2 Chainz is known to preach on subject like street politics, family and having faith.
The Atlanta native took some risky bets that turned a College Park kid into one of Atlanta’s biggest rap stars. But when he talked about today’s young men coming up behind him, his mood shifted quickly during an interview.
The rapper, who has spent the last four years trading jokes with his son on their own podcast, laid out what he believes is missing for the next generation.
The 49-year-old, born Tauheed Epps, sat down for the Tuesday, Sept. 29, episode of “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” on YouTube.
The conversation covered his arrest in high school, the teachers who believed in him and buying himself out of his record deal with Ludacris.
Asked about younger rappers, 2 Chainz didn’t dance around it.
He said the money makes it harder to get through to them, and nobody wants a lecture. Leading by example only goes so far, he explained, “I’m not sure where we are with [lyrics about] death.”
The “Duffle Bag Boy” rapper said the line that has been bouncing around social media ever since.
“Back in the day, hustling was supposed to be a secret,” 2 Chainz said. “But now, with the younger guys, sometimes they don’t see themselves making it to their 30s or 40s.”
The father of four doubted most of the young artists he’s referring to have a father figure at home. He believes fear of being seen as a “punk” pushes them to flaunt their guns and money.
Palmer brought up the 1999 Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence prison comedy “Life.” She said her sister, a professor, now wonders whether men in that era felt safer behind bars than out in the world. She said it might be just as scary for young Black men today.
2 Chainz answered with a story about a friend he called Black, who once showed up at the studio on a cold night and said he planned to bust a window and wait for police so he wouldn’t be cold and homeless.
“He said I will see you in a week or two,” the rapper recalled. All Black wanted, he said, was a place to stay, a shower and three meals a day.
“You come out a door and everybody next door around you, they do the same thing,” he said. “It’s a miracle when you make it out of that.”
Palmer questioned why anyone expects every kid to be a rose growing from concrete. “Why wouldn’t you have some grass?” she asked.
What he said has fans insisting Palmer was fighting back tears. After the clip spread online, the internet split over whether he was the right man to say it.
“The part thats hard to hear is when he says they dont even expect to see 30. that aint a lifestyle thats a death sentence kids are signing up for because nobody showed them another way,” one person wrote in the comments section of an X post.
Another felt the conversation was overdue: “And now you’re a cornball or a hotep if you mention anything to confronting our people.”
Others weren’t buying the elder-statesman routine. “IIRC his big breakout hit was Duffle Bag Boy where he championed the same self destructive culture,” one user wrote.
“The things he rapped about are what this generation was raised on. So taking accountability for the music you created should be 1st,” another added.
And one reminded everyone, “Rappers been dying young as long as this rap game been a thing. Been!”
The criticism from some certainly had history on their side. Before he became 2 Chainz, he was Tity Boi of Playaz Circle, whose 2007 hit “Duffle Bag Boy” with Lil Wayne became a street anthem.
In 2022, Master P told HipHopDX that too many young artists lack older people willing to tell them when they’re wrong. “You either going to be a tragedy or testimony,” he said, as quoted by HotNewHipHop.
Some artists have even predicted it. Juice WRLD sang about not making it past 21 and died days after turning 21. Tupac spoke often of not living to see 25 and died months after his 25th birthday.
The warning lands harder this month. 22-year-old Chicago drill rapper BloodHound Q50 died in an ambush at a South Side gas station on Sept. 13. Even Fabolous once called being a rapper “the most dangerous job in America.”
2 Chainz turned 49 on Sept. 12. For many of the kids he worries about, reaching 49 already feels impossible. He released his “The Voice in My Head Is God,” memoir in March, and fans anticipate his upcoming album, “Players Only Live Once.”
