"Used 2" is a song by American rapper

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

from his second studio album '' B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time'' (2013). Produced and co-written by

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for his production work for Cash Money Records releases, as well b ...

, it was released as the second single from the album on September 18, 2013.

Background

The song was produced by former

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman (rapper), Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans– ...

in-house producer

and features 2 Chainz paying homage to Juvenile's flow on his 1998 song "

Back That Azz Up "Back That Azz Up", also known as "Back That Thang Up" for a radio edit, is a song recorded by American rapper Juvenile featuring fellow American rappers Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne. Produced by Fresh, it was released on June 11, 1999, as the ...

Music video

The music video for "Used 2" was directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

and filmed on September 26, 2013 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Released on October 13, 2013, the video features appearances from Mannie Fresh and, notably, three reunited members of New Orleans hip hop group

Hot Boys The Hot Boys (often styled as Hot Boy$) are an American hip hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana, formed in 1997 and composed of rappers B.G., Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk. The group signed with then-independent record label Cash Money R ...

— Juvenile, Turk and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

. Hot Boys member B.G. is not featured in the video due to him serving his 11 year sentence at the time. In place, 2 Chainz holds up a red T-shirt reading "Free B.G." in the video.

Release and live performances

2 Chainz announced the release of "Used 2" as the second single from ''B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time'' on September 17, 2013. The following day, the single impacted

mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ' ...

radio in the United States. "Used 2" was serviced to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

radio in the United Kingdom on September 26, and it was subsequently added to the playlist of British urban radio station

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

. 2 Chainz later performed "Used 2" with the track's producer Mannie Fresh at the 2013

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

. Following its single release, "Used 2" debuted at numbers 11 and 44 respectively on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

and

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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 ...

charts.

Charts

Release history

References

{{2 Chainz 2013 songs 2013 singles 2 Chainz songs Song recordings produced by Mannie Fresh Songs written by 2 Chainz Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by Mannie Fresh