"Where U Been?" is a song by American rapper

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

from his second studio album '' B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time''. (2013) The song was released as the album's first promotional single on August 1, 2013. It was

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

by frequent collaborator Mike Will Made It, and featured a guest appearance by Cap.1. The song peaked on the US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles at number one.

Background

On August 1, 2013, 2 Chainz premiered the Mike Will Made It-produced "Where U Been?" featuring Cap.1, from his second studio album '' B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time''. On the same day, it was serviced to

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

as the album's first promotional single. In September 2013, 2 Chainz performed "Where U Been?" on DJ Skee's SKEE Live along with "

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Music video

The Sharod Marcus Simpson-directed music video for "Where U Been?" was released on September 11, 2013, the day after the album's US release. The video features a compilation of tour footage from the America's Most Wanted concert tour, which also featured T.I. and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

. The black and white video also shows 2 Chainz "performing to packed crowds and celebrating his lavish lifestyle."

Critical reception

"Where U Been?" was met with generally positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s, with most of the praise going towards the production. Jordan Sargent of ''

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'' praised Mike Will Made It's production saying, it "weds pinging bells and the hint of a guitar riff to the producer's typically intricate hi-hat programming." Kyle Krammer of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

credited the song for its "Massive, booming beat and brillent non sequitur punchlines." David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the song a "heartbreak 2 Chainz and Mike Will Made-It style with betrayal lyrics going ghetto over hypnotic, pounding production." Julian Benbow of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' also praised the production, calling it warped and taunting. Jay Soul of RapReviews called the song pleasant to the ear.

Chart performance

References

{{2 Chainz songs 2013 songs 2 Chainz songs Song recordings produced by Mike Will Made It Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by Marquel Middlebrooks Songs written by Mike Will Made It Songs written by 2 Chainz