"They gave me the name Verb off of freestyling. I don't write. I haven't [written] a song [on paper] in years," Verb aka Young Verb proudly tells the BoomBox. "It's like I'm in heaven." The Baltimore rapper was full of bravado when stormed into our Los Angeles studio to lay down 16 bars. "I'm the face of Baltimore right now. I'm the top dog.They gotta respect it or check it. That's what I tell them -- respect it or check it, 'cause right now, Baltimore is about to jump off because of me, I already know it," Verb proclaims before launching into one of the hottest freestyles our studio's ever seen.

With DJ Aaron LaCrate, who recently signed Verb to his Milkcrate Records, spinning in the back, the rapper talked about music, life in B-more and the HBO police drama 'The Wire,' which aired its final episode March 9.

"Growing up in Baltimore, especially where we live at is real hard. It reminds me of Compton," Verb explains. It's the same thing, I know it is. It got to be. If you live past to see 21, you ought to thank God -- be happy about the situation. I've always been a fan of 'The Wire.' Even though they don't tell you everything 'cause they can't tell you everything that goes on, but I'm a fan. Shout out to Snoop!"