Hailing from Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, underground rapper Papoose has released a flurry of mix tapes since his debut on DJ Kay Slay’s “Streetsweeper, Vol. 2: The Pain From The Game.” Unlike most up-and-coming rappers, Papoose is anything but humble.

“My mix tapes sell like drugs on the street,” he said in the March 29 issue of Rolling Stone.

Kay Slay, however, has backed his seemingly well-deserved boastfulness. In 2005, Papoose scooped up the MTV Justo Award for best underground rapper.

Although he started writing lyrics at age 10, he did not get his first break until he was 18, when Kool G Rap made him a guest on his album Roots of Evil. However, it was “Alphabetical Slaughter” that brought Papoose fame. The track features Papoose rapping with each word going in alphabetical order (“Cockin’ caliber chromes, creatin’ casualties, compensatin’ / Dominatin’, devoted, dealer-devastatin'”).

Now 26 years old, Papoose is looking at a debut album entitled Nacirema Dream (“American Dream” backwards), which is scheduled to hit stores this year. With the help of Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode Squad and Kay Slay’s Street Sweepers, Papoose plans to bring his career to a whole new level.