New York rapper Bobby Shmurda is not afraid to talk about the challenges he has faced in his 20 years. He overcame them and currently has one of the hottest dance songs in the tri-state (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) area.

Hot Nigga is the jam that has made Bobby Shmurda a star. The accompanying video features he and his crew demonstrating the Shmoney Dance.

The visual has racked up over two million views on YouTube. Shmurda has also topped Billboard’s Twitter Emerging Artists chart, signed a major deal with Epic Records and appeared on a number of shows.

“Where I’m from they don’t usually get chances like this, yuh nuh. I just started and it got crazy. This is just the beginning,” said Shmurda in an interview with the online station, Revolt TV.

He was born in Florida to a Jamaican father and Trinidadian mother. After his father was incarcerated, Shmurda and his mother relocated to New York City where he had his own brushes with the law.

He spent 15 months in detention for violating his probation, and was also arrested on a gun charge, which was dropped.

Although he began rapping at age 10, it was not until this year that he attracted serious attention with Hot Nigga and the Shmoney Dance.

It has impressed heavyweights like Canadian rapper Drake who performed Hot Nigga during his set at the recent ESPY Awards. Li’l Wayne, Beyoncé and Jay Z have all done the Shmoney Dance.

In the Revolt TV interview, Shmurda said he is happy with the way things have turned out, but his good fortune has forced some changes.

“I don’t live where I used to live no more (in Flatbush, Brooklyn). My manager moved me out because he didn’t want me to get in trouble,” he explained.

Shmurda’s follow-up single, Act Right, is in steady rotation on New York’s Hot 97 FM.

— Kevin Jackson