The coronavirus pandemic blazed through the globe at the top of the year and by March, it was laughable to think that live performance events would continue as scheduled. Pharrell Williams’s second installment of the Something In The Water festival was canceled that month. It was set to be Virginia’s biggest show of the year, spotlighting the biggest artists around the world as well as the state’s growing talent. Juviee 2ES attended last year’s massive show from the boardwalk, watching tens of thousands of people celebrate in his Virginia Beach stomping grounds. But thanks to his rapidly growing fanbase and a new cosign from Virginia rap legend Pusha T and his new label, Heir Wave Music Group, it’s safe to say that Juviee would have likely been on stage this year and not on the sideline.

20-year-old rapper Juviee 2ES has a wide, unruly fro and thick, matted beard. Combined with his lion’s roar of a voice and stumbling delivery, you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s ten years older than he claims. But this unique set of identifiers has made him not only one of Virginia’s most interesting artists on the rise but also an unforgettable artist whose penchant for being surprising means there’s something new to discuss at every turn.

In one of his most recent singles, “Bike den (Freestyle),” he warps Mike Jones’ braggadocious “Back Then” anthem into a paranoid warning about pushing away those who come calling when you find success. On “Mood,” he dons a Sex Pistols merch shirt while exploring his emotions over a sinister, pulsating hiss (“Oh I listen to everything — from rap to country to R&B,” he says about the band on his shirt). On these releases and more, his rap style is passionate, yet arcane. There’s an essence of Maxo Kream’s influence in there, but there’s an entire web of the unknown to sift through to understand exactly who Juviee is.

Juviee was raised in Newport News, Virginia in the area’s harshest downtown area. A mess of dying buildings and uncut grass, crime is common and it’s here that Juviee first picked up rapping in 2010. “My cousin had a microphone and computer in his room,” he said. “He was making beats because we were bored.” It’s during one of these impromptu sessions that Juviee recorded his first song, but he doesn’t remember exactly what it was.

Around this time, Juviee picked up his one-of-a-kind rap name — one that people constantly still ask what its 2Es mean. “The people around me started calling me Juvie because I was always curious,” he says. “I’m big, but I’m also very young. When I found out there was another rapper around named Juvie, I added the two Es to the end of my name. They come together to mean ‘too exclusive.’”

Soon after becoming Juviee 2ES, he moved to Virginia Beach and began getting into trouble. “During that time, I was always into music,” he said. “I’d get my little groove on to whatever I could listen to.” He started to make waves in 2018 with the release of “Rover,” a remake of BlocBoy JB’s song of the same name, that focused on the fact that he had a knack for beating cases — and the odds. His flow was faster and more fluid then, but in the time since, he’s deconstructed it to be rougher around the edges like his lifestyle. “I’m more on the freestyling side now,” he says. “I might write four or five songs when I go in the booth, but that’s really just to get started. I don’t like to write much.”

Juviee’s wicked raps have made his following explode in recent months, something that he touches on in “Bike den (freestyle)” with the heartily arrogant quip, “they were just laughing and shit when I didn’t have a fanbase at first, but I knew it would grow.” One of his biggest fans is Pusha T, who is now working with Juviee for his record label, Heir Wave Music Group. He was doing solid, organic numbers on YouTube locally with almost no features, says Pusha T over the phone. “My A&R discovered him and then put the team on.”

“I see the energy that Juviee exudes, the raw street essence and confidence that flow out of his voice,” he continues. “His character and ad-libs are signs, to me, of a star.”

As we’ve seen with star power, being in rap’s top spot — something that Juviee says is his “biggest goal right now” — comes with opportunities to do just about anything that you want. From taking 50 Cent’s route by making video games to designing your own clothing, Juviee is ready for it all — no matter what it takes. “I can’t wait to be into movies because I’ve always wanted to be an actor,” he says. “I want to be in a game like Def Jam: Fight For New York, even if I only played Grand Theft Auto games growing up.”

Those are some lofty goals for Juviee but that’s par for the course from him, the kind of ambition you come to expect when being a fan of his music. His one-of-a-kind style positions him to leave a special mark on hip-hop in the same vein as Pusha T, Pharrell, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and other hip-hop legends from Virginia. You can hear the smile on Juviee’s face when he’s asked about living up to their massive legacies. “I respect them but I want to be the biggest one out of Virginia ever,” he says.