Bun B

Plenty of famous faces were in the crowd for the still-unsigned up-and-comer's short set at S.O.B.'s.

NEW YORK — You can call him Drake, Drizzy or even Young Angel. He goes by a few different handles these days since he split from "Degrassi: The Next Generation." But one thing is certain about the Lil Wayne protégé (also still known as Aubrey Graham): He's got the biggest buzz in hip-hop these days, new artist or not. 

The upstart MC headlined the Hot 97 Who's Next Live series at S.O.B.'s in Manhattan on Tuesday night, where he swiftly ran through songs from his popular mixtape, So Far Gone, during a lively 30-minute set.

Instead of having to prove himself to the crowd, as others in the monthly radio-sponsored showcase have done, the unsigned (not for long) artist powered through selections in front of an audience that featured heavyweights like Kanye West, Bun B, Talib Kweli, Ryan Leslie, Eminem tour DJ/producer Alchemist and executives from multiple record companies.

Drake hit the stage at approximately 11:20 and had the crowd, which also featured a mix of college kids and plenty of females, singing along with him from the start.

Sporting a striped sweater, jeans and sneakers, the Toronto-based rapper and singer entered to an instrumental version of Coldplay's "Vida la Viva," then quickly dived into his songs "Unstoppable" and "Uptown," for which Bun B joined him onstage. 

"I'm a new artist, by the way," Drake slyly told the packed house. "I don't know if you can tell by this show."

You would think he had a catalog albums-deep by the way his songs were being chanted throughout his set. The rapper has released three mixtapes: the DJ Smallz-hosted Room for Improvement, Comeback Season and So Far Gone, which was released in February of this year and feted with a party attended by NBA superstar LeBron James.

The sold-out S.O.B.'s show marked Drake's last performance before he starts working on his debut album, Thank Me Later. The rapper told MTV News he plans to begin work on his solo project in June. He has yet to announce what label he'll sign to, however...

SRC:  MTV.com For more of this article go to mtv.com