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Editorial Reviews
2012 debut artist album from the Hip Hop artist. After a series of explosive mixtapes made 2 Chainz the most sought-after MC in the game, an onslaught of media attention ensued, including the cover of The Source, The Fader, and a glowing piece in The New York Times. 2 Chainz recently linked up with the likes of heavies Kanye West, Drake, Nicki Minaj for collaborations of the next order.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 26 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Start With Some Great Moments; Some Uneven Ones As Well 3 ˝ Stars
August 14, 2012
Format:Audio CD
Joining an array of anticipated hip-hop efforts, 2 Chainz's major label debut (on Def Jam) Based On A T.R.U. Story does not disappoint. While it may lack the intellect of Nas's Life Is Good or the money savvy swag of Rick Ross's masterful God Forgives I Don't, Based On A T.R.U. Story delivers both solid and some truly noteworthy moments. Sure, there are some humorous, `stupid' cuts that could have easily been on Waka Flocka Flame's most recent Triple F Life: Fans, Friends & Family, but there are also some surprising, head-nodding ones too.
"Yuck!" opens the effort with a dramatic, dark and malicious sound. After the orchestra setting is established with flurries of strings, clapping synthetic snares serve as the percussive accompaniment to STREETRUNNER/Matthew Burnett's production masterpiece. 2 Chainz delivers a capable and compelling set of rhymes here, with a lengthy, though solid and explicit hook from none other than `Tunechi' (aka Lil Wayne).
"Crack" has a hard act to follow and it does so talking about, well `crack.' Well produced (Southside), the cut is less effective mainly due to the fact it is much simpler and more repetitive. It's not bad, but nor is it nearly as great as "Yuck!"
"Dope Peddler" samples Tom Lehrer's "The Old Dope Peddler" in interesting fashion. Due to a short first verse, the cut comes off repetitive due to the near succession of the repetitive hook: "Started with an OZ/end up riding fo' deep/pull up to the club..." Regardless, "Dope Peddler" is enjoyable enough without spoiling listeners.
"No Lie," featuring Drake, is solid, featuring Drake's quasi-rap/sung vocals on the hook. Produced by Mike-Will-Made-It and co-produced by Marz, the production begins a bit mellow and understated, erupting into an edgier sound. Edgy would characterize where 2 Chainz's mind is at throughout (`no lie' for sure). Drake as usual sells the profanity-laced hook with such grace, if there is such a thing.
"Birthday Song," featuring Kanye West easily graces the top three of Based On A T.R.U. Story. Produced by Sonny Digital and co-produced by West, "Birthday Song" is quirky enough to eliminate predictability, which is a plus. 2 Chainz get's things rolling with an epic hook following a random intro: "They ask me what I do and who I do it for/and how I come up with this ___ in the studio... When I die bury me inside the Gucci store..." While 2 Chainz's verse is fine, West out raps him in a fine second verse. The two MC's join forces for the final verse.
"I'm Different" doesn't compete in the same league as "Birthday Song," unsurprisingly. Dijon "DJ Mustard" McFarlane's production is great regardless, yielding a clean and minimalist sound. 2 Chainz vocal production is as well executed as it has been the entirety of the album, which is another highlight. Regardless, "I'm Different" doesn't have the `juice' of "Yuck!," "No Lie," or "Birthday Song."
"Extremely Blessed," featuring and produced by The-Dream (Terius Nash), competes much better with the best. While it is a notch below, The-Dream paints a softer, gentler palette for 2 Chainz to `paint' upon. The-Dream sings so `chivalrously': "Honey complexion/body of a goddess/22s on the Lexus, named Alexis/By the way of Texas/Big face Rolexes...She's extremely blessed..." 2 Chainz couldn't be outdone of course: "Give us this day our daily bread/if you a chicken head, go somewhere and lay some eggs." Alrighty then.
"I Love Dem Strippers" is one of them `stupid' tracks that works. Having Nicki Minaj assist on a verse certainly helps, particularly when she can hang with any male MC. The hook is `dumb,' but a good `dumb' making "I Love Dem Strippers" worth the listen. Listeners shouldn't lose too many brain cells on this one.
Any lost brain cells are atoned for on the excellent "Stop Me Now," featuring Dolla Boy. Featuring excellent interpolation of "Nothing Can Stop Me" and opting for soulful, dusty drum programming as opposed to southern pummeling drums, "Stop Me Now" has more `class' about it. 2 Chainz kills the hook, even managing to reference Cindy Lauper of all people (she must be proud).
