"I Been Hearing That I'm Pretty Big"

SOHH recently caught up with A$AP Rocky to discuss life as he knows it since officially announcing his deal with RCA.

When asked if he knew the $3 million dollar announcement would cause such a stir on the Internet, the Harlem rapper said the public's response was something he never expected.

"People tend to make a big deal out of everything. I'm gonna be perfectly honest: I been hearing that I'm pretty big. I can go on Twitter and stuff and see that I'm pretty big, but truthfully, I don't know how big I really am yet. You know? Because it's happening to me, I can't really see it like everyone else does. But [being big] is not the most important thing to me at this moment, so I don't stress that. I'd a dope feeling, but I don't know if I'm bigger than I was a week ago." (SOHH)

Rocky went on to add that his deal shoots down the myth that an up-and-comer needs a major artist co-sign before stepping foot in the game.

"When people used to ask us who we f*ck with and who we had songs with, we'd be like, 'Us'. That's who we roll with, us." That's who we rap with. So, I guess that sh*t worked out for the better because we don't have to perpetrate and fraud like we know [astists] that we don't really know and sh*t. All we got is us, and if you f*ck with us, then we got love for you." (SOHH)

Vado, another MC hailing from Harlem, signed a deal with music mogul Jimmy Iovine's Interscope Records earlier this year.

Vado is about to have a new home. The Harlem spitter confirmed to XXLMag.com that he recently inked a deal with the Interscope Records. Details of the deal are still emerging. V-Don's retail mixtape, Slime Flu hit stores last October, and was released on eOne. His collabo album with Cam'ron, Gunz N' Butta, is slated to drop next month on April 12 also through eOne. Vado will be appearing on XXL's UStream show Spotlight next Wednesday, April 6. (XXL Mag)

A record deal worth millions is not always a meal ticket to success, a lesson fellow New York MC Papoose learned when his infamous $1.5 Million dollar deal with Jive ended with an official album never being released. As of 2011, Nacirema Dream is scheduled to be sold independently.

Rapper Papoose is prepping the release of his upcoming album Nacirema Dream, due to be released via the rapper's own independent label Honor B4 Money Records. Papoose has recruited Erykah Badu, Jim Jones and Jadakiss for appearances on the project. Busta Rhymes and Lloyd Banks have already appeared on the pre-release single "Party Bout to Pop (Remix)," and Papoose' incarcerated fiancee Remy Ma guested on "Bucked Naked (Remix)." The album was originally supposed to be released on Jive five years ago. But issues with the label forced him to depart after only a year. The release date hasn't been made public as of yet. (Hip Hop Blog)