2 Chainz on stage at Aloha Tower Marketplace in January 2013. (Star-Advertiser File)
BY STEFANIE NAKASONE / snakasone@staradvertiser.com
Last year, 2 Chainz threw it down at Aloha Tower Marketplace during Pro Bowl weekend. On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Grammy Award-nominated rapper returns with a late-night show at The Republik, and fans should expect a much different set this time around.
2 CHAINZPresented by BAMP Project» Where: The Republik, 1349 Kapiolani Blvd. |
That’s because 2 Chainz, aka Tauheed Epps, had quite a busy 2013 — police run-ins aside. Following the success of his debut studio album, “Based on a T.R.U. Story,” he released his follow-up album, “B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time” in August.
The latest album, described as more adventurous and polished than his first, received generally good reviews and was named to several “Best of 2013” lists. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone gave the record 3 1⁄2 out of 5 stars, writing that “The Atlanta MC has become hip-hop’s most irrepressibly entertaining star, and his second LP further displays his knack for playfully hollering about money like he’s the first guy who ever had so much paper he couldn’t fold it.
“He tries on some new looks here — the Pharrell-produced, Caribbean-tinged ‘Feds Watching,’ the Fergie duet ‘Netflix,’ the somber dead-homeys elegy ‘Live and Learn.’ But nothing slows down the self-described Black Unicorn’s scene-chewing charisma.”
2 Chainz has said he’s already working on his third album.