"I've been rhyming all my life," states Cassidy. "Rhyming for me was just like how some people play basketball for the fun of it. It's an everyday activity."

"He's just young and hungry," adds Swizz Beats. "He can freestyle for hours, but he also has a large vocabulary. He knows how to blend words for effect in battles or songs. I have all the faith in the world in him."

So far Cassidy and Swizz Beats have recorded about 25 songs for the as-yet-untitled debut from Cassidy. The album will include tracks from Rockwilder, Battlecat, Drop, Neo and a few upcoming producers from Swizz stable of beat-makers.

Many have called Cassidy a battle rapper or a punch line rapper, which disturbs him and Swizz to no end. All those stereotypes will be laid to rest once the album drops, "I made my reputation by battling, but there is more to me than that," Cassidy relates. "I knew how to rhyme to a beat, but I wasn't really used to rhyming in a rhythm and pocket and chorus. Swizz taught me a lot about riding different beats and different grooves. I was used to riding a basic knock or simple drum tracks. He taught me how to use different flows on various tracks; like bouncy beats, hard-edged beats, beats that include more horns or keyboards than say a guitar or drum. He helped refine the way I hear music, in order to record songs differently. I'm a lyricist, so that helped me with flows and coming up with hooks for the different types of songs. It wasn't hard at all, but it was an adjustment."

Fully prepared to initiate the changing of the guard, Cassidy represents the embracing of MC culture, at the same time modernizing those values to fit in the industry of recording.

Really, I just have to think longer than before, but I think the whole process of working with Swizz and learning more about music has only made me better at what I do. Where rap music has become commercial in abandoning artistry for mass replication of the latest trend, Cassidy can lead the movement to right the wrongs of his predecessors by simply being the raw, arrogant street cat that he is.

Swizz has a lot of faith in me to make my album the debut on his label. So like any player in their rookie season, you have to earn your starting spot on the team. I'm coming out scoring.