Welcome 2 ColleGrove

### **Producer(s)**

30 Roc \ Apex Martin \ Bangladesh \ B-Ham \ Big K.R.I.T. \ Big Papito \ Dem Jointz \ Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E. \ DJ Toomp \ dom$olo \ Fridayy \ German \ Havoc \ Hitmaka \ Jordan Fox \ Juicy J \ Kreative Villains \ London Jae \ Loop.holes \ Mannie Fresh \ MarcLo \ Mark Byrd \ Mighty Max \ Mike Dean \ Mondo \ Murda Beatz \ Nolan Presley \ Paul Cabbin \ Streetrunner \ Tarik Beats

***Welcome 2 ColleGrove*** is a collaborative studio album by American rappers 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne. It was released on November 17, 2023, through Gamebread, a subsidiary of Def Jam Recordings. It features guest appearances from 21 Savage, Usher, Fabolous, Benny the Butcher, Vory, Rick Ross, and Marsha Ambrosius. Interspersed throughout are five interludes, narrated by 50 Cent. In the United States, the album debuted at number 20 on the US *Billboard* 200 with 34,000 album-equivalent units.

## Synopsis

The partnership between the pair of rap veterans predates even the name "2 Chainz." In 2007, when the Georgia native still rapped as Tity Boi, his duo Playaz Circle released their debut single "Duffle Bag Boy"—a great song made even better by a guest verse from Wayne in his prime. Since then, the rappers' paths have remained entwined: the 2010s are littered with joint tracks from the two, including *ColleGrove*, the 2016 collaborative album that mashed together their hometowns. (That's College Park, Georgia, for 2 Chainz and Hollygrove, Louisiana, for Wayne.)

Seven years later, the forty-something rappers still sound inspired by one another, trading scene-stealing moments for 21 tracks. (It isn't a contest, but let's say it is: 2 Chainz excels on minimalist productions like Bangladesh's "Presha," whereas Wayne dominates "Shame" in spite of Chainz' pitch-perfect Ol' Dirty Bastard impression.) The project is also loaded with more Easter eggs than a Marvel movie; the pair's verses are riddled with nods to Southern rap greats: Wayne shouts out Fabo on "Long Story Short," a track that samples Project Pat and channels UGK's "International Players Anthem (I Choose You)." And on "Big Diamonds," they take it back to 2000 with a classic Mannie Fresh beat, over which Wayne proclaims: "Me and 2 Chainz, bitch, we're the new Big Tymers."

## Background

The album has been teased since 2020, as the follow up to their 2016 collaborative joint, *ColleGrove*. During an interview with DJ Akademiks in January 2022, 2 Chainz believed the album would come out later that year, as they were already "in the process of mixing it." This time Weezy would appear on every track, as their previous project only had him featured across eight out of twelve songs due to contractual obligations with his label at the time.

On September 21, 2023, 2 Chainz announced of the album's completion. He stated, "We have two videos shot, photoshoot shot, (the) album's mixed and getting mastered, so it'll be coming sooner than later, and I'm really excited about it. It's rapping at a high level—steel sharpens steel. And he's one of the people that I enjoy working with the most." He added of the executive direction, where Wayne entrusted him to guide the process: "We worked together on every song and we over-recorded. But he kind of laid that responsibility in my lap. He's creative. He's coming up with concepts and ideas. And then, I'm someone that does the same thing on the marketing side, putting together the right set of songs that fit the particular concept I'm trying to convey. I think we work well in that extent to where he trusts my opinion and how I'm handling everything. And he's going to bring the A-game to work every day." He told *The Source* that the album will drop before the end of the year, further confirming to *Rock the Bells* that it would be released in November, and called it a "full circle moment."

On November 3, Benny the Butcher was confirmed to make a guest appearance on the album during his interview with *Rap Radar*.

## Promotion

On October 20, 2023, the Bangladesh-produced lead single "Presha" was released. The two appeared on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* the same day to perform the song live for the first time. On October 27, during an episode of Young Money Radio, the pair debuted the two songs "Long Story Short" and "Oprah & Gayle," both confirmed to appear on the LP.

On November 10, "Long Story Short" was released as the album's second single, with its music video premiering to 2 Chainz's YouTube channel later the same day. Production was handled by Big K.R.I.T., Juicy J, and Mannie Fresh, and contains samples of "Out There" by Project Pat.

On November 13, a promotional video narrated by 50 Cent unveiled two new track names, along with its credits in addition to the two first singles. 2 Chainz and Wayne performed "Long Story Short" on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* later the same day, which happened to be in conjunction with Kimmel's 56th birthday. The following days leading up to the album's release date had 50-Cent narrated visuals for Scenes 2-4, unveiling the remaining track listing the night before.

