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Writer's pictureCharles Luberisse
Feb 8, 20224 min read

Album Review: 2 Chainz - Dope Don’t Sell Itself

Written By: Mike Double G

 

Grade = 67% or 3 Stars ️

Tracklist - 33 minutes

  1. Bet It Back 2:57

  2. Pop Music (Feat. Moneybagg Yo & Beatking) 2:05

  3. Kingpen Ghostwriter (Feat. Lil Baby) 2:22 ️

  4. Outstanding (Feat. Roddy Ricch) 2:55

  5. Neighbors Know My Name 1:44

  6. Million Dollars Worth of Game (Feat. 42 Dugg) 2:38 ️

  7. Free B.G. 1:44

  8. 10 Bracelets (Feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again) 3:09 ️

  9. Lost Kings (Feat. Sleepy Rose & Lil Durk) 2:37

  10. Caymans (Feat. Swae Lee) 3:13

  11. Vlad TV (Feat. Stove God Cooks, Symba, & Major Myjah) 4:27 ️

  12. If You Want Me To (Feat. Jacquees) 2:38

2 Chainz released his 7th LP with Dope Don’t Sell Itself. By his standards this is a light body of work as it’s only 12 tracks running 33 minutes. Usually I’d say there will probably be a side B to this project but not in this case. In his interview with The Breakfast Club Titi Boy said that he planned on releasing two more projects this year. The next project will be Collegrove II with Lil Wayne. The third is supposed to be an album with Statik Seletak. Although this project is somewhat light it still came with plenty of big features. It includes Moneybagg Yo, Beatking, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, 42 Dugg, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Sleepy Rose, Lil Durk, Swae Lee, Stove God Cooks, Symba, Major Myjah, and Jacquees. Only three of the 12 songs didn’t include a feature. Two of those tracks were less than 2 minutes long. He went two of three on the solo tracks with Bet It Back being the strongest of the three.


The two best songs on the album are Kingpen Ghostwriter and Vlad TV. The first of which has a big name feature in Lil Baby. “Vlad TV” on the other hand has some lesser known artists who don’t frequently collaborate with 2 Chainz. “Kingpen Ghostwriter” was appropriately placed at track 3 as that usually seems to be a hot spot for a top song. Baby’s verse on this song reminds me of his feature on Drake’s song Wants and Needs. His verse on Wants and Needs is one of his best features and the verse he opens his shows with. Since that song we haven’t seen the same flow and cadence from Baby until now. 2 Chainz said on “The Breakfast Club” that the same day he recorded this track with Baby was also the day he did Million Dollars Worth of Game with 42 Dugg. Not surprising since Dugg is signed to Lil Baby’s 4PF label.


“Vlad TV” has a feature from Stove God Cooks, Symba, & Major Myjah. Stove God Cooks was my favorite on this song. He has recently signed to Griselda records and has starting to gain more traction because of it. Cooks appeared on Westside Gunn, Hitler Wears Hermes 8 seven different times. He had 5 features on side A and 2 on side B. 2 Chainz also appeared on that project. Besides WSG’s project, he had features on a Conway project and a Benny project in 2021. He is clearly tapped in with the Griselda movement and that’s probably the reason for the Stove God Cooks feature. This song is definitely the title track for the album.


2 Chainz had “The Breakfast Club” play the song Lost Kings after his interview. I think this was because it had a feature from his artist Sleepy Rose. On the T.R.U. album Sleepy Rose had one of the best songs with the track Woo. I like him as a rapper but I wasn’t crazy about him on this record. He carried the hook which had an autotune sound to it. It sounded like something you’d hear on SoundCloud. This track will get plenty of spins because of the Lil Durk feature but this wasn’t one of favorites.


Titi Boy is always good for a couple club records on one of his albums. This time he came with Pop Music and Neighbors Know My Name. “Pop Music” has features from Beatking and Moneybagg Yo but I wasn’t crazy about this song. The hook was repetitive and Moneybagg Yo’s verse wasn’t too strong. Bagg is more of album rapper which makes him somewhat hit or miss on features. I preferred “Neighbors Know My Name” despite its short length. The titled reminds me of the Trey Songz song and I think adding a verse from him would have elevated the track.


Overall, this album was somewhat disappointing. There are a couple keepers on here but there are also a few misses. Many of the songs sounded incomplete or possible throwaways that were meant for a different project. “Vlad TV” was the right title track for an album called “Dope Don’t Sell Itself” but most of these records didn’t follow that theme. It’s an easy listen on a light 33 minutes but with so many features you don’t get much 2 Chainz on his own album. His last three LP’s were all stronger than this project. This is most likely just an appetizer since two more projects planned to be dropped this year. I’m giving this album a three star rating.


Best Song = “Kingpen Ghostwriter” (ft. Lil Baby)



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