When the Mekanix teamed with Stalin and Kaz as the Go Boyz, Shady hopped on the project, laying down his first major tracks like "What I Seen," which appears on Early Morning Shift 2.

"Meeting these cats on the radio motivated me to work harder," Shady says. "I was kinda timid at first. I knew I could rap, but these niggas been doing this shit for a minute. I just got more confidence now."

It was impossible not to notice. In the months following the Go Boyz sessions and the closure of the Garage due to near-constant police surveillance, Shady's raps took on a new intensity, documented in appearances on Beeda Weeda's Homework (PTB, 2006) and Stalin's original Early Morning Shift (2006). His flow has gone from sick to lethal: it's an elastic, melodic delivery that accelerates to double time as it plows its way to the end of the verse. Though the slang isn't as dense, the combination of speed and rhythm treads on E-40 terrain, repeatedly forcing you to rewind to figure out just what Shady is saying.

With his name ringing bells throughout Oakland, it's easy to see why Clear Label — responsible for Beeda Weeda's Turfology 101 (2006) — picked Shady as its next artist. Showcasing beats by Droop-E, the Mekanix, Beeda's PTB camp, DJ Fresh's Whole Shabang, and Traxademix, the upcoming Son of the Hood promises to be one of the hot releases of 2008.

"That's my debut right there," Shady says with pride. "It's sick. This is my first time having unlimited studio time. I can leave the club at 3:30 in the morning and go to the Hiero lab, and I ain't never been like that before. I got my mojo back, so it's good." *