Brooklyn’s on the rise.

Within the new class, Desiigner brought two platinum plaques to the borough, while Young M.A. is the fresh face with the hottest sound. Joey Bada$$ delivered a critically-acclaimed effort this year, while Casanova and Phresher kick in the door as rap’s new pair of firecrackers. As the names continue to roll in, the borough’s own Corey Finesse is adding his name to the latest stream of rap’s hottest acts.

Repping East Flatbush, the NuLa Entertainment signee is making waves. Last month, he freestyled on Hot 97’s Funk Flex show and already the clip has cracked over 300,000 views. Music videos for “Vagabond” and more recently “Derek Fisher” have tripled those view counts. As his buzz steady grows, the rapper releases his latest mixtape Life After 9, a project that is filled with as much bangers as it is a narrative of the life he chose after nine years old.

As one of the new buzzin acts out of Brooklyn, what is it about Corey that stands out the most ?

Honestly some of these rappers are just here for the moment, I’m here for the long run.

You recently submitted your nomination for Freshman, what does it mean for you to go from starting at rap to now making a career out of it?

I started off singing. First song recorded at nine years old. I always knew this is what I was destined to do regardless if I made XXL or not . I embrace it all, it means everything to me. My struggle means everything to me, shit I was just trapping and swiping not too long ago . The transition is crazy.

“KAKA SHOW” is a popular Haitian phrase, as well as “VAGABOND”. Are you Haitian, and if so, how important is it for you to represent this in music?

Nah I’m not Haitian I’m Jamaican. Most of my friends are Haitian since young so I just learned some creole and I run with it. It’s for the culture man I speak patois in my music as well but until I release those songs they’ll juss continue to think I’m Haitian. It opens up new doors and gives me a bigger fan base out of the country too . Music is art to me and it’s very important for me to represent this in my music because I want people to kno where I come from outside of the hell I was raised in. They gotta know the difference.

Your new mixtape Life After 9, is the title in reference to your affiliation with the rap group? Or anything else? What does the title mean and what should the fans expect from the project?

Life After 9 is in reference to my life after nine years old. Like I said before, I recorded my first song at nine but where I’m from makes it interesting. I speak on life after the guys got locked up and me tryna escape that life. I talk about everything in my music, it’s my therapy. All the fall outs, the good, the bad, my growth since my community got indicted and I’ve been only one out here keeping the 9 alive if you ask me. I appreciate all the love from my fans for noticing real music. Just stay tuned and wait for me, I got a story to tell about these growin pains of mine.