“I just got one question, Colorado,” told near the end of his set on Saturday.
By this point, everyone in Cervantes probably knew where this was going to end up. Headliner 2 Chainz had played just about every one of his popular songs up to this point during the hour(ish) set, with one glaring omission.
“…is anybody here celebrating a birthday?”
With that, the crowd exalted, as the opening chimes to 2012’s “Birthday Song” played over the theater’s more-than-capable sound system.
“Birthday Song”, like most 2 Chainz songs, would seem on its face to be thematically on track with pop culture’s sudden infatuation with, well, ass. But 2 Chainz, unlike other artists who have penned songs imploring listeners to “be about that bass” or “the anaconda” or whatever, never wrote his booty-shaking songs out of novelty, or in hopes of commercial success.
Because, for 2 Chainz, booty-shaking has always been a part of his larger ethos. Coming from Atlanta, one of the world’s most dynamic and influential music scenes, the strip clubs somewhat famously serve as cultural and communal hubs, with artists like 2 Chainz (and Future, and countless others) producing music specifically for this environment.
2 Chainz, who’s career launched under the moniker Tity Boi (one which he still uses from time to time) was initially a member of the hip-hop duo Playaz Circle, achieving relative commercial success with their 2007 track “Duffle Bag Boy” (feat. Lil Wayne). Despite repeatedly denying the names’ potentially derogatory interpretation (one which, to be fair, was never intentional), Tity Boi (or Tauheed Epps) basically relaunched his career In the year that followed, the remarkably strong performance of “T.R.U. RELigion” would help open more doors for the notoriously persistent Epps, most prominently with his feature on
Itap on that “Mercy” verse where a broader audience was first exposed to 2 Chainz’s spectacular nack for so-called “scene stealing” any song which boasts a feature from the 6’5” rapper, with each off-kilter slur, witty one-off, or re-pronunciation (not mispronunciation) further endearing him to hip-hop fans world-wide.
Itap that personality which made winning over the Cervantes’ audience a relatively simple affair for 2 Chainz on Saturday night, with the nightap opening acts ultimately proving the vast creative sea that rages between 2 Chainz and acts which reflect hip-hops less interesting and/or abundant tropes (particularly in a post-Drake world).
“Here’s something I don’t understand,” Epps said during one of his several impromptu asides. “If weed is legal here, why do people keep asking me for weed? Like, y’all know I didn’t fly in with any, and seeing as I’m a guest…”
With that, a barrage of cigarillos and pre-rolls hit the stage.
“Does anyone have a light?”
A barrage of a dozen or so lights then hit the rapper from different directions all at once. 2 Chainz responded quickly by putting his hands under an imaginary center and yelling “OMAHA! OMAHA!”
Other tracks performed included a recently leaked (and very good) track with fellow Atlantan Young Thug, , as well as the hook from Most of the night, the entire crowd (at least those visible to the stage) rapped along verse-by-verse with the visibly pleased 2 Chainz, who would take to twitter to respond to the nightap festivities.
“Thank u Denver for an amazing show.”
No, thank you, 2 Chainz. Thank you.
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Music blogger Jake Blair is a new contributor to Reverb.
