he has publicly stated that he had no interest in being a rapper before he started rapping a few years ago. he also mentions being a serious hip hop head from a very young age. one can reasonably assume that he did in fact study the game very seriously for dozens of years before actually venturing out as an artist. he appeared almost out of nowhere as a mostly formed entity and once listeners and critics got past the voice similarities, he was accepted as "authentic", irrespective of his non-performing history or any kind of street cred

*this may not fit with the accepted definition of "to pay dues"