2 Chainz Recalls Turning Down Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri Meeting That Could Have Changed His Life

2 Chainz once passed on a life-changing meeting with Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri because he couldn't bring a friend with him.

During a conversation with Shannon Sharpe on a new episode of Club Shay Shay, Chainz recalled when Dupri gave him a ring to have a meeting with him and Jay in 2011.

Dupri told a version of this story in 2023, saying that he and Jay wanted to sign 2 Chainz to a record deal, but the Atlanta native turned them down, saying the music industry is "a young man's game."

According to 2 Chainz, he never actually said the "young man's game" line. In his telling, the reason the meeting didn't happen was that he wanted to bring his trusted friend and DJ, but wasn't allowed.

"I get the call around, maybe 2011, from JD. I was saying, 'Do you mind if I bring my partner?' And he [was] like, 'Nah, you don't need nobody with you.' [...]They were sending me a jet, but I didn't get on the jet because they wouldn't let me bring my dawg."

The Grammy-nominated rapper added that he still thinks about what could have been if he took that meeting.

"I always wonder what would happen," said 2 Chainz. "I definitely wanted to get on the flight, but I always wanted to be loyal."

Dupri spoke about his memory of the situation during his appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast, explaining that what he remembered as 2 Chainz's response took him by surprise.

"It's crazy because I was in Jay-Z's office one day," said Dupri. "I call 2 Chainz, I'm like 'Yo, me and Hov wanna sign you.' He said, 'OG, respectfully, it's a young man's game.' And I said… 'You do know who you're talking to, right?'"

He added, "So when somebody say that to me, I'm trying to find out where they got that from. Because the only two successful teenage ni**as to ever come out in hip-hop came from me. Bow Wow came ten years after Kris Kross, and he was the same age. He was 12. When I put them out, they was 11 and 12."