Artist to Watch in 2012: A$AP Rocky

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If you listen to A$AP Rocky's music you would swear he's from the south. Actually, this soon-to-be rap superstar is from Harlem, USA -- New York, to be exact. The 24-year-old rhyme-spitter (real name Rakim Myers) started a buzz for himself when his 'Purple Swag' video became a viral hit on the Internet.

After releasing a slew of mixtapes, A$AP (which is an acronym for Always Strive and Prosper) has inked his own label deal with Sony/RCA's Polo Grounds Music. "That’s exactly what I wanted," he tells U.K. website Stool Pigeon. "And they believed in me. Sony knows I’m going to be successful."

Fans will be able to meet A$AP Rocky when he hits the road for a string of shows at the end of January. The North American trek kicks off in Buffalo, N.Y., on Jan. 26 and will hit cities like Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Va., and Greensboro, N.C., before wrapping it up in Atlanta on Feb. 11, 2012. -- Trent Fitzgerald

Watch the A$AP Rocky 'Purple Swag' Video