Long gone are the days when A&R reps listened to demos of aspiring rap artists and signed them to major label deals on the spot. Nowadays, if an artist wants to make a mark in the world of rap music, nothing outshines the grind. Multi-platinum superstars like Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Juicy J all got their start selling units in the streets and built musical empires from the ground up. With careers that span across decades and even millennia, success and longevity in rap music are often-times the result of hard work, consistency and dedication. Following in the same footsteps of these grassroots hustlers who took their talents from the streets of Anyhood, USA to global admiration is hip hop’s newest phenomenon Infinite Starr Le Flair. Boasting more than a dozen mixtapes, a string of awards and accolades and a following that stretches across the South and East Coast, Mississippi-made rapper/singer/songwriter Infinite Starr Le Flair is rapidly blazing her own trails to musical dominance. With her insanity-driven single “I'M OFF” steadily gaining momentum and forthcoming mixtape “Eight Talk” set to drop soon, she is well on her way to revolutionizing the sound of music. “I’m going to outwork everybody. I’m going to be on the treadmill the longest, grind the hardest and constantly be in their faces. They don’t have a choice but to accept me,” she demands. “Nobody is going to outwork me because I want it so badly. I’m not doing it for the money. I was put on this earth to do music.” Born in the sleepy coastal town of Gulfport, Miss., Infinite left the country soon after birth because her father was active in the Army. He was first stationed in Baumholder, Germany (where she started school) and throughout childhood, little Starr had traveled the world several times over. In love with rap music for as far back as she can remember, young Infinite could always be found in the middle of a group of kids freestyling and making up rhymes. Whether they were banging on desks, the lunchroom table or making beats with their mouths, Infinite always had a hot rhyme to spit and amaze the crowd. And when she participated in school talent shows, she always left the crowd in a roar. “I always wanted to do music,” she admits, “but basketball was really my main focus at the time.” Heavily influenced by her father, she started playing basketball from hanging with her old man. He taught her how to shoot, dribble and different techniques on handling the ball. She got so good with the rock that she was always star player throughout school. “People used to ask me how I did it. But I didn’t shoot 2,000 shots a day. I made 2,000 shots a day,” she explains. “I’m dedicated. When I find something I really like, I do it, do it, do it….I kinda believe in talent but I have faith in work ethic.” After returning to the Magnolia State for her sophomore, junior and senior years at Gulfport High, she landed an athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky. She transferred to Jackson State University in Mississippi after two years, played ball as a Lady Tiger and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in biology and physical therapy. It was in Jackson, however, that Infinite tapped into her musical talents and began to take them more seriously. She teamed up with local rap crew Kin Folk Committee and in 2005, they released their independent album The Fella Ship. The following year, she spread her wings and went solo to release her mixtape debut Bi Mi Self/Gotta Be Me. It was a local smash. Then, like clockwork, Infinite was guaranteed to deliver a brand new solo mixtape or collaboration every year. “People like my music because it’s real-life scenarios. It captures true essence of life,” Infinite explains. “Everybody can relate to it because you have some of the same experiences that I’m talking about. And I say what people think but are afraid to say. I speak my mind.” In search of a broader fan base and bigger audience to promote her music, Infinite relocated to New York City. But things didn’t go as planned so she wound up homeless, sleeping in a van and showering at truck stops. “Sometimes you have to put yourself in a situation where you have to work and you have to grind,” she says. “I was stuck in New York and while I was living there, we didn’t have anything to eat but I did have product. It got to a point to where I was making $1,000 selling CDs.” After conquering the Big Apple, she returned home in March 2013. She continued her tireless work ethic and sold more than 20,000 units of her independent album World On Fire throughout the Southeast. In the meantime, she was awarded Best Female Rap Artist two years in a row by the Jackson Music Awards, nominated for Best Female Mixtape by the Southern Entertainment Awards and nominated for an Indie Music Top 25 Award by the Indie-Music Awards. Her most recent mixtape, True Face, is her most successful to date, reaching more than 25,000 downloads. In addition, Infinite Starr Le Flair has teamed up with Country Boy Music / One Million At A Time to release her newest single “I'm Off” with a follow-up mixtape perfectly titled “Eight Talk”. “My whole career has been based off grinding and selling CDs,” she admits. “All I’ve ever done is sell CDs. I grind. I have only one goal in mind, and that's showing the World that I was born to do this!”