Young Scrap

Born in Los Angeles, singer/rapper Young Scrap earned his name thanks to his bad habit of scrapping, or fighting. Since he had spent most of his pre-teen years learning tap and modern dance in his aunt's dance studio, Scrap had to prove he was tough to the locals. His teen years were spent living a double life, listening to hardcore hip-hop with his friends while dancing with the likes of Debbie Allen and Savion Glover. When he met street dancer Tommy the Clown, the two worlds began to come together. He would appear on one of Tommy's DVDs and join his dance troop, but a move to the Greenbelt/Fulton area of Maryland brought this career to an end. Focused exclusively on music, Scrap hooked up with his uncle's record company and recorded the album Puppy Power while a sophomore in high school. Even though the local hit introduced him to the major labels, Scrap waited for the right deal. At the age of 19 he found it when the Universal Music Group came calling. In 2009, the label released his breakthrough hit, the swaggering and Usher-flavored "Melody". As he began work on his debut album, Scrap supported the single with the mixtape Cali Prince plus live appearances opening for singer Lloyd.