There’s nothing in hip-hop today quite like the adrenaline rush you get when the southern drawl of "2 Chaaaiiinnzzz" hits your ears. That's when you know you’re about to be treated to an unstoppable stream of classic verses by the Atlanta rapper who shouts his name at the beginning of each song. No rapper today is better-equipped than Mr. Chainz to perform the title track for Fast & Furious 6.
Just as he’s following fellow 404 spitter Ludacris in crafting a Fast and the Furious record, Tity 2 Necklace is making like Luda by trying his hand at acting. Last night's episode of Law and Order: SVU marked 2 Chainz’s debut as a drug dealer with a mean case of sciatica:
In his Emmy-deserving portrayal, Chainz plays Calvin ‘Pearlie’ Jones, a paroled, loyal hood soldier who likes massage parlors. Heaven forbid a working rapper makes his debut on network television playing a storeowner or a teacher.
Although SVU was Chainz’s first acting gig, he did portray himself in a February cameo on 2 Broke Girls, where he cyphered with Beth Myers. And despite the many ways this scene could have crashed and burned, Chainz came off as good humored while Myers doesn't lay it on too thick.
Pieces have been written about 2 Chainz’s prolificity, and about how old he is. Chainz is 35 and has only dropped one studio album. Nas is four years older and has had three fully developed careers by now.
The fact that 2 Chainz is a relative novice explains why he’s willing to grind out alongside both Kreayshawn and Mariska Hargitay. The longer someone is slept on, the more he feels he has to prove. Another reason it took 2 Chainz forever to get running is he began his career with "Tity Boi." Forcing Ryan Seacrest to say "tity" is probably not the most effective way to get your records spun.
Now that Chainz is a bonafide SAG card holder, though, let's hope the 2 Chainz Cinemax feature won't be too far behind.