2 Chainz was born Tauheed Epps in College Park, Georgia. After attending Alabama State University on a basketball scholarship, Epps returned to Georgia where he co-founded the Atlanta-based rap group Playaz Circle, performing under the stage name Tity Boi. Playaz Circle became affiliated with Ludacris and signed with Def Jam. Epps first went solo in 2007 with the mixtape Me Against the World. The 2Pac references continued with his 2009 mixtapes Trap-A-Velli and All Ice on Me, but 2010’s Me Against the World 2: Codeine Withdrawal hit his style on the nose with the last bit of its title, and when DJ Teknikz and DJ Frank White collected his best street tracks in 2011, the hard and hazy set of cuts was dubbed the Codeine Cowboy mixtape. That same year he was featured on David Banner’s “Yao Ming” and Big K.R.I.T.’s “Money on the Floor.” By this point, he had dropped the Tity Boi moniker, opting for the more family-friendly 2 Chainz.