## Critical reception

*Welcome 2 ColleGrove* met with mixed responses, primarily critiqued for its production and lack of a full-fledged concept. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 68, which indicates "generally favorable reviews," based on five professional reviews.

AllMusic gave warm reception, penning, "what really makes the project exciting is the energy both rappers exude when playing off of each other." They added of how it remains "consistently fun." Thomas Galindo of *American Songwriter* was ambivalent towards some tracks, though positively wrote, "Overall, though, there is still a lot to like on *Welcome 2 Collegrove*. Wayne is still rapping like he is in his prime as an artist, as his auto-tuned, crooned flow will never get old. Add to this the ever-amusing, boisterous flows from 2 Chainz, which contrast well with Wayne's delivery. It just feels like, at times, a sharp-minded executive producer could have done wonders for the rhythm of the track list."

Alec Siegel of *HipHopDX* remarked how the tracks don't fit thematically under each interlude, though added, "effectively frame the overall big-budget movie they're screening." He further opined, "Wayne still holds his own, and fares much better than his recently released mixtape, *Tha Fix Before Tha VI* […] the album largely succeeds off the natural chemistry of its co-creators and the wide range of instrumentals that touch on several regional rap styles that both rappers learned to conquer during their decades-long careers". *Slant Magazine* was less favorable, describing the project as "tries to be bigger and better but just ends up feeling lumbering and belabored," non-linear, and "their inability to conceive of a concept and see it through." *Pitchfork*'s Paul Thompson called it "frustratingly polished, defaulting to pristine mixes and beats that are crisp, thin, and wholly anonymous."

## Track listing

Notes
* All interludes narrated by 50 Cent.

Sample credits
* "Long Story Short" samples "Out There", performed by Project Pat.
* "Transparency" samples "The Lady in My Life", performed by Michael Jackson.
* "Shame" interpolates "Shame on a N\*gga", performed by Wu-Tang Clan.

## Personnel

Musicians
* Tauheed "2 Chainz" Epps – lead artist (all tracks)
* Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter Jr. – lead artist (all tracks)
* Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson III – vocals (1, 6, 11, 16, 20)
* Shéyaa Bin "21 Savage" Abraham-Joseph – featured artist (3)
* Usher Raymond IV – featured artist (9)
* John "Fabolous" Jackson featured artist – (12)
* Jeremie "Benny the Butcher" Pennick featured artist – (13)
* Tavoris "Vory" Hollins Jr. – featured artist (17)
* William "Rick Ross" Roberts II – featured artist (19)
* Marsha Ambrosius – featured artist (21)

Production

* 2 Chainz – writer (2-5, 7-10, 12-15, 17-19, 21)
* Lil Wayne – writer (2-5, 7-10, 12-15, 17-19, 21)
* Dwayne "Dem Jointz" Abernathy Jr. – writer, producer (1, 6, 11, 16, 20, 21)
* Papa "Big Papito" Abdou – writer, producer (2)
* Nolan Presley – writer, producer, recording engineer (2)
* Jaucquez "London Jae" Lowe – producer (2)
* Loop.holes – producer (2)
* Bryan "Birdman" Williams – writer (3)
* 21 Savage – writer (3)
* Byron "Mannie Fresh" Thomas – producer (3, 5)
* Andre "Dr. Dre" Young – writer (4)
* 50 Cent – writer (4)
* Mike Elizondo – writer (4)
* Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford – producer (4)
* Anna Gaye – writer (5)
* Elgie Stover – writer (5)
* Iris Gordy – writer (5)
* Jordan "Juicy J" Houston III – producer (5)
* Marvin Gaye – writer (5)
* Patrick Houston – writer (5)
* Paul Beauregard – writer (5)
* Justin "Big K.R.I.T." Scott – producer (5)
* Asten Harris – writer (6)
* Michael "Mike" Dean – writer, producer (6, 9, 15)
* Brandon "B-Ham" Hamlin – writer, producer (8)
* Marcus "MarcLo" Lomax – writer, producer (8)
* Oliver "German" Peterhof – producer (8)
* Altariq "Tarik Beats" Crapps – writer, producer (9)
* Christian "Hitmaka" Ward – writer, producer (9)
* Francis "Fridayy" Leblanc – writer, producer (9)
* Lerron Carson – writer (9)
* Melvin Moore – writer (9)
* Paul Cabbin – producer (9)
* Brandon Black – writer (10)
* Carlton "Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E." Davis Mays, Jr. – writer (10)
* Corey Eborn – writer (10)
* Darius Jenkins – writer (10)
* Eric Sloan – writer (10)
* Marcus "Mark" Byrd – writer, producer (10, 12)
* Samuel "30 Roc" Gloade – writer, producer (10)
* Kreative Villains – producer (10)
* Fabolous – writer (12)
* Chris Mendoza – writer (12)
* Vince Mendoza – writer (12)
* Aldrin "DJ Toomp" Davis – writer, producer (13)
* Angela Bofill – writer (13)
* Benny the Butcher – writer (13)
* Big John Hamilton – writer (14)
* Chauncey Lamont "Loon" Hawkins – writer (14)
* Clifford Smith – writer (14)
* Corey Woods – writer (14)
* Dennis Coles – writer (14)
* Gary Grice – writer (14)
* Jason Hunter – writer (14)
* Kejuan Waliek "Havoc" Muchita – writer, producer (14, 15)
* Melvin Mims – writer (14)
* Robert Diggs – writer (14)
* Russell Jones – writer (14)
* Charles Lloyd – writer (15)
* Chris Patilis – writer (15)
* Curtis Stewart – writer (15)
* David Brown – writer (15)
* Kal "Boogie" Dellaportas – writer (15)
* Marvin Bernard – writer (15)
* Armond "Mondo" Kendrick – writer, producer (17)
* Dominick "dom$olo" Lopez – writer, additional producer (17)
* Tavoris "Vory" Hollins, Jr. – writer (17)
* Jordan Fox – writer, producer (18)
* Shane "Murda Beatz" Lindstrom – writer, producer (18)
* Maxime "Mighty Max" Berton – writer, producer (19)
* Rick Ross – writer (19)
* Nicholas Warwar – writer, producer (19)
* Tarik Azzouz – writer (19)
* Marsha Ambrosius – writer (21)
* Manny Galvez – recording engineer
* Cristal Viramontes – recording engineer
* Finis "KY" White – mixer
* Fabian Marasciullo – mixer