"Money Machine," produced by Drumma Boy (of Young Jeezy fame in particular), is another production highlight if nothing else. The cut itself is good though not nearly as great as the best, particularly the tour de force that proceeds it.
"In Town," featuring Mike Posner (co-produced by him and Lil Ronnie) is valedictory. Beautiful, soulful, salacious all in one, "In Town" is the unexpected triumph of Based On A T.R.U. Story aside from say "Birthday Song." Posner sings lovely accompanied by chordal piano, even at his most overt (and it is overt). 2 Chainz's raps work well, though he'd probably even assert Posner steals the show.
"Ghetto Dreams" in soulful fashion gives guests John Legend and Scarface respective moments. The old-school sound is a perfect follow-up to the bedroom talk of "In Town." The album end's fitting (or not so fittingly) in `stupid' fashion with "Wut We Doin?," a club-track produced by Mike-Will-Made-It and Marz. It's OK, but "Ghetto Dreams" would've been a fine coda.
Overall, Based On A T.R.U. Story is a solid introduction for 2 Chainz. The more creative cuts work better than the clubbier ones, which causes some unevenness. That said, there are no huge overt misses. Overall, 2 Chainz is off to a good start. Broaden some rhymes and horizons next go around AND call Mike Posner back for a repeat and he's on his way.
"Yuck!" opens the effort with a dramatic, dark and malicious sound. After the orchestra setting is established with flurries of strings, clapping synthetic snares serve as the percussive accompaniment to STREETRUNNER/Matthew Burnett's production masterpiece. 2 Chainz delivers a capable and compelling set of rhymes here, with a lengthy, though solid and explicit hook from none other than `Tunechi' (aka Lil Wayne).
"Crack" has a hard act to follow and it does so talking about, well `crack.' Well produced (Southside), the cut is less effective mainly due to the fact it is much simpler and more repetitive. It's not bad, but nor is it nearly as great as "Yuck!"
"Dope Peddler" samples Tom Lehrer's "The Old Dope Peddler" in interesting fashion. Due to a short first verse, the cut comes off repetitive due to the near succession of the repetitive hook: "Started with an OZ/end up riding fo' deep/pull up to the club..." Regardless, "Dope Peddler" is enjoyable enough without spoiling listeners.
"No Lie," featuring Drake, is solid, featuring Drake's quasi-rap/sung vocals on the hook. Produced by Mike-Will-Made-It and co-produced by Marz, the production begins a bit mellow and understated, erupting into an edgier sound. Edgy would characterize where 2 Chainz's mind is at throughout (`no lie' for sure). Drake as usual sells the profanity-laced hook with such grace, if there is such a thing.
"Birthday Song," featuring Kanye West easily graces the top three of Based On A T.R.U. Story. Produced by Sonny Digital and co-produced by West, "Birthday Song" is quirky enough to eliminate predictability, which is a plus. 2 Chainz get's things rolling with an epic hook following a random intro: "They ask me what I do and who I do it for/and how I come up with this ___ in the studio... When I die bury me inside the Gucci store..." While 2 Chainz's verse is fine, West out raps him in a fine second verse. The two MC's join forces for the final verse.
"I'm Different" doesn't compete in the same league as "Birthday Song," unsurprisingly. Dijon "DJ Mustard" McFarlane's production is great regardless, yielding a clean and minimalist sound. 2 Chainz vocal production is as well executed as it has been the entirety of the album, which is another highlight. Regardless, "I'm Different" doesn't have the `juice' of "Yuck!," "No Lie," or "Birthday Song."
"Extremely Blessed," featuring and produced by The-Dream (Terius Nash), competes much better with the best. While it is a notch below, The-Dream paints a softer, gentler palette for 2 Chainz to `paint' upon. The-Dream sings so `chivalrously': "Honey complexion/body of a goddess/22s on the Lexus, named Alexis/By the way of Texas/Big face Rolexes...She's extremely blessed..." 2 Chainz couldn't be outdone of course: "Give us this day our daily bread/if you a chicken head, go somewhere and lay some eggs." Alrighty then.
