Based on a T.R.U. Story
by 2 Chainz
  • Record Label: Def Jam
  • Release Date: Aug 14, 2012
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 19
  3. Negative: 4 out of 19
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  1. Exclaim
    Sep 5, 2012
    80
    2 Chainz's debut album is a triumph on so many levels.
  2. Paste Magazine
    Aug 29, 2012
    77
    With the no-bullshit, spare-n-catchy Based on a T.R.U. Story, Chainz confirms himself as the quintessential 2012 rapper.
  3. Rolling Stone
    Aug 29, 2012
    70
    2 Chainz commands the spotlight--rapping about success and sex with the irrepressible enthusiasm of the upstart he isn't.
  5. AllMusic
    Aug 29, 2012
    70
    2 Chainz over-promises and almost delivers on his official debut, putting him right in the punch-line rapper's sweet spot.
  6. The A.V. Club
    Aug 29, 2012
    67
    Based On A T.R.U. Story finds 2 Chainz mining the same territory he's been exploring for the past couple of years throughout his Codeine Cowboy and T.R.U. Realigion mixtapes, but fleshed out by the hollowness that comes as a side effect of spending too much time with Kanye West.
  7. NOW Magazine
    Aug 29, 2012
    60
    Mainly, it's good for some frivolous fun.
  8. HipHopDX
    Aug 29, 2012
    60
    With his debut album he's revealed himself as bare and buffoonish.
  9. PopMatters
    Aug 29, 2012
    60
    There's not much that's dangerous about it, and the guests are guests you'd expect for someone who's suddenly as famous as Rick Ross.
  10. Spin
    Aug 29, 2012
    60
    T.R.U. Story contains few surprises, and one less once you realize that its own opening line--"Cut the top off, call it Amber Rose"--isn't threatening decapitation.
  11. XXL
    Aug 29, 2012
    60
    There are no lyrical acrobatics-just his patented simple-sounding yet soon-to-be-sewn-in-your-brain one liners.
  12. DJ Booth
    Aug 29, 2012
    60
    Based on a T.R.U. Story isn't a great album, but was anyone expecting a great album from 2 Chainz?
  13. Billboard.com
    Aug 29, 2012
    59
    The problem is that the hints of personality underneath the braggadocio overflowing on "Based on a T.R.U. Story" exist as faint flickers, pointing to a storytelling skill that has yet to be given the spotlight.
  14. Boston Globe
    Aug 29, 2012
    50
    Unfortunately, this long-awaited CD from the Georgia MC relies on too many cliches to be a revelation.
  15. Pitchfork
    Aug 29, 2012
    45
    Despite his chart success with Drake, many of 2 Chainz' pop maneuvers feel tone-deaf.
  16. Slant Magazine
    Aug 29, 2012
    40
    Overall, there's little to recommend about T.R.U. Story, with the album perhaps best serving as a warning that not everyone can make the transition from pinch hitter to bona-fide star.
  17. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Aug 29, 2012
    30
    Maybe we're supposed to love this album because it's the musical equivalent of a KFC Double-Down, filled with fancy co-stars and production, deep-fried, and devoid of any intellectual or nutritional value.
  18. Consequence
    Aug 29, 2012
    30
    The album is at its best when guests take the microphone and falls short nearly everywhere else.
  19. RapReviews.com
    Aug 29, 2012
    25
    This is, quite handily, so much of precisely "what is wrong with hip hop today"--tidily sequenced into an hour of mind numbing idiocy.
  20. Los Angeles Times
    Aug 29, 2012
    25
    Contrasted with Lil Wayne's easy, seemingly effortless guest verse, 2 Chainz sounds like a rank amateur whose topics of choice -- strippers, money, drugs -- have been examined to death in hip-hop by others with a much more varied vocabulary.

Awards & Rankings

74
#74 Most Discussed Album of 2012
21
#21 Most Shared Album of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
4.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 69
  3. Negative: 25 out of 69
  1. amirhossssein
    Sep 1, 2012
    0
    simply the worst album of the past few years
    no flow no lyrics no decent sound no content even guest verses were equally bad , Nicki Minaj    simply the worst album of the past few years
    no flow no lyrics no decent sound no content even guest verses were equally bad , Nicki Minaj and lil wayne did what they do best (delivering unworthy of listening verses) and even kanye felt 2chainz's effect and did one of his worst verses of his career
    if Trap rap is a hole in hiphop's heart 2 chainz is at the end of the hole trying to dig it deeper    … Full Review »
  2. carAnthony
    Mar 27, 2019
    3
    Hella overrated rapper, I knew that before I listened to the album, but still want to hear it for some reasons... Lyrically sucks, but half ofHella overrated rapper, I knew that before I listened to the album, but still want to hear it for some reasons... Lyrically sucks, but half of the album is still listenable especially for the beats (they fire on the pretty much whole project) and guests which overshadows 2 Chainz bars & real wack vocabulary. Anyway it's crappy/meh album and might be one of, if not the worst album I ever heard.
    Lyrics 2/10 (WEIGHTED AVERAGE - 0.5-1 for Tity Boy, 4 for guests)
    Beats 6/10
    X-Factor 3/10    … Full Review »
  3. ArtRushmer
    Feb 12, 2016
    2
    Six songs in and I've not heard anything distinguishable from one to the next... every beat is generic, and there are only so many times aSix songs in and I've not heard anything distinguishable from one to the next... every beat is generic, and there are only so many times a theme can be repeated... You do crack, you boast about guns and money, Louis V, and you like strippers, almost as much as someone else's girl... I got all that from the first 10 mins. All the depth and complexity one would expect from a one-dimensional rapper who delivers gems like "If you a chicken head, go somewhere and lay some eggs" or "I am gettin' to the money, Crocodile dundee" and dont get me started on the laughable vocals on 'I Luv Dem Strippers'. Even the one genuine opportunity at something meaningful on 'Ghetto Dreams' turns out to be more dreaming about making cash. In all honesty, Im proud of myself for staying awake through this drivel... PS. It helps if your TRU story is actually interesting.
    My Top Tracks: No Lie, In Town, I Feel Good    … Full Review »
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