Exclusive: Astro Signs With 'X Factor' Mentor L.A. Reid

Teenage MC will be on today's 'RapFix Live' at 4 p.m. on MTV.com to discuss his new deal with Epic Records.
By Rob Markman

Astro
Photo: Getty Images

Astro might not have taken home top honors on "X Factor," but the 15-year-old Brooklyn MC scored a huge win nonetheless. MTV News has exclusively learned that the Astronomical Kid signed a deal with "X Factor" mentor L.A. Reid over at Epic Records. The young rap phenom will appear on today's "RapFix Live" to formally announce the deal in detail.

After the teenage rapper was sent home during the show's December 1 episode, rumors began to swirl about where he would end up. Reports that 'Stro would sign with Jay-Z's Roc Nation hit the Web early, but in an interview with MTV News, the pint-size MC quickly shot that notion down.

"I have never met anyone from Roc Nation. I'd love to, but I'm not signed right now to anyone," he said during a December 5 interview. "Nobody ever hit me up about that — just go on the Internet and it's up there. But I'm not signed, as far as I know."

Though Hov is one of his favorite rappers, the Brooklyn whiz kid wasn't necessarily looking to sign based off star power alone. "I just want to be in a place where I'm comfortable 100 percent. I just want to be able to release my music, do my movies, [and] everything is fair," he told MTV News of his dream deal. "I just want to be able to have fun doing it. I don't want music to be a job for me; I want it to be something I'm doing for fun. As long it's not a job, then you're straight."

It seems that Reid has provided the youngster with everything he was looking for. No word yet on when Astro will drop his debut album, but then again, at 15 years old, he has all the time in the world.

What do you think of Astro's deal with Epic Records? Tell us in the comments!

Catch Astro, Naughty by Nature and Khalil Kain on "RapFix Live" today at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com, and be sure to join the Twitter conversation using the hashtag #RapFixLive. Send your questions for the artists @MTVRapFiX!

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677442/astro-record-deal-epic.jhtml

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