2 Chainz and DJ Drama have reflected on the history they made back in 2011 when they collaborated on the T.R.U. REALigion mixtape. Now, the pair have recently sat down to discuss the impact that the groundbreaking tape had on Chainz’s career.
Drama currently hosts the Gangsta Grillz podcast on Audible, where the artist formerly known as Titi Boy stopped by for a chat on Tuesday (July 24). There, he revealed that not even he was prepared for the impact that the mixtape would have when he first released it.
“The thing is, I’m on fire, and you ain’t touch mine,” he said. “That’s why we’re sitting here now. Because when we finally linked up, we fucked them folks up.”
After DJ Drama pointed out that the mixtape was the first to appear on the Billboard charts, 2 Chainz continued: “T.R.U. REALigion birthed my most infamous ad-lib, which is “true.” It birthed the name of my label. It was a brand I was wearing, but when I put the tape together […] you know, I get so hot, they want me to make a label.”
Released on November 1, 2011, T.R.U. REALigion featured the chart-breaking song, “Riot,” which put 2 Chainz on the mainstream map as a solo artist. A certified Diamond mixtape with over 1 million downloads on DatPiff — which is the minimum requirement for a mixtape to reach platinum status on the site — the mixtape featured guest appearances from Big Sean, Jadakiss, Kreayshawn, Raekwon, Birdman, Trey Songz, Young Jeezy and more.
Production came courtesy of Drumma Boy, C-Note, Lex Luger, Chophouse and more.
Back in 2013, the success of the mixtape prompted the rapper to speculate that he could get JAY-Z on his next album.
“I always had it in mind that I was gonna put Jay Z on my third album,” he said at the time. “Some people skip steps and then wonder why they don’t have anywhere to go, they build these glass ceilings. I still feel like I have room to grow, I haven’t peaked out yet. It’s always exciting to get a verse or something like that from Jay Z for the new album.”
Alas, the expected pairing with Hova didn’t happen, and he ultimately gave up on trying back in 2020.
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