2 Pistols' "She Got It" featuring T-Pain and Tay Dizm may be rising on music charts, but 2P isn't counting his chickens before they hatch. He's waiting until his debut album, Death Before Honor (Universal Records, 2008), drops in June before he starts celebrating his success. He doesn't want to get labeled as a one-hit wonder and wants the rest of the album to speak for itself.
"I see myself as having longevity," he explains. "Music is not just something I'm doing today and quitting tomorrow. But, I'm not going to dictate what I do tomorrow because I'm letting the fans dictate my career." If fans are already digging "She Got It" then 2P should have no problem making it in the rap game.
But, the lyricist (born Jeremy Saunders from Tarpon Springs, Florida) wouldn't have given up that easily. With a history of incarceration and brutal violence in his family that predates his rap career, 2P was determined to change his life around and follow his dreams of being a part of hip-hop culture. While his parents spent most of his childhood in jail, 2P was shuffled between his aunts and older brothers, eventually turning to the comforts of street life by the time he was a teenager. "I did what I had to do to make money," he says. "And, I've paid the price for that, too." It was during his time in jail that he finally realized that he wanted to pursue his dream. He thought of how he could have used his hustling money to press his own CDs. "I had to get my head right; I knew that when I got out, I was going to take matters into my own hands."
With his eye on the prize, 2P was focused more than ever as he began dropping mixtapes with his Blood Money Union crew and promoting club dates where he was the opening act for artists like Lil' Boosie and Plies. In 2007, 2P met up with T-Pain at an event and convinced him to appear on an early version of "She Got It." "I was at a radio event in Tampa and talked to him about my record, and he was like 'Cool, send me the record.' He heard it and told me it was hot," he says. "Honestly, I don't think he thought that it was going to sound like it did." But his big break didn't end there. Later that year, 2P hooked up with Colione, one-third of the award-winning production team J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, to work on the album. "Recording it was cool," he describes. "I got to work with pretty much everybody I wanted to work with since I knew most of the artists from my promoter days."
Taking it one day at a time, 2P is pretty confident his album will do well given he's already been considered a "complete package" by some in the industry because of his authenticity. "Anything I write or sing about is real," he says. "I'm not afraid to say what I've been through or see on the streets. Some people rap about stuff that they really didn't do or seen it out of their window. I give that trueness to my raps." And despite his new-found success, 2P hasn't let the fame change him. He's still the same old guy who goes and kicks it with his neighborhood homies. The only thing that's changed since he came on the scene is that he's making smarter decisions and thinking about his long-term goals.
Although things are looking good for 2P, he's still learning about the industry. "I'm now under the microscope," he says. "I can't do what the average person could do now. It's something I have to learn to live with." Already realizing that not everybody will have something positive to say about him, 2P wants to work on not letting what somebody says about him get to him. "It'll bother me all day. I want to be accepted so bad that if they say any little thing, in my mind, I'm twisting it into something bad." Despite his concerns, 2P appreciates all the success he's had so far.
Not only does he appreciate the opportunities music has allotted him, but also he's appreciative of his new Range Rover. "I got my rap deal, and I needed something that would stand out a bit. I saw the Range and wanted it. I knew I could put some big rims on it."
For now, 2P's life is this album, and he can't wait to showcase the full range of his talent. "This is just the beginning for me," he says. "The fact that I'm even here means I've already accomplished so much. There's nowhere else for me to go but up." And up the charts he shall go!
Written by Kristen Bertucci
Photos by Patrick Daly