"I Love Dem Strippers" is one of them `stupid' tracks that works. Having Nicki Minaj assist on a verse certainly helps, particularly when she can hang with any male MC. The hook is `dumb,' but a good `dumb' making "I Love Dem Strippers" worth the listen. Listeners shouldn't lose too many brain cells on this one.
Any lost brain cells are atoned for on the excellent "Stop Me Now," featuring Dolla Boy. Featuring excellent interpolation of "Nothing Can Stop Me" and opting for soulful, dusty drum programming as opposed to southern pummeling drums, "Stop Me Now" has more `class' about it. 2 Chainz kills the hook, even managing to reference Cindy Lauper of all people (she must be proud).
"Money Machine," produced by Drumma Boy (of Young Jeezy fame in particular), is another production highlight if nothing else. The cut itself is good though not nearly as great as the best, particularly the tour de force that proceeds it.
"In Town," featuring Mike Posner (co-produced by him and Lil Ronnie) is valedictory. Beautiful, soulful, salacious all in one, "In Town" is the unexpected triumph of Based On A T.R.U. Story aside from say "Birthday Song." Posner sings lovely accompanied by chordal piano, even at his most overt (and it is overt). 2 Chainz's raps work well, though he'd probably even assert Posner steals the show.
"Ghetto Dreams" in soulful fashion gives guests John Legend and Scarface respective moments. The old-school sound is a perfect follow-up to the bedroom talk of "In Town." The album end's fitting (or not so fittingly) in `stupid' fashion with "Wut We Doin?," a club-track produced by Mike-Will-Made-It and Marz. It's OK, but "Ghetto Dreams" would've been a fine coda.
Overall, Based On A T.R.U. Story is a solid introduction for 2 Chainz. The more creative cuts work better than the clubbier ones, which causes some unevenness. That said, there are no huge overt misses. Overall, 2 Chainz is off to a good start. Broaden some rhymes and horizons next go around AND call Mike Posner back for a repeat and he's on his way.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Ray-Review
Format:Audio CD
2 CHAINZZZZ!!! Reigning from Atlanta, Georgia, Tauheed Epps aka Tity Boi has been putting in work over the past decade. Some people might be unaware that 2 Chainz is actually one half of the group Playaz Circle, a group that tasted a brief success with their street hit "Duffle Bag Boy" feat. Lil Wayne coming 5 years ago. So needless to say 2 Chainz has been around a lot longer than some people may think. The year 2012 has been a very productive year for the former DTP artist, being the hot collaborator for many of todays hottest artists, appearing on practically everybodies songs as well as releasing a large mass of mixtapes he finally dropped his major label debut Based on A T.R.U. story. When I listen to 2 Chainz my expectations of him as a rapper are pretty low. I would never expect high calibur lyricsm, or thought provoking storylines when he raps, however there is one thing that 2 Chainz does have that many other MC's lack, and that is charisma. 2 Chainz is a grown man at the age of 36, so whenever he speaks it feels authentic and it never sounds like he is trying to impress anybody. The only probably is 2 Chainz (to me anyways)doesn't really have anything interesting to say. His music is defined as Trap Muzik, a southern style of Hip Hop that relies on hard hitting bass and aggressive snares. This type of music is nothing new, however on this album it is a much more glossy and defined trap sound with a mix of pop and soul samples.
Based On A T.R.U. Story is an album compiled of radio singles, which is not a problem for its commercial purposes, but as an album this album doesn't express who 2 Chainz is as a person which is a real problem. All I got out of 2 Chainz is mainly drugs, women, money and violent activities which is what horribly stereotypes the genre of Hip Hop. Again, I do not hold 2 Chainz to a high standard, what I expected from him is pretty much what I recieved, so I wasn't surprised with how extremely derivative this album was compared to just about 70-80% of other southern hip hop artists. But what I do like about this album is that it does completely what its supposed to do and its not getting attached to words such as classic or album of the year because its not that kind of album, and its not trying to be. My personal favorites of the album is "No Lie" feat. Drake a great catchy song thanks to hook man Drizzy. "Birthday Song" feat. Kanye West, a pretty lengthy song with a nice hard beat with a repetitive hook but fun lyrics. The song with the best productions are probably "Stop Me Now" featuring his Playaz Circle half with a great soulful sample. The rest of the album is filled with the same chauvunistic crap that I hate about hip hop of today. However, Hip Hop doesn't always have to be super deep, or super lyrical, this album is fun and thats perfectly fine. If you like southern trap music with car bumping productions and catchy repetitive hooks than this album is perfect for you. As for me, this album is what it is and I cannot discredit 2 Chainz for his hardwork to getting where he is at , and if this is his art than good for him, but I probably will not look forward to another 2 Chainz album from here on out.
