2 Chainz - The Play Don't Care Who Make It EP

2 Chainz
The Play Don't Care Who Make It EP
2018
Spotify

After the stellar Pretty Girls Like Trap Music the world was more or less clamoring for what 2 Chainz was going to do next. The EP, though often cast aside in Hip Hop for the mixtape, is a venue that 2 Chainz has mastered. His cutting lines, self reflection and smooth delivery always elevate projects He works on, but it is on his own that He really shines. The beats on this record don't feel like Southside or Mike Wil Made It, though they borrow from them as most of trap does, which actually works to it's benefit. With those producers there is this super grand scale to their beats which give them weight, but makes them feel almost out of reach for everyone else. Their production, having that gothic nature works well when it does, but doesn't have to be the end all and tell of of trap music. Here the trap flutes are there, so are the drums, but the beats are lighter and allow 2 Chainz to dance all over the tracks. On "Proud" the only track with features we hear Offset and YG joining 2 Chainz to let their mothers know just how how they are willing to do to be successful. The thing about 2 Chainz is how earnest He is even while flexing hard as hell. "LAMBORGHINI TRUCK (ATLANTA SHIT)" feels more like a summation of the city and the 40 year old rapper's career within it.

On the same track 2 Chainz even gives love to the people making "Atlanta music" even if they aren't from Atlanta which is almost unheard of in hip hop. Yet that is part of the reason 2 Chainz has been so successful, how much people genuinely like him. He's nice, while still maintaining a street cred that few rappers have. Once a rapper gets too popular it feels like they slide into a pop mentality and fall away, but you never get that sense with 2 Chainz He is going to continue to be himself regardless of success. ONe of the best lines comes on "PROUD" when 2 Chainz says "I can't do no right/I'm all lefty". It's short, yet funny just like this entire EP. He keeps this record brief because He says everything He needs to say rather than repeating himself into infinity or meandering around some bullshit. He hasn't made many mistakes since entering the music game and this EP is yet another feather in 2 Chainz overflowing cap.

8.0 out of 10