2 Chainz

    Tauheed Epps (born September 12, 1977), better known by his stage name 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American hip hop recording artist from College Park, Georgia. He was first known for being one-half of southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, along with longtime friend and fellow rapper Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers. They were best known for being signed to Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label as well as their debut single "Duffle Bag Boy". He is currently signed to Def Jam Records, an imprint of Universal Music Group.

1977–1996: Early life and beginnings

    Tauheed Epps was born September 12, 1977 in College Park, Georgia. He attended North Clayton High School with R&B singer Monica and exceeded his teacher's expectations of him by finishing second in his class. He later attended Alabama State University to play basketball.

1997–2010: Playaz Circle and Disturbing tha Peace

    Epps formed the hip hop duo Playaz Circle (the word "Playaz" being a bacronym for Preparing Legal Assets for Years from A to Z) in College Park, Georgia in 1997 with his high school friend Earl Conyers (known as Dolla Boy) while Epps adopted "Tity Boi" as his stage name. Following the release of an independent album titled United We Stand, United We Fall (2002), the duo were introduced to fellow Atlanta rapper Ludacris, when he moved into their College Park apartment complex whilst he was acting as a DJ. After taking interest in Playaz Circle, Ludacris began to record several songs with the group, playing some of them on his radio station.

    Ludacris soon become one of the highest-selling rappers in the South of the United States. After hearing of their situation, Ludacris requested of Epps that the duo join his newly formed record labelDisturbing Tha Peace, a subsidiary of Def Jam Recordings. Epps agreed to sign, although Conyers did not officially join the label until his mother regained her health a year after the initial signing.

Their debut album Supply & Demand, was released on October 30, 2007. The lead single and their debut single, "Duffle Bag Boy", became an urban hit single. The song features Lil Wayne, and was performed by the duo at the BET Hip Hop Awards. The duo released their second studio album Flight 360: The Takeoff, on September 29, 2009. In January 2010, Playaz Circle filmed a music video for their single "Big Dawg" featuring Lil Wayne and Birdman at Studio Space Atlanta. Shortly afterwards, Epps left Disturbing tha Peace, a move he claimed was taken in order to advance his career. Although Ludacris was initially reluctant to allow Epps to leave the label (as he felt Epps could still prove financially successful), he eventually accepted the decision.