In a one-on-one, personal conversation with former NBA star Matt Barnes, 2 Chainz shared intimate details about what it was like growing up as Tity Boy. The rapper talked about his time as a drug dealer and holding down the household while his father was in jail. The husband and father of three reflected on the often rough times brought on by drug busts and police encounters, but he was able to survive it all to become on of the most famous rappers in the world.
"All I've ever known since I touched foot on this earth is drugs or drug dealing," the rapper said. "My father never got up and went to work. Ever. Never clocked in, clocked out. He never was late coming home because he was in traffic or did overtime. Me and my mom have a very transparent relationship so she knew from the time that I got into the game and she accepted me for what it was. I'mma only child. I don't have any siblings. I don't really have best friends. I never really had somebody that I considered a role model. You know? Except for the drug dealing persona. That, itself, was something that I wanted to participate in."
2 Chainz continued, "I've been in about four different drug busts. My first one was probably when I was about six and I had another one when I was about 12. And then I had another one when I was 15. The police come in your house. They violate you. As a kid, they violate everything. They destroy everything. It's hard to even go back into these places once your house has been busted." He shared that when he was 15, his father was already in jail so when the police came, they arrested his mother. He went to stay at a friends house and spent much of his time on the streets with his buddies making money.
The rapper also said that as the man of the house, it was his responsibility to take care of his mother. He mirrored the activities he saw everyone around him exhibiting, and it was paying off well. He said that before he even had a record deal he bought his mother a house, he bought himself a house, and he owned a tour bus with a studio in it. Watch 2 Chainz detail his upbringing for SAME ENERGY below.