A 15-year-old white rapper just signed a $1.5 million dollar deal with Warner/Chappell, with a $182,500 advance for his debut album. Chris Miles' claim to fame is an audition video he shot for America's Got Talent when he was 13. While Miles did not make it onto the show, he continued to pursue his rap dream. Last year, he put out a mixtape called Growing Pains. He also performed at Highline Ballroom in New York. His last video, "32 Bar Acapella," is exactly that.
The kid is clearly about his bars, and who could blame him when the alternative is algebra homework? The approach has already gotten him on a song with Cam'Ron. But despite calling DJ Premier one of his inspirations, will rap fans take him seriously? Some are already skeptical.
At the very least, struggle rappers now can say they know someone who signed a major label deal by spamming Twitter to promote a new song. The difference between the average struggle rapper and Chris Miles, however, is that Miles is actually followed by Andrew Wiggins. And for the record, Miles connected with his manager by tweeting a YouTube link to Nardwuar. Sometimes, the key to winning is to embrace your struggle.
