2 Chainz was never a commodity until he was in his mid-thirties, but he surprised everyone by becoming one of the most indispensable rappers of the trap era. That late start belied a stamina, perspective, and raw soul that made the rest of the playing field look green by comparison. Born Tauheed Epps in 1977 in the Atlanta-area city of College Park, he got his start with the duo Playaz Circle but didn’t truly break out until the early 2010s. At first, the fame was for guest work with others—Kanye, Nicki Minaj, Juicy J, A$AP Rocky—and it felt like 2 Chainz was a finishing spice for just about every great dish on the menu. But starting with his blockbuster 2011 mixtape T.R.U. REALigion and 2012’s proper studio debut Based on a T.R.U. Story, his solo albums only got stronger while his natural charisma led him to film and TV roles. A derisive nod to the commercialization of street rap, 2017’s Pretty Girls Like Trap Music proved itself a quiet classic, reshaping the aggressive boom of trap as a kind of modern soul music that was lived-in, laidback, and heartfelt. 2 Chainz cemented his elder statesman status with 2023’s Welcome 2 Collegrove, a mixtape with Lil Wayne that sees the pair push each other forward via an entwined sense of respect and competition. “They say steel sharpens steel,” the trap legend tells Apple Music. “So there’s always that little piece of anxiety, knowing that this verse has to be better than the last.”