"Where U Been?" is a song 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, a ...

from his second studio album '' B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time''. (2013) The song was released as the album's first

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

on August 1, 2013. It was produced by frequent collaborator Mike Will Made It, and featured a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

by Cap.1. The song peaked on the US ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

at number one.

Background

On August 1, 2013, 2 Chainz premiered the Mike Will Made It-produced "Where U Been?" featuring Cap.1, from his second studio album '' B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time''. On the same day, it was serviced to

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

as the album's first

. In September 2013, 2 Chainz performed "Where U Been?" on

DJ Skee Scott Keeney (born 15 November 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, and entrepreneur. Skee rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio incl ...

's SKEE Live along with "

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Music video

The Sharod Marcus Simpson-directed music video for "Where U Been?" was released on September 11, 2013, the day after the album's US release. The video features a compilation of tour footage from the America's Most Wanted

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

, which also featured T.I. and

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, joining ...

. The black and white video also shows 2 Chainz "performing to packed crowds and celebrating his lavish lifestyle."

Critical reception

"Where U Been?" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, with most of the praise going towards the production. Jordan Sargent of '' Spin'' praised Mike Will Made It's production saying, it "weds pinging bells and the hint of a guitar riff to the producer's typically intricate hi-hat programming." Kyle Krammer of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

credited the song for its "Massive, booming beat and brillent non sequitur punchlines." David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

called the song a "heartbreak 2 Chainz and Mike Will Made-It style with betrayal lyrics going ghetto over hypnotic, pounding production." Julian Benbow of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' also praised the production, calling it warped and taunting. Jay Soul of RapReviews called the song pleasant to the ear.

Chart performance

References

{{2 Chainz songs 2013 songs 2 Chainz songs Song recordings produced by Mike Will Made It Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by Marquel Middlebrooks Songs written by Mike Will Made It Songs written by 2 Chainz