2 Chainz has expanded his creative empire with Red Clay, a gripping short film rooted in the realities of his hometown, Atlanta. The Grammy-winning artist served as both executive producer and co-writer behind the production. Described as “a form of art therapy,” the film captured the trauma, tension and transformation that defined his upbringing.
Set in 2003, Red Clay followed Nook, a teenager trying to hold his family together while navigating his mother’s addiction and the streets that threaten to consume him. Against a backdrop of Olympic-era displacement, BMF-era dominance and the rise of trap music, the film dived into questions of loyalty, survival and growing up fast in a city in flux.
2 Chainz, The Isley Brothers deliver gritty Atlanta anthem for Red Clay soundtrack
“The ATL Experience,” the first single from the Red Clay soundtrack released Friday (May 2), paired 2 Chainz with The Isley Brothers in a soulful nod to the city that raised him. On the track, Chainz unpacked the complexity of Atlanta through stories both personal and cautionary. One standout verse detailed a young woman being betrayed by someone she thought she could trust: “So she linked with a girl at the club, then went on a date / They had drinks, then she gained her trust, told her ‘bout a safe / That ain't safe ‘cause the girl she with boyfriend broke in her place.”
Ronald Isley’s repeating hook (a clever flip of a classic “Voyage To Atlantis” line) captured the city’s dual nature: Tough to survive in, impossible to leave. The music video, shot in East Atlanta, featured local landmarks like Moreland Supermarket, Waffle House and the sector’s popular welcome sign. The collaborators appeared together throughout, including in a drop-top Chevrolet Chevelle SS while dressed to the nines.
’Red Clay’ reflects Atlanta’s trap era, black displacement and the cost of growing up fast
The man behind the camera for Red Clay was Christian Nolan Jones, an NYU Tisch alum and ATL native known for his SXSW-winning short Glitter Ain’t Gold. “As a Black man, I reflect on my and Nook’s coming-of-age experiences as a fork in the road,” the director shared in a statement on the film’s website. “These become the moments that define our journeys, and who we become as people.”
Earlier this week, Jones, 2 Chainz and members of the cast took part in a discussion panel during the Atlanta Film Festival. While it’s being submitted to future events, there isn’t a confirmed schedule for Red Clay’s public viewing as of this article — hopefully, that will be revealed sooner than later.