2 Pistols

The turbulent upbringing that informs 2 Pistols’ street-focused rhymes traces back to a chaotic early life. Jeremy Saunders entered the world in Florida’s Tarpon Springs region and passed the bulk of his youth apart from his incarcerated parents, who left aunts and older brothers to oversee his care. By his teenage years he had entered the drug trade, a path that felt steadier after his ambitions of professional football were dashed by his compact frame. A stint in prison followed, yet the memory of an earlier spontaneous rap battle—in which 2 Pistols dismantled a well-known local MC—remained constant. Upon his release he resolved to channel every resource, hour, and dollar into a rap career. He first worked as a promoter of hip-hop shows across the Tampa area and later assumed leadership of Blood Money Union, an informal collective of regional DJs, producers, and rappers. In 2007 he launched his recording career alongside notable collaborators, enlisting the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League on production and featuring T-Pain together with Tay Dizm on the single “She Got It,” which Universal issued in 2008.