Rapper 2 Chainz arrested in Md. on drug charge

In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a worker prepares cement that will be used to hang a street sign at the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Being left off the map had meant whole communities were unable to receive mail at home. It had also blocked people from giving required information on job applications, getting a bank account or telling the police or fire department where to go in an emergency call. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
This Dec. 28, 2012 photo shows the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The cityís densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides. providing most of the cityís affordable housing. Government officials have traditionally considered them eyesores and literally left them off the map, condemning millions to legal invisibility. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, children play in the Mare shantytown, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare kick-started the first mapping program in the grouping of favelas known as Mare with a simple but powerful goal: putting their homes on the map, with named streets, zip codes and official addresses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a vendor talks on a cell phone at a store in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Government officials have traditionally considered them eyesores and literally left them off the map, condemning millions to legal invisibility. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a sign marks a street name near a bakery in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Being left off the map had meant whole communities were unable to receive mail at home. It had also blocked people from giving required information on job applications, getting a bank account or telling the police or fire department where to go in an emergency call. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, residents maneuver around traffic in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city's densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city's affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Getting an official address represents a fundamental step toward real citizenship and helps break the stigma and abandonment that has marked the shantytown communities, said Redes da Mare director Eliana Silva. A street address helps erase the barriers between the formal city and favela neighborhoods, which house one in five cariocas, as Rio residents are called. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, two residents look at a newly-installed street sign street in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city's densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city's affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Being left off the map had meant whole communities were unable to receive mail at home. It had also blocked people from giving required information on job applications, getting a bank account or telling the police or fire department where to go in an emergency call. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, children play soccer in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city's densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city's affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare kick-started the first mapping program in the grouping of favelas known as Mare with a simple but powerful goal: putting their homes on the map, with named streets, zip codes and official addresses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a child flies a kite in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare kick-started the first mapping program in the grouping of favelas known as Mare with a simple but powerful goal: putting their homes on the map, with named streets, zip codes and official addresses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
FILE - This Jan. 16, 2013 file photo shows outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar entering the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. The White House says tackling climate change and enhancing energy security will be among President Barack Obama's top priorities in his second term. Obama will have to do that work with new heads of the agencies responsible for the environment. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Environmental Protection chief Lisa Jackson and Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, all have announced they are leaving. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is expected to follow his colleagues out the door in coming weeks. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - This Feb. 10, 2013 file photo shows rap artist 2 Chainz at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt. Marc Black says troopers stopped a van Thursday, Feb. 14, for speeding and smelled marijuana. A backpack in the van was found to have a marijuana grinder and trace amounts of marijuana. 2 Chainz, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, claimed possession of the backpack and was arrested. Black says Epps was cited for having drug paraphernalia and marijuana and was released. The citation carries up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, file)

In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a worker prepares cement that will be used to hang a street sign at the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Being left off the map had meant whole communities were unable to receive mail at home. It had also blocked people from giving required information on job applications, getting a bank account or telling the police or fire department where to go in an emergency call. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
This Dec. 28, 2012 photo shows the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The cityís densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides. providing most of the cityís affordable housing. Government officials have traditionally considered them eyesores and literally left them off the map, condemning millions to legal invisibility. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, children play in the Mare shantytown, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare kick-started the first mapping program in the grouping of favelas known as Mare with a simple but powerful goal: putting their homes on the map, with named streets, zip codes and official addresses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a vendor talks on a cell phone at a store in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Government officials have traditionally considered them eyesores and literally left them off the map, condemning millions to legal invisibility. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a sign marks a street name near a bakery in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Being left off the map had meant whole communities were unable to receive mail at home. It had also blocked people from giving required information on job applications, getting a bank account or telling the police or fire department where to go in an emergency call. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, residents maneuver around traffic in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city's densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city's affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Getting an official address represents a fundamental step toward real citizenship and helps break the stigma and abandonment that has marked the shantytown communities, said Redes da Mare director Eliana Silva. A street address helps erase the barriers between the formal city and favela neighborhoods, which house one in five cariocas, as Rio residents are called. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, two residents look at a newly-installed street sign street in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city's densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city's affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. Being left off the map had meant whole communities were unable to receive mail at home. It had also blocked people from giving required information on job applications, getting a bank account or telling the police or fire department where to go in an emergency call. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, children play soccer in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city's densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city's affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare kick-started the first mapping program in the grouping of favelas known as Mare with a simple but powerful goal: putting their homes on the map, with named streets, zip codes and official addresses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, a child flies a kite in the Mare shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city’s densest neighborhoods, its favelas, or shantytowns blanket entire hillsides, providing most of the city’s affordable housing. Now, those communities are being charted after decades of informality, each route and alley outlined and their names researched. A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare kick-started the first mapping program in the grouping of favelas known as Mare with a simple but powerful goal: putting their homes on the map, with named streets, zip codes and official addresses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
FILE - This Jan. 16, 2013 file photo shows outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar entering the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. The White House says tackling climate change and enhancing energy security will be among President Barack Obama's top priorities in his second term. Obama will have to do that work with new heads of the agencies responsible for the environment. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Environmental Protection chief Lisa Jackson and Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, all have announced they are leaving. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is expected to follow his colleagues out the door in coming weeks. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - This Feb. 10, 2013 file photo shows rap artist 2 Chainz at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt. Marc Black says troopers stopped a van Thursday, Feb. 14, for speeding and smelled marijuana. A backpack in the van was found to have a marijuana grinder and trace amounts of marijuana. 2 Chainz, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, claimed possession of the backpack and was arrested. Black says Epps was cited for having drug paraphernalia and marijuana and was released. The citation carries up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, file)

Print Page Updated: 08:55:26 PM, Fri 15 February 2013

EASTON, Md. () — Rapper has been arrested on drug charges in Maryland where he was performing at a college homecoming event.

Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt. Marc Black said troopers stopped a van Thursday night about 9:15 p.m. for speeding near Easton, Md., and smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana in the van. A backpack in the van had a marijuana grinder and trace amounts of marijuana, police said.

The rapper, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, claimed possession of the backpack and was arrested, police said. Epps was cited for having drug paraphernalia and marijuana and was released. The citation carries up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

Agents representing Epps did not respond to requests for comment.

Last year, 2 Chainz released his solo debut, "Based on a T.R.U. Story," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Charts and has achieved gold status. He also has several Top 10 hits on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts as both a lead and featured artist.

After the arrest, 2 Chainz' website tweeted a photograph that appears to show him posing with two police officers. Black said the Maryland State Police could not confirm the authenticity of the photograph but is investigating.

"Locked me up and then Wanted pictures smh," read one tweet, using the abbreviation for shaking my head.

Epps was scheduled to perform Thursday evening at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. His website later tweeted a photo from the stage and wrote the "show must go on."

His manager declined to comment or confirm the tweets were from 2 Chainz himself.