2 Chainz Recalls Getting Out Of His Contract With Ludacris

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 202211.9K Views

2 Chainz recalls how he got out of his deal with DTP.

2 Chainz has bossed up over the past decade but it didn't happen without some losses on the way. Chainz has proven that he can overcome any obstacle that comes his way, including his deal with Ludacris back in the day. The rapper was once signed to Ludacris' DTP label before departing and joining forces with Def Jam to releases his debut solo album.

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During a recent appearance on Drink Champs, 2 Chainz recalled the day he left Ludacris' label, revealing that he had to sacrifice a lot at the time to take his career to the next level. "I woke up and called [Ludacris] and said, ‘I don’t want to be on the label anymore.’ Then they said, ‘You can’t do that. You can’t just get off a label like that,'" he said, adding that there was speculation that he would head to Cash Money because of his relationship with Lil Wayne.

"I been around ’Cris, I been around Wayne, and then I’m learning I can really do this on my own," he said. "I paid [Ludacris] to get out, they get a point on my first three albums. I paid Luda the 100 grand and I gave him a point on each of the three albums. I just dropped my seventh album. I’m on my eighth album that I’m ’bout to drop now—and the 100,000, I mean very humbly, I got it on me now.”

Check out the full episode below.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.