When you search ‘1530 Howell Mill Highway’ on Google, the picture that pops up is totally mundane. It appears like a wonderful neighborhood – perhaps bustling or perhaps in a quaint a part of city. However round this time in 2017, it was the epicenter of probably the greatest points of interest in Atlanta.
That summer season, this North West Atlanta dwelling was remodeled into 2 Chainz’s Pink Trap House, a cotton sweet pink-painted dwelling with a pink range on the garden and pink automotive within the driveway, all within the identify of two Chainz’s fourth studio album, Fairly Ladies Like Entice Music. It attracted hundreds of individuals from morning to nighttime in its preliminary two-week run from late June by early July. That Pink Entice Home took the album expertise and introduced it to precise, factual life earlier than everybody’s eyes.
Listen to 2 Chainz’s Pretty Girls Like Trap Music here.
The Entice Home turned an Instagram sensation; hundreds of photographs have been tagged with the situation. With the thrill round Atlanta’s latest (albeit non permanent) landmark, 2 Chainz and his workforce prolonged the lease on the home. Over the course of the following six months, the Entice Home seemingly took on a lifetime of its personal. Someday it was a church, the following – a free HIV clinic. It turned the meet-up spot for loads of Atlanta’s youth, remodeling the house right into a venue for anybody and everybody to showcase their newest strikes (see the magic of Ayo & Teo and #ThaKrew). Even six months previous the album’s launch date, into the winter months, the Entice Home transformed into Trap Wonderland and held quite a few vacation actions for teenagers.
However 2 Chainz wasn’t finished simply but. Alongside treating lots of of girls to free manicures and pedicures at pop-ups in Atlanta and New York, he partnered with Spotify to create a playlist collection that was curated by… effectively, fairly ladies who favored lure. Nicki Minaj, Lauren London, Erykah Badu, Cardi B, Rita Ora, Karreuche Tran, and extra set the vibe with quite a few playlists on the streaming service. 2 Chainz didn’t go away something to the creativeness with the upcoming launch of his album, but it surely was his creativeness that introduced the album to life. He took the artistic palette of the way to promote an album to a different degree, and it served as the proper arrange for the very best album of his profession.
The album dropped after a 12 months of Chainz re-establishing himself as one of many coldest MCs in hip-hop. A trifecta of mixtapes (Felt Like Cappin, Daniel Son Necklace Don, Hibachi for Lunch) was launched in 2016 alongside his Lil Wayne collaborative album, Collegrove. Regardless of the general public’s early criticisms of 2 Chainz and his lyrics, the latter challenge noticed him go bar for bar with Lil Wayne, who at one level was thought of one among “the very best rappers alive” and sometimes occasions surpass him. Collegrove, like the opposite three aforementioned initiatives, felt enjoyable and refreshing. Nevertheless, none had the urgency or the sensation of a defining 2 Chainz second. His flashes of excellence all through 2016 felt like 2 Chainz working by a daily season within the NBA. There have been occasions he’d have a robust sufficient recreation for the workforce victory (“Champions” with GOOD Music, “Huge Quantity” with Drake, “No Drawback” with Likelihood The Rapper), however he didn’t at all times have that star-making, posterizing efficiency on his solo data.
Fairly Ladies Like Entice Music looks like that 49 level recreation in Recreation 4 of a playoff collection that tied issues again up. A game-changer. A possibility to point out the world he was nonetheless a contender. The dialog round 2 Chainz has at all times been that the mixtapes are higher than the precise albums. Fairly Ladies Like Entice Music leaves little question that 2 Chainz might maintain robust to the mixtape slappers whereas nonetheless enamoring audiences with radio-ready attraction.
There are moments when the Codeine Cowboy is again within the flesh by the anthemic “Sleep When U Die” (“Exhausting work beats expertise, dope boy meets Khaled”) or the sound system-rattling “Riverdale Rd” (“…From grams to Grammys”). However there are additionally moments the place 2 Chainz captures a vibe for the lots who will not be in mixtape mode. “Good Drank” represents an exquisite marriage of ATL creativity by assist from the town’s stalwart Gucci Mane and the brand new taste of Quavo. “It’s A Vibe” supplies a easy, calm knock with 2 Chainz enjoying maestro to music’s most ubiquitous R&B stars (Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz, Jhené Aiko). He closes the album with arguably probably the greatest tracks of his discography with “Burglar Bars” (with Atlanta legend Monica), substituting the swag for soul in maybe essentially the most open we’ve ever heard 2 Chainz. Fairly truthfully, it’s a lane that followers would like to see him journey by down the road.
2 Chainz is a particular type of expertise in hip-hop. He’s the type of artist who might go on a nationwide tour, break his leg, and nonetheless tear the home down every evening. He’s the type of artistic thoughts who solid his personal mom as the primary MC in his music video for “PROUD” off The Play Don’t Care Who Makes It. He’s the one one who might seemingly (and convincingly) host a tv present on the most expensivest items that money can buy.
Fairly Ladies Like Entice Music is undoubtedly one among his finest albums up to now, and in addition felt like a turning level in his profession. He’s reached a brand new artistic plateau, and has pushed the envelope in hip-hop previous the usual album rollout and into a brand new period of offering hip-hop music by an immersive expertise. Musically, he’s returned to peak kind and it exhibits each within the music and on the charts (4 platinum singles from this album alone). Whereas most rappers ponder slowing down at age 40, the person previously often called Tity Boi stays hungry and welcomes his subsequent problem.
Listen to 2 Chainz’s Pretty Girls Like Trap Music here.
Editor’s word: This text was initially printed in 2018.
