“Anytime I was moving, kind of dragging like, in the classroom that day, ’cause I wasn’t feeling good. Related Story 2 Chainz: Baller or nah? Read now Not only was he popular, he was smart and a fantastic teammate. When you hear the overarching story: kicked out of school senior year, scholarships lost, made it to Division I basketball and eventually to rap superstardom, our country’s stereotypes often point us toward an image of a ruthless go-getter who would take anyone out on the way to the top. He loved the structured part of basketball.” Easy to get along with, happy-go-lucky guy,” said coach James Gwyn, who was at North Clayton from 1985 to 1995. Not some thug looking to rap anyone to death metaphorically or physically, he just loved to hoop. On the far side, a white banner stands out: State AA Boys Basketball Champs 1993.Įpps was a sophomore, just another kid doing what he loved, playing basketball every day. Engaged.” On one wall inside the gym, a single American flag hangs. The message board out front when you pull in reads, “On time. The home of the Eagles ostensibly looks like any other high school in America. 2 Chainz is a part of the ownership of the G League affiliate for the Atlanta Hawks. But his story isn’t just one of personal achievement, it’s the tale of just another kid who liked sports from a Black community that refused to give up on him.Ģ Chainz attending a College Park Skyhawks game. To be fair, he isn’t the first artist from College Park to turn into a megastar. Instead, he rocketed to the top of the charts and the rest is history. He could have ended up as just another one-hit wonder, but that didn’t happen.
The organ-soaked beat sounded like the best beat your church musical director ever cooked up on their own time for the youth choir. Discovered by Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace label, he broke onto the scene with Playaz Circle’s smash hit “Duffle Bag Boy” featuring Lil Wayne on the hook. If you’ve listened to the man once known as Tity Boi long enough, you’re familiar with his journey. That fact alone is worth more than many people can understand in the eyes of a young Black child, a value, psychologically, worth just as much as the cost of any particular pair of shoes.Īs he says on his new album, So Help Me God!, which came out last week, “ Anywhere I go, I put Southside on the map.” He’s an actual member of a sports franchise’s ownership group. And this year, he’s on hand as the new part-owner of the College Park Skyhawks, the G League team that plays at the Gateway Center just nearby.Ģ Chainz isn’t just some rich rapper handing out sneakers like politicians do with so many turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.
2 CHAINZ TRU TO THE GAME SERIES
So, naturally, the multiplatinum rapper who embodies wealth and opulence, as evidenced in his TV series Most Expensivest, is giving back. He was a member of the state champion basketball team two years before and was looking at a promising college career, before he, too, needed help. As a student in the ’90s, he was kicked out of school for violating its zero tolerance drug policy. One person who learned that lesson well, at this very school, is Tauheed Epps. Sometimes you need help, and sometimes you have to ask. Most importantly, knowing that someone on the other end won’t punish you for your lack of knowledge is the biggest confidence builder there is. It’s the kind of encouragement that to the naked eye might sound ridiculous, but to Black children, it’s required. He emphasizes that, here, in this gym, it’s OK to ask for help.
2 CHAINZ TRU TO THE GAME HOW TO
“ ‘Hey, I don’t know how to do something, teach me,’ ” he says. With his hand raised, he demonstrates how to express oneself in a time of need. But when the pressure’s on, the short-term embarrassment of asking for help can sometimes overshadow the thirst for knowledge.
Designed for kids between 10 and 13 years old, nobody on the court is trying to get embarrassed in front of their friends and family during the holiday season. I want you all to know that.”įor the ballplayers at the annual TRU 2 Hoops tournament, there’s a lot of pride on the line.
“If you don’t know, ask, and you’ll get a demonstration,” a coach booms over the mic. Dozens of kids are lined up in the North Clayton High School gym getting lessons on defensive drills. 23, but on a misty morning outside of Atlanta, it might as well already be Christmas.
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