the Ruff Ryder family. "I was 16," remembers Cassidy, "and this dude came in talking about he worked with Ruff Ryders and wanted to hear me rap, so after the shop closed I spit a verse. Then I just started spitting for an hour and some change. He took my number down and said he would get with me. Two days later, I was in class and my mom paged me and asked me if I met someone for Ruff Ryders because they wanted me to come out to New York today. I was in 11th grade." Cassidy made the trip to New York with fellow rhymers Shizz Lansky and Cal Akbar and were signed to Ruff Ryders together as a group, Larsiny.

Though not really a group, thetrio recorded almost twenty songs before being put on the shelf because of the large roster Ruff Ryders had accumulated. For two years, Cassidy watched from the sidelines while occasionally performing ghostwriting duties or making guest appearances on mix tapes and songs for Ruff Ryders Ryde or Die Compilation 2 and 3, and Nas remix of "The General" featuring Fat Joe. When Swizz Beats got the green light for Full Surface, he wanted Cassidy down with his team. "I knew he had talent," says Swizz. "I just want to give him his shot to show everybody what he can do. This guy is incredible."

While working on his album, Cassidy made a huge waves in the underground when word got out that he and fellow Philly native Freeway had