How Marii 2x Became One Of Pittsburgh's Most Consistent Young Voices In Rap

Marii 2x has been rapping since he was 13, which means most of what people know him for started before he was old enough to drive. Now 19 and out of the East Hills, the artist known around Pittsburgh simply as Marii 2x sat down with First Impressions TV to walk through nearly six years of music, starting with a song about a friend he lost and ending with a hint at a project that Pittsburgh rap fans have already started asking about.

That hint, an unconfirmed but real possibility of a joint album with fellow Pittsburgh artist Riskkky17, connects two of the city’s more talked about young voices right now. Riskkky17 brought it up first in his own interview with First Impressions TV. Marii 2x didn’t confirm it here either, but he didn’t deny it.

Where Marii 2x Comes From

Marii 2x is from East Hills, specifically the section he calls “the drive,” on Pittsburgh’s east side. He’s been rapping since he was 13 and just turned 19 on June 8th, which puts nearly six years of music behind him at an age when a lot of artists are still figuring out if this is what they want to do.

For Marii 2x, that question got answered early. He said music has been part of his life since he understood it was something he could make, not just listen to, and he called it his therapy. That connection shows up in one of his earliest public appearances, a music video called “Make The Hood Jump” where he appears as a kid in a striped shirt, the youngest person in the video.

Finding His Sound

His first real song, “Cold War,” opens with a news clip about a death in his neighborhood before he says rest in peace to a friend he calls “Fatz.” He explained that he wasn’t allowed to curse in his music at the time, so instead of leaning on shock value, he tried to use the song to reach the younger kids watching him.

That early restraint shaped what came next. He followed “Cold War” with songs like “Business” and “G Fazos” while he was still finding his footing, then linked up with fellow artist Boogie Raccz for his first full project, “Batman And Robin.” Marii 2x credits Boogie Raccz as one of the first artists he ever worked with, and said that period was less about locking into one sound and more about trying everything, including New York drill influenced beats.

Building The Name

Before he was Marii 2x, he was going by “Mari Montana,” a name that traces back to middle school and long nights playing GTA with friends. He named himself after Tony Montana, and the name stuck around long enough to end up on early cover art.

The switch to Marii 2x came from something more personal. His middle name is Amari, and he dropped his first song under that name back in 6th grade. He said kids laughed at him for it, more than once, back to back. At some point, he said, he just stopped caring what people thought and kept making music anyway.

The Videos And Collaborations That Put Him On

Marii 2x’s first real music video came out of a Christmas ask. He told his mom he wanted either a music video or a tattoo, and she wasn’t fond of the tattoo idea, so she got him the video instead. That video, a remix of a G Herbo record, became one of the first songs that actually started gaining traction for him.

It also introduced viewers to Gnell, a member of Marii 2x’s group the FakBoyz who appeared in that video and who Marii 2x says is still around today. The two aren’t just longtime collaborators, they’re blood cousins. Marii 2x said that loyalty runs through his whole circle. The people who were there at the start, he said, are largely the same people sitting with him now.

Not every collaboration aged the same way. Marii 2x’s tape with fellow Pittsburgh artist G16 came up in the interview, and for a moment the energy in the room shifted. Marii 2x laughed it off but was direct about where things stand, calling G16 “a goofy” while still shouting him out and wishing him well. The two were coming up around the same time, both learning BandLab, and the tape came out of that shared moment rather than a deep creative partnership. Their video together, “Mask On,” was shot by Gray Cloud Media, who Marii 2x described as one of the most popular videographers working in the city at the time.

Around that same stretch, Marii 2x entered a rap competition hosted by KBandz, built around the question of who was the hottest artist in the city, and won it. He said the win led to a planned song with KBandz that never got a finished video, something he says could still happen down the line.

Asked if anything in his catalog feels overlooked, Marii 2x said he doesn’t really think about his music that way. He described dropping songs as part of showing the world what he can do, more focused on the process than the numbers, and said he’d rather let listeners decide what connects.

Free Who Matter And The BandLab Years

Before he was recording in studios regularly, Marii 2x built most of his catalog on BandLab, the same app a lot of young Pittsburgh artists cut their teeth on. That included the “Motion Boyz” records, made during a stretch when he admitted school wasn’t a priority. His grades were slipping, but the songs caught on enough that he ended up performing them at his own school.

That period led into what Marii 2x calls his breakout tape, “Free Who Matter.” It carried bigger features than anything he’d released before, including Bdock and BigHomieMDK, pulled from a group chat called “Golden Stars” that connected rising and already established Pittsburgh rappers trading beats and features with each other. One detail stands out: Marii 2x said his collaboration with Bdock happened entirely over the phone, recorded on BandLab while he was riding a Pittsburgh Port Authority bus. He said most of his back catalog was built that way. It’s only more recently, now that people know his sound, that he’s been in an actual studio more often.

Binkys Grandson

Not every project traces back to a scene or a collaborator. “Binkys Grandson,” the album title, is a direct reference to his grandmother. He made the project around the summer after 11th grade, and he still carries her with him, literally, in a tattoo of her on his neck. Binky, he said, means the most to him out of anyone, and “Cold War,” his very first song, was the only one she heard before she passed away.

Choptober And Staying Himself

The name “Chop” has a similarly personal, if lighter, origin story. Marii 2x said it came from playing GTA with friends, where a girl he was talking to at the time compared him to El Chapo because of how much chaos he caused in the game. He changed his PlayStation name to “MarChop,” and the nickname carried into his music with “Choptober” and later “Choptober 2,” which he said his friends pushed him to release.

Stvii B, Hardo, And Let Me Know

One of Marii 2x’s more significant relationships in Pittsburgh music goes back to when he was 14, at a citywide competition built around finding the hottest artist in Pittsburgh. Producer Stvii B, known locally as Stevie B, was one of the judges who picked Marii 2x as the winner. Marii 2x said Stvii B has supported his growth ever since.

That relationship carried into “Let Me Know,” the song Marii 2x performed for his First Impressions TV Mic Tap, released about a month before this interview. Stvii B produced the record. Marii 2x said it was his collaboration with Pittsburgh rapper Hardo that he believes really convinced Stvii B he had something real. Hardo, for context, is one of the more nationally recognized names to come out of Pittsburgh rap, having signed with Sony Music in 2017 after his release from prison, according to outside reporting. Marii 2x also credited Seth Welch as the videographer behind his video with Hardo, and named Eback, J’ate, Bill Mike, and Mekai Mitchell among the other videographers he’s worked with as his catalog has grown.

What’s Next

Marii 2x was careful not to confirm too much about upcoming projects, saying he might hold off on a new release until the new year. But he also brought up the possibility of an album with Riskkky17, without confirming it outright. It’s a pairing Pittsburgh rap fans may already be watching for, since Riskkky17 mentioned the same potential project in his own interview with First Impressions TV. Beyond that, Marii 2x said to expect more videos and more music.

He closed the interview with a direct message for anyone watching who’s still figuring out their own path: chase your dreams, block out the noise, forget the distractions, stay focused, remain solid, and don’t pretend to be who you’re not.

Watch the full Marii 2x interview with First Impressions TV above for the complete conversation, including the stories behind Free Who Matter, Binkys Grandson, and what may be coming next with Riskkky17.