Decatur, Georgia may be known as the place “where it’s greater” but that doesn’t mean the come up is any easier. Especially in the rap scene. It’s a jungle out there with starving new artists lurking behind every bush, light pole and open mic seeking to take that number one spot. Atlanta’s latest rising rap star and “Dec” native Sean “Slice 9” James can attest to that.

“Everybody [in Atlanta] is ambitious. At the same time, everybody is competitive. When you want it, you really have to go get it,” says the 19-year-old MC whose Mike Will Made It-produced hit single, “Another One” featuring Future and Levi Leer is climbing Billboard charts and has clubs on smash. “I salute [new artists] and what they are doing,” adds the Atlanta upstart. “But, everybody has to know this is my spot, my time. It’s going to be my time from now on.”

With a freshly inked deal with nouveau star Future’s Freebandz record label, Slice is currently on the clock. The son of tenured ATL record spinner DJ Funky, Slice has been entrenched in the Southern hip-hop scene since Pampers. By the time most teens his age were popping pimples and trying to learn the latest dance craze, Slice was already carving his niche in Atlanta’s ever-changing rap scene.

The aspiring spitter dropped his first mixtape, Skate into my Mind in 2009 followed by Zip and Banned From Society in 2010. As well as briefly establishing two clothing lines, Broken Legacy and First Impression Clothing, the young go-getter started his own record label, Encore Empire Entertainment, before he was old enough to drive legally.