Bringing tricky wordplay back into the mainstream hip-hop scene, Philadelphia rapper
Sy Scott debuted in 2000 when he teamed with
Erick Sermon for "Battle," a track that landed on
Lyricist Lounge, Vol. 2. A year later he was a guest star on
Sermon's full-length
Music as well as the 2002 release
React. In 2003
Scott and
Sermon both appeared on
Prince Paul's
Politics of the Business while 2004 brought one last appearance with his mentor as
Scott landed on
Sermon's
Chilltown, New York. In 2005 he moved to Atlanta where producer
Dallas Austin was reviving his Rowdy Records imprint with the Decatur-based act
Da BackWudz. As
Scott was always hanging around Rowdy's office,
Austin originally thought he was an intern, but when the rapper got a chance to show the producer his lyrical skills he was immediately signed. In 2007, as
Scott and the Rowdy family were working on his official debut, his underground mixtape Sychosis, Vol. 1 with DJs
Don Cannon and the Aphilliates hit the streets. ~ David Jeffries