2po2

2po2 is a hip-hop act from Pristina and one of the pioneers of Albanian-language rap. It began as a group, founded in 1996 by the rapper, songwriter and producer Besnik Canolli together with Arben Mehmeti; Canolli had started making music in 1994, and after the group years he carried on alone under the name 2po2.

The first song, "S'më pëlqen kjo lojë" (1997), became an early hit and made the group known at once, and its early music reflected the hardships of the time and the mood of young people then. Kosovo 2.0 names 2po2 among the crews that took up hip-hop with Albanian rhymes after 1994 and among the acts that enjoyed great success after the war. The video "Hip-Hop Shqip" shows young people on the streets with cars and street attitude, with the message that drugs and crime are no solution.

The albums trace two decades of Albanian hip-hop: Nuk dorëzohemi lehtë (1997/2001), Hip-hop Therapy (2003), Hip Hop Filozofi (2005), Crazy Girl (2009), AuthentiC (2011) and 2020 (2016). Canolli has worked closely with his nephew, the rapper Capital T, and with Flori Mumajesi, Elvana Gjata, Tuna, Dafina Zeqiri and Unikkatil. Among his best-known songs are "Vibe", "Gone Girl", "Lejla", "Thuj mirdita djalit t'keq" and "Kryt nalt".

In 2024 he announced that his next album would be his last, and Testament came out in 2025, marking his retirement after a thirty-year career. Its eighteen songs look back on success and hardship, the 1990s in Pristina, emigration and the changes in the music business, and bring together older and younger generations of Albanian rap, with Capital T on "Testament 2.0".