Tauheed Epps, born September 12, 1977, and raised in College Park, Georgia, records as 2 Chainz. He first performed as Tity Boi in the duo Playaz Circle alongside Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers, signed to Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label, and scored an early hit with the 2007 single "Duffle Bag Boy" featuring Lil Wayne. He played college basketball at Alabama State before rebranding and signing a solo deal with Def Jam in 2012. His guest verse on Kanye West's "Mercy" put him on the Billboard Hot 100 that year, and his debut album Based on a T.R.U. Story entered the chart at number one behind the platinum singles "No Lie" with Drake and "Birthday Song" with West. He followed it with B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time, Rap or Go to the League and the Grammy-nominated Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, and has stayed a fixture as a guest verse specialist and a restaurateur.