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Success doesn't come easilyfor anybody. Since day one, persistence has been the name of the game for BayArea rapper Sage The Gemini.

When he made the decision torap, nobody would help him. He’d bring rhymes to his peers for beats, and noone jumped at the chance to collaborate. So, he went even harder and he did everything himself. By the age of 14, hehad taught himself how to create beats, produce, and even mix and master. He’dbecome a wholly self-sufficient artist before tenth grade. Now 21, he recalls,“All I cared about was music. I would stay up all night working on tracks andgo to school tired. It didn’t matter. I wanted to be heard.”

Inspired by everyone fromChris Brown and Usher to Jay-Z and Pharrell, he studied various genres insideand out. That determination and dedication eventually yielded a viralsensation.

In 2008, he dropped hisfirst online track "You Should Know" on MySpace. It became a viralhit, generating over three million views and buzzing amongst listenersworldwide. Joining up with the famed crew HBK Gang, the Bay Area began toembrace him as he performed countless gigs, developed a local presence, andhoned a sound of his own.

"Musically, it's amixture of everything," he explains. "It's like going to McDonaldsand pouring every drink in one cup. I want to start my own genre—like acrossover of R&B and Bay Area party hip-hop."

That crossover revs up on"Gas Pedal." This smash hitswitches lanes between a club-ready beat and a swaggering hook. Sage's smoothflow coasts alongside a slick verse from HBK's Iamsu.

He continues, "It's adancing song. I like to keep the violence to a minimum. Dancing helps kids in abig way that no one wants to pay attention to. If they're dancing, it's allgood. I grew up listening to Iamsu. To have him on there is a blessing."

The song attracted RepublicRecords who inked a deal with him in 2013. Then, as part of the EP of the samename, "Gas Pedal" sped toward the top online and at radio, reaching#5 on the Billboard Hip-Hop Chart andracking up over 12 million YouTube/VEVO views. At the same time, countless fansuploaded their own takes on the song to both YouTube and Vine, making theimpact simply seismic. Cumulatively, there are over 110 million viral viewsfueled by this immense audience response without radio. It also serves as agateway to his forthcoming full-length debut album for the label.

Another banger "RedNose" wiggles from an unshakable chorus and a massive groove, becoming ananthem in its own right. It showcases just how clever he really is too. "I wanted to say something that means'ass-shaking' without simply saying it," he grins. "That's where thecomparison to a red nose pit bull came from."

Ultimately though,everything about Sage stands out. Producing and writing, he architects his ownvision completely from the music to the rhymes. Now, he's speeding towards thetop.

"I want people to feellike they can live with me through the music," he concludes. "It'sabout having a good time together. The album's going to have turn-up and partysongs as well some more emotional moments. It's everything, and everyone iswelcome along for the ride."