It was Soulja in particular who excited 2-17. I was listening to people like Soulja Boy, of course, D4L, Crime Mob, Lil Jon, that whole era." In the summer of 2006 is when I started making beats with FL studio. In 4th grade I was in the concert band, and when I went to middle school where I was in the marching band, so I was always reading music. "I’ve been into music since I was in elementary school," he said. We caught up with the producer to talk about his influences, his range of talents, and his plans to change the sound of Atlanta rap once again.Ģ-17 started music early, even before he discovered the rap music that inspired him to get into production. Scoring some regional solo hits through his dance-oriented visuals, and producing for the likes of Travis Porter, Bankroll Fresh, and 2 Chainz, 2-17 has proved himself as an artist to watch. The movement which began in Bankhead was ridden to the top of the charts, with groups like Dem Franchize Boyz and D4L scoring gigantic hits, the latter of which cruising all the way to number one on Billboard with "Laffy Taffy".Ģ-17 pulls from this extremely popular but short-lived wave of ATL music, using many of the original sounds from the era in his FL Studio compositions, and through his love of rap, dance, and video, has created his own movement using its fundamentals. A simpler and less aggressive derivative of the Atlanta-born phenomenon called crunk, snap encouraged dancing and chanting, giving it a decidedly inclusive feel.
While rappers from his neighborhood created and morphed trap music into what it is today, 2-17's focus never broke from the early-00s movement of snap. Hailing from the Eastside of the city known as Zone 6, the young artist grew up in the same area as rap icons like Future and Gucci Mane, but his obsession with ATL rap dates a little further back. 2-17 is Atlanta through-and-through, but despite being only 21 years old, he's not all that concerned with the music coming out of the region today. 2-17 is creating Atlanta's future by pulling from its past. Music is therapeutic in a way that it keeps my mind off my father.Bankroll Fresh and 2 Chainz producer Mr. Even that experience of losing him made me stronger. And so for me, losing him I definitely lost somebody that I could trust, confide in, and communicate with about a lot of different things talking to. âItâs kind of like your first-I guess role model or something like that. Youâre taught not to cry,â 2 Chainz explained. Youâre taught to be strong." said Chainz. " Father/son relationships, itâs a lot of masculinity. 2 Chainz further elaborated on his relationship with his father in a recent interview with FUSE. On the bonus track "Live and Learn (It Will)," the rapper actually opens up about the effect his father's passing had on him.
II: Me Time is focused on bangers and hilarious punchlines, the last third of the record becomes more introspective. While the majority of 2 Chainz' new album B.O.A.T.S. 2 Chainz speaks about the death of his father, and the therapeutic nature of music.