AS HALF OF THE DUO PLAYAZ CIRCLE, TITY BOI ENJOYED SUCCESS AS A “DUFFLE BAG BOY.” AFTER ADOPTING THE MONIKER 2 CHAINZ AND DROPPING HOT RECORDS LIKE THE CATCHY “SPEND IT,” HIS SOLO CAREER TOOK OFF, PUTTING HIM IN A POSITION AS THE HOTTEST FREE AGENT IN RA P MUSIC. You’re probably one of the hottest, if not the hottest, independent artist in the game right now. I’m sure the labels have been calling. Are you considering signing a major deal? Yeah, I’m fortunate to do what I want to do at this point. That’s why I’m in such a comfort zone as far as recording, making songs, staying on the road, and working hard. Of course a lot of the machines have contacted me, so I guess it’s just about the most enticing deal. I want to use the leverage that I’ve gained independently to make a good deal for me and my family down the road, not just for right now. Long term. Are they just not offering the right amount of money? Or you feel like you’d have to give up creative control? Nah, they actually [are going] to let me do all that. Every meeting I’ve had [with labels] they respected my mind, because they know I’ve done all this with minimal resources. The last thing they want to do is to take creative control from me, you know. Lately, I don’t know. I’ve just been praying on [the label situation] because I don’t know how I feel about it. I think I’ve maximized what I can do with a mixtape. Do you think albums are even relevant anymore? To a certain extent, it seems like it’s all about mixtapes and shows. Well, mixtapes are more accessible. I travel a lot and I see mixtapes at truck stops, DTLRs, everywhere. It’s hard to get albums when they come out unless you’re online. So, that makes the labels look like they’re lazy. They’re probably not being lazy, they just don’t have anywhere to push your stuff. It makes the artist look like they’re not poppin’, when that’s not the case. I just want to make sure I don’t get caught up in none of that shit. How does your life compare to where it was a year ago today? Ah, man. A lot of stuff has changed for me and my family and everybody around me. Things have changed for the better. I’m doing way more shows and people acknowledge who I am on sight. I’ve got a lot of new rap friends,
a bigger crib, new cars, more chains, more investments, more real estate. Have you seen people’s attitudes towards you change since you’ve been in the game so long? At one point you were an artist in a group that had a song with Lil Wayne, and now you’re a star in your own right. I guess the general consensus on me is that people are just proud of me coming from where I came from. I hear that a lot. I used to not know how to feel when people said they were proud of me. It sounded like they were trying to son me, you know? But I kind of get it. If you watch my grind, if you watch my campaign – I’ve been signed to Ludacris. I’ve been signed to Def Jam. I’ve had great friends like Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane, but I’m just trying to muscle my way in and use my personal grind to get to where I need to be. So a lot of people respect that. It definitely wasn’t overnight. What made you decide to stop doing Playaz Circle and leave DTP? I didn’t leave. I didn’t stop doing Playaz Circle. We own a studio together. When you own a studio, in my case, I record. I work a lot, so I just had to find different avenues to get my music out. When I started putting out the 2 Chainz mixtapes people gravitated towards them, so it just made sense for me to do some 2 Chainz stuff. As far as the DTP thing, I just decided it was time for me to be my own boss and have my own imprint and develop my own artists. I learned a lot being with DTP. You’re involved with a lot of charity events for kids too. You give away bikes every Christmas? Yeah, I think it’s important to give away bikes. I know when we were coming up, we played outside a lot. With kids today, it’s the gaming era, so a lot of kids do Xbox and Playstation so they don’t get outside as much, therefore, we have obesity and a lack of athletes, in my opinion. The drafts are not as strong as they used to be. Less people are in shape, period. I think bikes are a good way to have fun and stay in shape for kids. I got my daughter a bike when she was two years old, just something to do outside the house. So that’s what I’m doing now, using the little platform I have to spread something like that. I’m into eating right and exercising... For the rest of this interview, log on to ozonemag.com or youtube.com/ozonemag Twitter: @2Chainz
OZONE MAG // 17