There was also the fact that the then-23-year old managed to sign a $3 million RCA deal, basically off the strength of one viral song- this was simply unheard of, and the rap world immediately paid attention. The New York-bred artist had separated himself from the landscape at the time, by diving into a sound that was not common in NYC, indeed, it was heralded as Southern-inspired, and this alone was something to discuss and debate.