Long gone are the days of slangin’ mixtape CDs out of the trunk of your car.  Today’s artists are breaking into the game digitally, shmoney dancing their way into record deals, fame, and notoriety.  The internet’s free-for-all-accessiblity often means an over-saturation of the current market–at any given time, there’s a constant surge of new music available, so be it from well-established artists, struggle rappers, or from what we at The Source call “unsigned hype.” 

Most artists out there are struggling to be heard amongst their counterparts, and waiting for that one shot at greatness, but as the homie Meek Mill said, “There’s levels to this sh-t.”  For those who are ready to take it to the next level and prove themselves a gawd MC who deserves a place amongst the greats, there’s a new cipher series called “RapFest” which will put you in a cipher with some of hip hop’s biggest names, like Gunplay, Smoke DZA, and Prodigy.  

On “RapFest”, each cipher makes up an episode, pairing some of the industry’s biggest names with a talented, hungry, as of yet undiscovered MC who’s ready to show and prove.  One beat, with three different artists, each giving it their all.  Each artist’s cipher is shot individually, in HD, and packaged together, giving those undiscovered stars a chance to be featured alongside some of rap’s reigning stars.

Each episode will further feature production from an underground producer and incorporate interview footage, giving the rising talent a chance to describe the concept behind their work.  Each episode will premiere exclusively on one of MTV’s networks, and live on all the biggest hip hop blogs and websites, providing rap music fans with something fresh to ponder, and up-and-comers with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Check out the trailer below.