''Rap or Go to the League'' is the fifth studio album 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 ...

. It was released on March 1, 2019, through Gamebread and Def Jam Recordings. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers, including

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Mike Dean,

Mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

, and WondaGurl, among others.

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

also served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

. The album features guest appearances by

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

, Travis Scott,

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

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), ...

Kodak Black Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Kodak Black, is an American rapper. He gained initial recognition with his single "No Flockin", released in 2014. His debut album, ''Painting Pictures'' (20 ...

and others. ''Rap or Go to the League'' was supported by two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

: "Girl's Best Friend" and " Rule the World". The album received widespread critical praise from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

and was a commercial success. It debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 65,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.

Background

In February 2018, 2 Chainz released the EP ''

The Play Don't Care Who Makes It ''The Play Don't Care Who Makes It'' is the fourth extended play (EP) by American rapper 2 Chainz. It was released on February 8, 2018, by Def Jam Recordings. It features guest appearances from YG (rapper), YG and Offset (rapper), Offset. It was al ...

'' and soon after announced that his next album would be titled ''Rap or Go to the League''. In February 2019, it was revealed that

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

small forward

would executive produce the album. The album cover was later revealed. A

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

press release said the intent of the album is "celebrating black excellence and focusing on the power of education and entrepreneurship." The press release also says the title "challenges the notion that the only way out of the inner city is either to become a rapper or a ball player". On February 28, 2019, the official tracklist was revealed.

Promotion

In November 2018, the song "Girl's Best Friend", featuring American artist

, was released as a double single with the song "Hot Wings" as "Hot Wings Are a Girl's Best Friend". The music video for " Rule the World" featuring American singer

was released on March 11, 2019, and it then became the album's second single eight days later, on March 19.

Critical reception

''Rap or Go to the League'' received critical acclaim from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a

weighted mean The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a score of 82, based on 8 reviews. Sheldon Pierce of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

called the album his most cogent and organized album by far, and his most thoughtful one and stated that "the album is proposed as the rapper’s rejection of the very premise in the title, and in asides and outros he does occasionally question this bifurcation of black liberation, but the music mostly tracks his own path to prosperity through a minefield." He also stated that "As he provides more context for his story than ever, he rewrites the rule book on winning, opening up about his life as certified dealer to rap stars, critiquing the broken collegiate athletics apparatus, and warring against Uncle Sam." Thomas Hobbs of

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

gave the album four stars. Hobbs praises 2 Chainz' growth as an artist stating "But even though 2 Chainz has been prolific as a guest rapper, he’s yet to release the kind of classic solo album that will truly solidify his status as a top-tier rapper. This is something he’s hoping to change with ‘Rap Or Go To The League’, a record that suggests that his talent is finally starting to catch up with all his hard work."

Commercial performance

''Rap or Go to the League'' debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 65,000 album-equivalent units (including 13,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week. This became 2 Chainz' fifth consecutive US top-ten album on the chart. The album also debuted at number one on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart, becoming his third album to top the chart. In its second week, the album dropped to number 14 on the chart, earning an additional 26,000 units.

Track listing

Credits adapted from

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, album's liner notes and

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. Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies a vocal producer * signifies an uncredited co-producer * "Forgiven" features additional vocals from Sunni Patterson and

Francis and the Lights Francis and the Lights is an American pop project led by Francis Farewell Starlite. The term "and the Lights" refers both to the lights on a stage and pixels on a computer screen. Starlite often uses the Francis and the Lights name when credit ...

* "2 Dollar Bill" features background vocals from Anthony Evans, Chelsea "Peaches" West, Denise Carite and Tiffany Palmer * "I'm Not Crazy, Life Is" features background vocals from Joi * "Sam" features additional vocals from B Clark Sample credits * "Forgiven" contains elements of "Lucifer", written by

Shawn Carter Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, Hugh Perry, and Maxwell Smith, and performed by Jay-Z. * "Threat 2 Society" contains a sample of "So Good to Be Alive", written by Douglas Williams, Leonard Williams, and Melvin Williams, and performed by The Truthettes. * "Money in the Way" contains a sample of "Can't You See What You're Doing to Me", written and performed by

The Three Degrees The Three Degrees is an American female vocal group formed circa 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although 16 women have been members over the years, the group has always been a trio. The current line-up consists of Helen Scott, Valerie Holi ...

. * "Statue of Limitations" contains a sample of "Couldn't Be a Better Player", written by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz featuring

Too $hort Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

. * "Rule the World" contains a sample of "

Why Don't We Fall in Love "Why Don't We Fall in Love" is a song written and produced by Rich Harrison for American contemporary R&B, R&B singer Amerie's debut album, ''All I Have (album), All I Have'' (2002). Released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom in Octo ...

", written by Richard Harrison, and performed by Amerie. * "2 Dollar Bill" contains an interpolation of "

Phone Home In computing, phoning home is a term often used to refer to the behavior of security systems that report network location, username, or other such data to another computer. Phoning home may be useful for the proprietor in tracking a missing or st ...

", written by

Dwayne Carter 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, joining ...

, Eddie Montilla, Andre Lyon and Marcelo Valenzano. * "I Said Me" contains a sample of " My Favorite Things", written by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

and

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

, and performed by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

; and a sample of "A Garden of Peace", written and performed by Lonnie Liston-Smith.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and album's liner notes. Instrumentation * Philip Cornish – additional keyboards * Tyler Cates – guitar * Blair Taylor – additional keyboards Technical * Zach Steele – recording * Bainz – recording * Nolan Presley – recording * Billy Hickey – recording * Migui Maloles – recording * Francisco "Frankie" Ramirez – recording * Dem Jointz – mixing * Finis "KY" White – mixing , recording *

Alex Tumay Alexander Tumay (born July 19, 1986) is an American audio engineer and DJ from Atlanta, Georgia. He has recorded and mixed songs for major artists across the American hip hop industry, including Young Thug, Travis Scott, Future, Kanye West, Dr ...

– mixing * Mike Dean – mixing *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

– mixing * Glenn Schick – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums 2 Chainz albums Albums produced by 9th Wonder Albums produced by Cardo Albums produced by Dem Jointz Albums produced by DJ Mustard Albums produced by FKi (production team) Albums produced by Hitmaka Albums produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Albums produced by N.O. Joe Albums produced by Pharrell Williams Albums produced by Terrace Martin Albums produced by WondaGurl Def Jam Recordings albums