It was all a dream for The Kid. The Rialto Calif.,transplant by way of South Central Los Angeles inherited the family business of hustling and gangbanging, despite his gift for constructing colorful rhyme bars.”My whole family is Bloods and Crips,” declares the 24-year-old.” I got uncles 40-plus still hustling. So I felt like there was nothing wrong. I wanted to rap all my life, but it was kind of like a dream to me.” In 2003, star-wishing quickly turned into reality when an opportunity to spit for Swizz Beatz arrived. Battling four hungry amatures, Kartoon lived up to his moniker, Kartoon, running through the competition with his uncanny ability to switch characters mid-verse. Attracting the attention of Ruff Ryders West Coast A&R, Cookie, a week later the upstart found himself on a video shoot auditioning for Jadakiss, who was easily impressed with the young’n’s flare. “He caught me in a circle giving cats the blues and fell out,” reflects Kartoon.“He repeated my bars and everything. He went back to the East Coast and started a buzz for me at the record label.” To confirm that the West Coast MC’s rep was more fact than fiction, ‘Toon was pinned against R.R. battle champ Jin. Familiar with each other’s work, the two squared off on a Hollywood corner, showing undeniable respect and giving the crowd 20 rounds of fire. After ‘Toon out-sparred the Chinese artist MC, R.R. CEO Wha ushered him to his brother and co-CEO, Dee, to co-sign . Kartoon made history in fall 2004, becoming the first West Coast artist to sign to Ruff Ryders. After showcasing two singles on ruff Ryders Vol. 4 : Redemption, including the street heater “Get Wild” featuring Jadakiss and DMX, Kartoon is ready for the world to get acquainted with him. And his Ruff Ryders debut, slated for next summer, should manifest just one other little dream: to wear the West Coast crown: “Put all the pressure on me,” he states. “ I’m not scared of that weight. It’s a very big shoe, but I can fit it. Not as far as being in The Game shadow but being in 2Pac shadow!”- Thomas A. Harden taken from XXL Sept. 2005 issue ..78 page 076 Show & Prove section. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.