. That was something 50 Cent did on Get Rich or Die Tryin’—that was a good album too.”
Goodie Mob, Soul Food (1995)
Label: LaFace
2 Chainz: “It was music with substance from a Down South point of view.”
2Pac, Me Against The World (1995)
Label: Out Da Gutta, Interscope, Amaru
2 Chainz: “He was going through some court issues and he showed a lot. The beats was crazy on there. He had a lot of melody on that.”
Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995)
Label: Loud/RCA/BMG
2 Chainz: “Rae and Ghost acting as a group. It gets no better than that. The album had a lot of symbolism. And it was like trap talk coming from the North I enjoyed being able to tap into that street style, like cooking in the kitchen. I appreciated what they were talking about.”
Makaveli, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)
Label: Death Row, Interscope
2 Chainz: “He was basically teaching on Makaveli. That’s where all the Illumantni stuff started, like, “What’s this about?” It was ahead of it time. There should be a reason why you want to listen to music; to get away, to have fun, to learn something. Different artists bring different things to the table.”
UGK, Ridin' Dirty (1996)
Label: Jive Records
2 Chainz: “Pimp C on the beats, Bun B snapping on the tracks. It don’t get much better than that. Them Texas boys coming down, they whole lingo, language, the way they introduced people to syrup through their music. It introduced people to a new lifestyle. They showed rhyme skills from somebody from Texas. “
Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt (1996)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Priority
2 Chainz: “Jay-Z’s first album was way before it’s time. A confident piece of work with street stuff, it was raw but he still expressed different deliveries on there. I also love The Blueprint, he had great production on there. That shit sounded good.”
The Notorious B.I.G., Life After Death (1997)
Label: Bad Boy Records
2 Chainz: “It was some of Biggie Small’s best work. He had premonitions on there.”
Erykah Badu, Baduizm (1997)
Label: Kedar/Universal
2 Chainz: “I play that all the way through. It just introduced someone who spoke about taking care of themselves, loving themselves, eating right. She came with a whole new vibe. She made a lot of women love themselves. And she told stories from the streets. And she’s beautiful.”
OutKast, Aquemini (1998)
Label: LaFace/Arista
2 Chainz: “It was creative. Outkast did a great job of being a group that acted as two different individuals so when they come together it makes it theatrical because it’s two people who have separate styles both in one group. I think that always for them.”
Juvenile, 400 Degreez (1998)
Label: Cash Money, Universal
2 Chainz: “That was an album of top to bottom jams. The production Mannie Fresh did on there, the singles, all that embodied that Juvenile style. Hot Boyz, Wayne, they all put out classic albums. But 400 Degreez set a tone for what New Orleans could bring to the table.”
Nas, I Am... (1999)
Label: Columbia
2 Chainz: “I just liked it. He played with different sounds on there and tried to get out of his box a little bit, but he definitely kept it lyrical. And he was teaching on there. I like Nas for his concepts and his teachings. I learned storytelling from Nas, he’s very descriptive.”
Mobb Deep, Murda Muzik (1999)
Label: Loud/Columbia/SME Records
2 Chainz: “That was dope. Prodigy went ham on that, Havoc had that crack. It was a great team.”
R. Kelly, Chocolate Factory (2003)
Label: Jive, Sony
2 Chainz: “That’s more baby making music. R. Kelly’s storytelling and singing, you had to get into it. It was two step music too.”
Beanie Sigel, The B. Coming (2005)
Label: Dame Dash/Def Jam
2 Chainz: “I loved the vibe he had on there. Beanie is known to be aggressive a lot, but this was more laid back tracks so you were able to enjoy his lyrics better. Beanie was used to murdering, the tracks weren’t so aggressive so you could see his wittiness.”