This week marks the first episode of HYPEBEAST Radio’s newest show, MIC/LINE. A show that looks to bring you in-depth conversations with your favorite artists, digging into their origin stories and asking the questions you want answered. On our first episode, we sat down with Atlanta producer Mike WiLL Made-It and rapper Trouble.

Two of Atlanta’s pillars joined forces earlier this year when Trouble signed to Mike WiLL’s Eardrummers Records imprint on Interscope Records. The duo’s creative collaboration birthed Edgewood, a project named after the Atlanta neighborhood Trouble was raised in.

Trouble’s road to success has proven be a long one, filled with roadblocks. The Duct Tape Entertainment artist originally broke out in the music scene around 2011 with the single “Bussin’,” off his debut mixtape December 17th. The record would become a hit and turned the notorious ATL figure into a buzzing rapper.

Things were rolling the right way for a while but Trouble — born Mariel Semonte Orr — had a hard-earned street pedigree, one that often eclipsed his music. For the next four years, Trouble was in and out of prison. After linking up with Zaytoven for June 2015’s ZayDidIt, and landing a feature on Young Thug’s Slime Season 2 on “Thief in the Night,” his momentum was at an all-time high, eventually leading him to Mike WiLL.

“No other producer-x-artist combo can pull off what Trouble and I are about to do,” Mike said. “Edgewood is only the beginning. I really felt like it was time for a level up for Trouble.” Mike WiLL added, “I’ve been watching his grind for years now, since we were young as fuck, coming up in Atlanta on the music scene, trying to make something out of nothing. Trouble is the only person from the city who’s going to give you that raw, pure, honest, real rap, mixed with originality, new flavor, new flows and new lingo. He has the grind, work ethic and dedication to back it up, and the city knows.”

You can listen to Mike WiLL Made-It and Trouble’s Edgewood album right now. Keep up with everything HYPEBEAST Radio and subscribe to MIC/LINE on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast or wherever else you enjoy your podcasts. Feel free to reach out to our host, Manny, on Twitter at @ECM_LP and follow HYPEBEAST Music for more original content and music news.