Managerial
* Mario Lyte – A&R admin
* Monteaka Norwood – A&R coordinator
* Naim McNair – A&R

## Gallery

* Scene 1
* Scene 2
* Scene 3
* Scene 4
* Apple Music

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## References

1. ↑ Williams, Aaron (November 14, 2023). "Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz's 'Welcome 2 Collegrove': Everything to Know Including the Release Date, Tracklist & More". *Uproxx*.
2. ↑ Li, Joyce (January 28, 2022). "2 Chainz Claims Lil Wayne Collaborative Album 'ColleGrove 2' Will Release This Year". *Hypebeast*.
3. ↑ Hamilton, Gary (September 21, 2023). "2 Chainz Says Joint-Lil Wayne Album Is Done, Talks New 'Amazon Music Live' Season". *ABC News*.
4. ↑ Ellington, Andre (October 14, 2023). "2 Chainz & Lil Wayne's 'ColleGrove' Sequel Set to Arrive Next Month". *HipHopDX*.
5. ↑ Howard, Jacinta, Howard (October 10, 2023). "2 Chainz Reveals Joint Album with Lil Wayne Drops in November". *Rock the Bells*.
6. ↑ "Benny the Butcher on 'Everybody Can't Go', Lil Wayne, LeBron James, J.Cole & More! | Rap Radar". *YouTube*. November 3, 2023.
7. ↑ Zemler, Emily (October 20, 2023). "2 Chainz, Lil Wayne Preview Joint Album with Fast-Talking Single 'Presha'". *Rolling Stone*.
8. ↑ Spencer, Tallie (November 10, 2023). "Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz Return with New Single "Long Story Short"". *HipHopDX*.
9. ↑ Saponara, Michael (November 15, 2023). "Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz Tap Rick Ross, 21 Savage & More for 'Welcome 2 ColleGrove' Tracklist". *HipHopDX*.
10. ↑ "Welcome 2 Collegrove Reviews". *Metacritic*.
11. ↑ "Welcome 2 Collegrove Review by TiVo Staff". *AllMusic*.
12. ↑ Galindo, Thomas (November 20, 2023). "Review: Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz Rekindle Their Magic on 'Welcome 2 Collegrove'". *American Songwriter*.
13. ↑ Siegel, Alec (November 9, 2023). "Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz Make Up for Their Recent Poor Solo Albums on 'Welcome 2 ColleGrove'". *HipHopDX*.
14. ↑ Lyons-Burt, Charles (November 20, 2023). "2 Chainz and Lil Wayne *Welcome 2 Collegrove* Review: A Middling Concept Album". *Slant Magazine*.
15. ↑ Thompson, Paul (December 26, 2023). "*Welcome 2 Collegrove*". *Pitchfork*.