By KRISTI EATON
FILE – This Feb. 10, 2013 file photo shows rap artist 2 Chainz at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Oklahoma City police say the rapper was among more than 10 people arrested after they failed to exit a tour bus following a traffic stop. 2 Chainz, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, was arrested Thursday morning, Aug. 22, 2013, on a charge of obstructing a police officer. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, file)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Rapper 2 Chainz was one of 11 people arrested after refusing to get off a tour bus for almost nine hours following a traffic stop in Oklahoma City early Thursday morning, police said.
2 Chainz, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, and the others were arrested on a charge of obstructing a police officer and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on Thursday morning, Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said.
But by Thursday afternoon, all 11 had paid the $2,000 bail and were released from custody, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s spokesman Mark Myers said.
The 35-year-old rapper performed with Lil Wayne and T.I. in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night. Police stopped 2 Chainz’s tour bus around midnight near Interstate 40 because of an illegal taillight and noticed drug use, though Wardlow wouldn’t go into specifics.
The driver was arrested, “but as he got off the bus, the interior door shut and locked and obviously our officers could not get in there,” she said.
The remaining people on the bus refused to leave the vehicle, so officers towed it to a nearby police training facility about four miles away, Wardlow said.
Investigators obtained a warrant and all 11 people came off the bus around 9 a.m., Wardlow said. They were then arrested on the charge and booked into jail.
Wardlow also said investigators found narcotics on the bus, but don’t know to whom those belonged. She said more charges could be filed later.
The Atlanta-based rapper, initially known as Tity Boi, was a member of the rap duo Playaz Circle before going solo. His 2012 debut album, “Based on a T.R.U. Story,” topped the Billboard charts. His new album, “B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time,” is set to be released next month.
Earlier this year, 2 Chainz was acquitted of marijuana charges he faced after a traffic stop on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
