He may not be a star MC yet, but Mysonne is shimmering like a supernova among the galaxy of stars on Ruff Ryders' "The Hood" album track. But Mys, as his peeps call him, been shinin' among the best- first, surprisingly, in hoops. As a high school senior, he averaged 20 points per game and led Manhattan's Martin Luther King, Jr. High School to the 1994 NYC title, trouncing teams, led by future NBA-ers God Shammgod and Stephon Marbury. Later, he battled mic stars Shyne and Noreaga during a legendary cipher. See, Mysonne came up without - landing his Violator/Def Jam deal with a demo and recording his album without writtne rhymes. He also came through - surviving his dad's death, hustling and two armed-robbery bids. Mys now simply reps his rhyme cartel, the Problem Children, on the Violator compilation album and his upcoming debut, Life Teaches and Reality Bites, a banger bearing everything from stories of family crack addiction to his preference for eating cereal without milk. No flossin'. No pretenses. And besides, what other rapper would proudly ride the subway to an interview?

THE SOURCE: In early 1998, there was a cipher battle between you, Shyne, and Noreaga. Do you remember how it went down?
MYSONNE: One day, me and my manager was in Justin's Restaurant. The whole industry was there: Chris Lighty, Steve Stoute, Puff, and DJ Clue. First, Nore started rhyming and then Shyne. Chris was like, "Go ahead Mys, you start rhyming," and when Nore saw the intensity, he figured it was like a personal battle between Shyne and me. I remember he said, "Chill Mys, you tryin' to kill him. Slow down, killer." My last rhyme was like, "I been here, like deja vu / Lyrics, flow, it's all in there like Ragu / What I gotta do? / Run through a whole lotta you / To show y'all niggas the flow is impossible? / To stop, in other words, I'm unstoppable / And if your A&R hear me, he droppin' you / I got to do this / Just wait 'til I give Clue this / I'ma have niggas open / Pressin' rewind / Screamin', 'Who dis?'" After that, we just grew respect. It was nothin' personal. Me and Shyne speak, we cool, they be trying to hype it, but it was just a battle.

THE SOURCE: On your album, you have a song called "I Am Problem." You roll with a crew called the Problem Children, and you seem to mention the word problem on a few other tracks. Is that a theme of yours?
MYSONNE: In rap, people say, "He's more of a commercial rapper, he's more of a hardcore rapper, or he's more of an abstract rapper." But I'll do anything you need done, and in this industry, that's a problem. But for me, a problem could be a good thing.

THE SOURCE: Your father passed away when you were in your early teens. What impact did it have on you and your music?
MYSONNE: My dad's death made me realize that I was the man of the house. I had a sister and a mother, but I was the only male. Before he died, he's instilled all the values that I had to be a man, so when he died, I had to grow up faster. It also made me want to rhyme about more meaningful things. I know I can freestyle. I know I can say stuff that sounds good, but that just showed me that I had to rhyme about real lifetime experience stuff that went down.

THE SOURCE: As a newly signed artist to the heralded Violator/Def Jam label collabo, much success may lay ahead of you. Have you already experienced any celebrity moments?
MYSONNE: Yeah, there have been little things, like when you're walking down the street and you hear someone saying your rhymes. Today, I was on the train and I was listening to these kids talk, and they was talking about me like, "Yo, you heard No. 10 on Ruff Ryders? That kid Mysonne, he's nice!" That made me feel good, like I'm doing this for a reason.

THE SOURCE: What are your reasons?
MYSONNE: I just want to be respected. I don't need no fame, no money. Just being respected and accepted by the people where I come from. I just want people to know when Mysonne starts spittin', he commands the room. When I spit, I want everybody to not talk, and be like, "I want to hear what he's sayin'."