Based On A T.R.U. Story is an album compiled of radio singles, which is not a problem for its commercial purposes, but as an album this album doesn't express who 2 Chainz is as a person which is a real problem. All I got out of 2 Chainz is mainly drugs, women, money and violent activities which is what horribly stereotypes the genre of Hip Hop. Again, I do not hold 2 Chainz to a high standard, what I expected from him is pretty much what I recieved, so I wasn't surprised with how extremely derivative this album was compared to just about 70-80% of other southern hip hop artists. But what I do like about this album is that it does completely what its supposed to do and its not getting attached to words such as classic or album of the year because its not that kind of album, and its not trying to be. My personal favorites of the album is "No Lie" feat. Drake a great catchy song thanks to hook man Drizzy. "Birthday Song" feat. Kanye West, a pretty lengthy song with a nice hard beat with a repetitive hook but fun lyrics. The song with the best productions are probably "Stop Me Now" featuring his Playaz Circle half with a great soulful sample. The rest of the album is filled with the same chauvunistic crap that I hate about hip hop of today. However, Hip Hop doesn't always have to be super deep, or super lyrical, this album is fun and thats perfectly fine. If you like southern trap music with car bumping productions and catchy repetitive hooks than this album is perfect for you. As for me, this album is what it is and I cannot discredit 2 Chainz for his hardwork to getting where he is at , and if this is his art than good for him, but I probably will not look forward to another 2 Chainz album from here on out.
15 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Chico Dusty
Format:Audio CD
this has to be by far the worst CD ive ever heard in my entire life. this guy makes waka and lil b sound like common and talib. I was optimistic about it so I decided to give it a chance, worst idea i ever had in my life then again what should you expect from a grown man who wears skinny leg jeans and uses the word cranack in his rhyme scheme plz for the love god do not buy or listen to this c"rap" if anything have a petition signed to have his vocal cords removed ....now im off to listen to some common, talib, and KRIT to wash the this ignorance from my mind
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
I like almost every song on this CD and it sounds good. I would definitely recommend it to my friends.
Published 1 day ago by laporscha miller
4.0 out of 5 stars
Banging
I like it. Keeps my hype when driving. I like more than half the songs on their, which is a miracle for me.
Published 16 days ago by Wonlia
4.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfied
I also got a download with my purchase....I am enjoying my music on the amazon app (cloud).
No delay....great service.
No delay....great service.
Published 1 month ago by myyke_myyke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truuuuuu
Dope album. If you looking for some more joints like Birthday song, check out the homie JoeNice!!! Girls Gone Wild (feat. D.U.B.)
Published 1 month ago by Soulful One
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 CHAINZ
HE IS DIFFERENT FOR SURE - YOU GOTTA LOVE 2 CHAINZ - ESPECIALLY IF YOU GOT THAT CRACK - NO DON'T DO CRACK BUT BUY 2 CHAINZ BASED ON A TRU STORY IT IS A GOOD ALBUM, BET THE NEXT... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Antoinette Troup
3.0 out of 5 stars
5 Strong Hits on the album
This is not my typical kind of Hip Hop I listen to but 2 Chains has a lot of energy and is a hardworking artist. I enjoy the album and respect is artistry.
Published 1 month ago by Ryan Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
liked it
goes hard. 2 chainz has finally made it to the big stage so power to him. like his mixtape this really gets me hyped. well done. looking forward to another big year by him
Published 1 month ago by Chris Andrews
3.0 out of 5 stars
2 Chainz Surprises Nobody in His Mediocre Debut
2 Chainz is one of the hottest rappers in the game right now. After a big breakthrough with the Kanye-run G.O.O.D. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
love
This is one of my son's favorite cd's and listens to it daily. It was reasonably priced and shipped in the correct time frame
Published 2 months ago by Tracy Murphey
4.0 out of 5 stars
TCHAINZ CD
Great purchase. Worth the price for the amount of songs you get. What else can I say...it's a music CD. Can't really go wrong. Download was quick and easy.
Published 2 months ago by T Gomez
