Aasim (born Leroy Watson in Jamaica, New York) is an American rapper born in 1979. He signed his first record deal with Schott Free of Loud Records at 17. While signed to the label, Aasim learned songwriting from Big Pun and Dead Prez but never released any material. When his deal with Loud Records fell through, he moved to Grind Music, and worked the mixtape and local New York radio circuits. In 2004, Puff Daddy heard him on the radio and signed him to Bad Boy Records.