Producer and rapper Charles Hamilton was touted during the late 2000s as an up-and-coming artist with an eclectic sensibility and impressive freestyle rhymes. In 2008, Hamilton signed to Interscope and created a deafening online buzz. Around a dozen mixtapes were released during 2008. One of them was The Pink Lavalamp, which was intended to be Hamilton's debut album for Interscope. While plans were made for a true Interscope debut, the album was shelved and eventually issued as a free digital download after the label dropped Hamilton. Despite setbacks, Hamilton continued to be remarkably prolific with mixtape releases through 2014. In early 2015, he signed with Republic and released "New York Raining," featuring Rita Ora, as his first single for the label. ~ Matt Rinaldi