In his early years he quickly became known as one of Philly’s premier freestylers by open mic’ing and cyphering all over the city’s dense musical landscape. By 2010 he had cultivated a buzz that landed him on stage with touring acts Big KRIT, Questlove, Black Thought, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and more. All of his groundwork as a local wordsmith culminated in him being selected for the national Red Bull Emsee freestyle competition in 2011–he bested MCs from Philly and went on to win the national Red Bull Emsee title in Atlanta in 2012, a victory that landed him in the studio with now-heavyweight producer duo THC (of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and A$AP Rocky fame).