2 Chainz Makes $2 Million Off Dabbin' Santa Sweaters

By Devin

/ 12.28.2015

2 Chainz had a profitable Christmas, it’s T.R.U. The Atlanta rapper cashed in on the dabbing trend with his line of “Dabbin’ Santa” Ugly Christmas sweaters.

According to Forbes, the holiday merchandise grossed a whopping $2 million. To keep up with demand, 2 Chainz put together a 70-person team to fulfill orders, but make no mistake, it was no fluke.

“I don’t want people to think this was an overnight success,” Chainz told Forbes. “We’ve been trying with a bunch of designs for a couple years now. This is just timing meets opportunity. There’s the whole dab thing, and Atlanta’s always been somewhere that actually moves the culture a little bit. We have been the backbone of hip-hop for the past couple years. So with dabbing coming out of Atlanta, it just began to grow legs and start moving on its own.”

The sweater, which retails for $40, was worn by 2 Chainz’ famous friends and was featured on “Good Morning America” and ESPN, which helped drive sales. “We made close to $2 million in revenue,” he revealed. “I had a numerous amount of celebrities helping with the shirt. It was on the NFL, it was on TNT, it was on ‘Good Morning America,’ it’s on ESPN. So I could not continue receiving those blessings without giving back at the end of the day.”

He also created the Dabbin’ Santa app. “Apple worked with us–it’s the fastest-cleared app in Apple history. It’s only 99 cents, and some of the proceeds go to charity. It’s a continuation of maximizing a trend.”

In the spirit of Dabbin’ Santa, he gave back to the community via his T.R.U. Foundation, which paid for a year’s rent and new furniture for a disabled veteran and also donated a minivan to a family who lost everything in a house fire.

And 2 Chainz has a lot more planned for 2016. Look out for his own clothing line and ColliGrove, his collaborative album with Lil Wayne. “I really feel like the music is tight and accessible,” he said. “Wayne has always been one of my favorite rappers. We’re just doing some mixing and trying to grind up.”