He returned to the States as the video dropped for his collab with Slaughterhouse flamespitter Joell Ortiz, 'Kill at Will.' 'This is someone I grew up listening to,' Token reveals. In April 2016, he made a run through France, including a performance at the heralded Chorus Festival, alongside rap icons The Pharcyde and current soul/funk phenom Robert Glasper. You don't know who or what Token is until you see me live.' Take him in, fans have. I've grown a lot and I encourage people to come to my shows to take me in. I take time to make sure my live show is dope.

But don't get it twisted: despite his pedigree in online cyphers, Token makes it clear he's built for the flesh: 'I'm not just this internet guy. The naysaying therapists have been replaced by reams of positive YouTube comments. It became something I relied on - something I'd look forward to doing.' Fast forward to the present, and it's scores of fans who look forward to Token's writing. So I started a diary, like poetry conveying the way I was feeling. I was embarrassed by a lot of what I was feeling and didn't think people would take me seriously at that age. 'I was such a thinker as far back as the first grade. These outward pivots belied Token's true nature: 'I always felt very different from everyone, always felt disconnected,' he admits. Of course, this is so ironic because this is what I do - how I choose to spend my time.' Token was put into special ed classes and diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and a learning disability. 'That my brain doesn't have the ability to process language and understand long words. Token's trajectory is unorthodox bordering on inexplicable: 'When I was young, doctors and analysts literally told me I can't put words together like normal people do,' recounts the rapper, real name Ben Goldberg. The internet was set aflame by an apparent rap prodigy.

It was nerve-wracking.' Sway's cohost Tracy G actually broke down in tears with his verse - the video of which has garnered over a million views in a single 24-hour period, and totals more than 5 million views to date. I had to chop 11 minutes down to like 6, basically overnight. Then, literally the day before, I got the news that I would have about half that time. And I actually prepared about 11 minutes of material, roughly 250 bars. 'I rehearsed day and night for Sway,' Token reveals. 'No Sucka MCs' also prompted iconic hip-hop tastemaker Sway Calloway to invite Token to spit on his influential Sway in the Morning SiriusXM show. It was this track that prompted another Massachusetts native who'd gotten his start rhyming, superstar Mark Wahlberg, to take to Twitter and proclaim Token his new favorite rapper. Originally submitted to an online rap competition - one of several Token ended up winning - the song has amassed 1.6 million views on YouTube. Littered with timely, toothy, subliminal lyrics like 'Until the XXL cover will set it up / I'm a junior now, I'll f*** a freshman up,' the track catapulted Token from provincial problem to national nuisance. The video for 'No Sucka MCs' earned 17-year-old wunderkind Token his first real burn on the rap blogs. I almost fell out of my chair.' Needless to say, precalc was a wrap for the day. The video had gotten 7,000 views the night before and was up to 100K by the morning. I checked my phone and thought I was seeing things. 'I was sitting in my first period precalculus class.

Token rapper