When listeners hear the “2 Chainzzz” ad-lib on a track, they’ve come to expect crazy bars stuffed with similes and knock-out punchlines, because the Atlanta native has a storied track record of delivering standout verses. The former Tity Boi is in the top tier of rappers who receive a call when artists need to take their songs to the next level and he knows it, reportedly charging $100,000 for a feature.
On a random August night, 2 Chainz sent out a tweeted pondering his Top 5 guest verses, naming Kanye West’s “Champions” and “Mercy,” as well as The Game’s “Ali Bomaye” and Travi$ Scott’s “3500” before adding Drake’s “All Me” and DJ Esco and Future’s “100it Racks” to mix. It seems like he has a good grasp of his discography because he made it a Top 10 list, and we came to the same conclusion as he did after spending hours upon hours listening to dozens and dozens of his feature verses.
Let’s break down why we think the follow tracks are 2 Chainz’ Top 10, but not before singling out some tracks which just missed the cut.
Honorable Mentions:
Rick Ross – “F*ck Em”
De La Soul – “Whoodeeni”
Big K.R.I.T. – “Money On the Floor”
French Montana – “Marble Floors”
Tech N9ne – “Hood Go Crazy”
Without further ado, here’s why the following tracks are his 10 best features to date.
Kanye West’s “Mercy”
Following solid bars from Big Sean and Pusha T, 2 Chainz delivers the most memorable verse on “Mercy.” He starts in fine form by describing his coupe “the color of mayonnaise,” and it’s off to the races from there. He brags about being “drunk and high at the same time” while “drinking champagne on the airplane,” and he’s so rich (“money tall like Jordan”) that all his cars and women are foreign. Life is good for 2 Chainz.
Travi$ Scott’s “3500″
“3500” is another strong feature with 2 Chainz, who takes lifestyle raps to another level. Toward the end of his verse, he says his house is “bigger than your imagination,” but that doesn’t stop him from trying to describe it. Try to picture him in his house, swimming backstroke to his child’s room from his swimming pool size bathtub. There’s also a Maybach in the living room and a backyard built like a sports bar. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Kanye West’s “Champions”
Once again 2 Chainz is right at home on a massive G.O.O.D. Music posse cut, with so much money in his pocket he’s “walkin’ all slew-foot.” He’s riding his newfound fame “like a cruise ship” and nothing’s going to stop the wave. The most outlandish lines describe the “snowball effect” of his current girl helping him find his next one, who will do the same, and so on and so forth. And once again we find 2 Chainz describing his house, this time referring to marble floors so smooth he could actually bowl on them.
DJ Esco and Future’s “100it Racks”
No one raps about lean as much or as well as Future, but apparently 2 Chainz drinks it just as much. He’s on a “codeine diet,” adding the cough syrup to his Snapple and even pouring it on salads. However, Chainz doesn’t spend the entire verse rapping about lean. He brags about his Rolex and calls out people who are biting his fashion style. When he brags about his 16s being fire and having a flow so crazy he wears “a straightjacket in the booth,” it’s hard to argue.
Chance The Rapper’s “No Problem”
On this Coloring Book standout, 2 Chainz is shouting out Petey Pablo and boasting about his “mind full of ideas.” Memorably, he brags about his businesses running as smoothly as like diarrhea, which is kind of gross…. but hey, when you’ve found your passions in life — “this is my blessing, this is my passion” he raps later — you can get away with those kinds of similes. In this case, that means getting high, being a top rapper and coming up with successful ventures. Sounds like he’s doing well so far.
The Game’s “Ali Bomaye”
“Ali Bomaye” is a banger. The production is bananas and The Game, Rick Ross, and 2 Chainz all bring their A game. To start, Chainz looks “real photogenic” in lavish clothing which will never go out of style, casually mentioning a $3,000 Versace outfit. More seriously (but not too serious), he speaks about his difficult come-up, from dealing drugs in the College Park projects, to where he is today. Which is to say, he has enough money to buy a waitress a ring to make her fall in love with him and own “a bottle of cologne that cost more than your rent.”
ScHoolboy Q’s “WHat THey Want”
To start, 2 Chainz compares his flow to “four n*ggas in a Regal” speeding through yellow lights, setting expectations high from the jump. The rest of his verse is just as aggrandizing, whether he’s comparing himself to the second coming of Christ (“all gold for my Adventist”) or bragging about having enough money to buy promethazine by the caseloads and put strippers on his payroll.
Drake’s “All Me”
On this track Drake and Big Sean have the misfortune of following 2 Chainz after he’s already bodied it. He’s getting so much love from the ladies the only way to stop him is a “quarantine” (either he needs to be separated from them, or get treated for his STDs) and like Babe Ruth, he brazenly announces he’s switching up his flow before actually doing it. Unsurprisingly, he also stunts about his wealth, name dropping Givenchy. Swag.
Jeezy’s “Magic City Monday”
Magic City is Atlanta’s most famous strip club, and it obviously means a lot to 2 Chainz, as he shouts out the late Nando, who DJed at the club. Chainz drops more references to his rich lifestyle, including his Lamborghini and a Cuban links necklace, but more importantly, he has plenty to money to “leave on the floor” at Magic City, where he might meet a woman and take her home. Magic indeed.
Ludacris’ “We Got”
Even when he was still known as Tity Boi, 2 Chainz showed out on the DTP posse cut “We Got (Them Gunz),” matching his flow to the fast-paced, frenzied production. His verse follows the firearms theme as he pulls pistols “out my stomach” and brags about his prowess with a .38 Smith and Wesson and “throwing Techs like a NBA ref.” He’s got a vast collection of guns and artillery, too, with “all kinds of pistols” and “bullets the size of Lil Fate (of M.O.P.).” Apparently, Tity Boi was not one to be trifled with in 2003.
