Lost In Translation: Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire Signs to Universal Republic? (Gil Scott-Heron)

Brooklyn rapper Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire has signed with Universal Republic, Billboard has learned and confirmed with the label. The news came on the heels of a SXSW 2012 panel eXquire participated on Wednesday (March 14), "The Importance of Online Video & Social Media," a topic in which the rapper is quite well-versed. Since posting his $400 video for "Huzzah" on YouTube last spring, eXquire ignited the attention of the Underground Hip-Hop community and the Indie blog circuit alike, making Pitchfork's year-end list and attracting interest from rappers like Danny Brown and Das Racist, who guested on a remix of "Huzzah."

- Andrew Hampp (Billboard)

In November of last year, as the rapper's success began to rise, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire took to his Tumblr to share a few words: "What [an] ill fuckin' journey this year has been for me! When that New Year's Ball dropped, I would have never thought I'd be on TV, magazines, websites, and all this shit... Man, 9 months ago I was in a fucking small-ass booth checking parking tickets, now I'm a starving artist... shit fuck's my head up. I just be wanting to stop right here cuz I never thought I'd make it this far. Too late now [though], I told my nigga Trax once, "We gotta make money now, cause we can't get no broker!"