"I let nature take its course-in certain situations, I just let things happen naturally." - Edward "Main ATRACKStion" Rodriguez

From the day he was born, his life was shaped greatly by the costly decisions of those who surrounded and raised him. Drugs, addiction, violence, legal troubles, abandonment, prison-all of these were normalities for Philadelphia-native, Edward "Main ATRACKStion" Rodriguez. Yet and still, he was raised in a family where honesty was demanded-if not a necessity-- and love and loyalty were most important; a life of contradictions for sure, but for his family, their survival required it. For example, as a kid his mother would let him listen to DMX (whom he greatly admired and credits with igniting his love for hip-hop) but he if was caught cursing, he would no longer be granted the privilege of listening. That was one thing that wasn't an option; for Rodriguez, DMX had become the voice that captured all of the stories and experiences he witnessed daily via the adults in his life.

"I was little kid, like 8 or 7, but I felt the emotions already at that point because of how I was raised and the things I was around. It's crazy at that young age I could comprehend that and feel that emotion." - Main ATRACKStion on DMX

And when he found hip-hop by way of DMX, there was never really any turning back.

Rodriguez began to rap DMX verses over different beats, thus unintentionally learning the importance of "beats per minute". By the time he was finishing high school, Rodriguez was organizing and taping rap battles; editing other's rap's so that they were more structurally sound and flowed better; and building recognition for himself as a rapper in the Philadelphia music scene. He had dabbled some in the street life but he was certain that the lifestyle and rapping just weren't a part of his dreams; he was making great money working respectable blue collar jobs, such as a Comcast cable installer and really didn't have much to want or dream for. It wasn't until he found out that his younger brother could sing, that he decided to give music a chance--for the sake of his brother and the talent that so many believed Rodriguez possessed. When he got serious, his best friend whom he had met in high school, was there ready to build with him; in fact, it was his best friend who had given him the very name that he uses in the music industry today: Main ATRACKStion.

The undefeated world boxing champion, Danny "Swift" Garcia, came up with the name after realizing that no matter where they went, people always knew his best friend and showed him love. He encouraged Rodriguez to join the latest wave and start a Myspace but was met with hesitancy; unfazed, Garcia created the page for him and dubbed his profile name, Main ATRACKStion. The name was meant to capture both Rodriguez' ability to draw people to him as well as his musical talents. The two now balance a brotherhood and business relationship and have made great strides in their respective lives since first meeting in high school.

"We have the same mind set: ain't nobody going to give you nothing. You have to go get it. We're two different men, but we've always had that respect for each other. The business part came easy because we already know how [the other] thinks-we let things build on their own and now we're doing this... and it's fun [for us]."- Rodriguez on his business relationship with Garcia

Now a rapper, producer and co-owner of he and Garcia's music label, Swift Attraction Music, Rodriguez believes--more than ever before--that things happen when it's time and that it's best to let life take its course. That's not to say that he doesn't work hard to achieve his dreams or goals, he simply recognizes that something's are out of our control; what you do with what you've been given is solely up to you. That lesson came from various life experiences-two in particular: going to jail and the birth of his son. He did a year sentence for losing emotional control over a woman, which led him to beat up a man, and he learned the importance of control, focus and self-discipline when his son was born. Between those two instances, Rodriguez internally vowed to be present in life and there for his son-two things his father never really was but that he doesn't blame him for either. Rodriguez is a man who was taught to understand and accept the brutality of the hard truth without being destroyed by it.

With only 24 years of life under his belt and another shot at life, Rodriguez is poised to take things to the next level-including manhood, music, business and most importantly, fatherhood.

"I got all the time in the world to travel, connect with who I need to connect with, take care of my son... life has [and has always had] perfect timing." - Edward "Main ATRACKStion" Rodriguez