“When I was younger, in my teenage years, (hip-hop) was an outlet for some frustrations I had,” Selby said. “It’s a way of expressing myself.”

An avid listener of rappers, such as Eminem and Hopsin, Selby said hip-hop is a very expressive genre of music.

“Hip-hop’s a lot more raw than a lot of genres,” he said. “You can say things exactly how you want to say them. It’s very free.”

Describing himself as a shy and awkward teen, Selby said music gave him more confidence in expressing himself. He said he reached success in bodybuilding quickly, competing in the teen national championship at the age of 19. He had plans to compete in the collegiate national championship last summer.

Despite his affluence, rap remained a hobby of his. After he started work on his mixtape, “Northern Hype,” he said he “rediscovered his passion for hip-hop.” He then decided to cancel all plans of competing as a bodybuilder and began pursuing music wholeheartedly.

“I had to pick one dream over the other,” he said.

After his “Northern Hype” mixtape dropped, he received a call from rapper and Lansing native Ricky Rucker, who was impressed by Selby’s rap ability. Rucker was in the process of planning the L-town Legends show, which is a showcase of more than 20 rappers that will be held Thursday at Uli’ s Haus of Rock, 4519 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Lansing. Rucker asked Selby to help him with the project.

“We linked up, and we actually recorded a track together,” Selby said. “He’s really a talented guy.”
Selby said the Lansing hip-hop scene is currently in a “lull,” and he hopes the showcase can help take steps to change the situation for himself and future local musicians.

“A lot of times at shows, there tends to be a lot of trouble associated because there’s all of these different camps,” he said. “I would call it a power struggle among the camps of Lansing. I want to show people that we can have a successful show in a large venue and have nothing go wrong.”

Rucker said he sees the concert as an opportunity for Lansing rappers to receive more publicity.

“Not too many rappers are doing their thing right now (in Lansing),” Rucker said. “I’m trying to bring my world into (Selby’s) world, and hopefully we can do a big thing. It should be really good for hip-hop.”

Selby also started a record label over the summer. Named after the mixtape that put him on the map, Northern Hype Entertainment aims to bring together Lansing rappers.

“I want us to ban together as one central network,” Selby said. “Then we can bring bigger names to Lansing. We’re bringing Twista to Lansing. We’ve been able to unite quite a few different camps.”

Selby will release his debut album, “Ammunition,” in spring 2013. He said he sees it as an opportunity to justify his decision to pursue music.

“I’ve had a lot of people doubt me and naysayers and this and that,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I’ve got that ammunition to fire back with.”