by Cyril CordorWhen South Jamaica, Queens, rapper Ali Vegas entered the New York hip-hop scene in the late '90s, he was labeled as the next breed of poignant and reflective rap artists to follow in the footsteps of that borough's important MCs, like Kool G Rap, Nas, and Mobb Deep. Nonetheless, during the 2000s the hype and his potential shot for hip-hop stardom succumbed to record label woes, delaying the release of his first official album. Vegas was first signed to Columbia through hitmaking production duo Poke & Tone and their Trackmasters imprint, but was dropped once Trackmasters lost the distribution deal in the early 2000s. The Queens rapper then signed to ex-Sony president Tommy Motolla's fledgling Casablanca Records; however, the label became inactive for some time after its star signee, Lindsay Lohan, was moved over to Motown by parent company Universal in 2006. In between record deals, Vegas was a regular on the New York mixtape ci...