"Well, in my mind, a well-rounded MC will rock a crowd with no music, hype man, nor choreography. To just simply use his/her gift of gab to keep the attention of the space is one of an MC's cornerstones," Reallionaire Jream says while sitting at his dining room table while we discuss the difference between an MC and a rapper.

Talking to Las Vegas-based Jream, you find it hard to believe he was born and raised in a city known for its lights, glamour and a lifestyle made up of long, fast nights. But that's what's so special about the city and its music. Vegas is a very deceptive town. If you don't live here, you expect the stereotypical images that either you've seen on television or heard about from an outsider just visiting. But the truth is, behind the world-famous strip, with all the gaming and the club scene, there's a city that's as diverse and creative as any. Which is why Reallionaire Jream both personifies and stands out in Las Vegas.

"If I was stranded on a desert island and had only one album, it would be Pink Floyd's Darkside of the Moon..."

Jream's choice of albums definitely isn't the first one you'd expect from the former Southern Illinois University student. Which is why his debut album, Fresh Cutz: The First Impression, stylistically fits the mold of not only an MC, but an artist searching for a more rich, in-depth brush to paint music with. The tracks are so soulful that producers like Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, Hi-Tek and even Kanye West come to mind. The beats are not stereotypically West Coast, but rather represent a Las Vegas diversity you wouldn't expect. Producers BPSB and Plastic Pete of Huh What give Reallionaire Jream incredibly fluent and melodic beats with production that gels well with his heavy-handed, smooth, lyrical flow.

On "Oxy-Moranik," he goes in and punishes lesser MCs with confident, regal rhymes that could stand with the best lyricists in hip-hop today. And on "I Ain't Ready Yet," he honestly tells his girl that being tied down to her, solely, isn't in the plans anytime soon ("A prenuptial, I bet I do / but that's only when I'm standing close to a broom"). Sonically, with songs like "Water Me" - where he channels his inner spoken-word poet - show that he's not afraid to test limitations and the listener's patience with him as an artist. On "See Me Through," over a panicked, piano-heavy track, he struggles with young man confusions about his own life and rhymes about the hardships of living day-to-day. You'll want to listen to Jream's tracks over and over - either you would have missed something he said because you're marveling at the line preceding it or you're able to take what he's just said a completely different way the next time you hear it.

Jream's also the CEO of Reallionaire Entertainment and has a number of new artists ranging from hip-hop to alternative rock slated to produce new music really soon. "I'm happy in the position I'm at right now in my life," he says. "Instead of working for someone else, I'm able to do what it is that I love to do and own it independently without having to cater to what a label would want me to do or say."

Prepping to fly out to California to start recording his next album, Jream seems only interested in exploring new sounds, styles and getting the attention of new "ears" to try out his brand of music. He takes you deep enough into the ocean where you can appreciate the danger, but not so deep that you'll fear returning - and he does this on purpose. It has less to do about false bravado and urban violence and more to do with where he is right now: ambitious, happily single and optimistic, with a focus on putting himself in the spotlight without losing his sense of originality.