CyHi The Prynce is the latest to participate in Montreality’s interview series where artists are asked everything from what their first jobs were to what their favorite cartoon characters are. The questions often catch participants off guard and lead to more revealing moments than usual.

CyHi’s installment yields several gold nuggets, starting with a freestyle by the MC over Kanye West’s “Real Friends.” Given that CyHi frequently writes with Kanye, it’s unclear whether he is competing with himself or Ye, as he flows over the beat. In any case, CyHi’s gift with the verse shines through.

Among the other insights the G.O.O.D. Music MC shares are how he ended up being signed by Kanye, and his views on the ever controversial practice of ghostwriting. The artist born Cydel Young says that it was Beyonce who actually encouraged West to sign him. Cyhi had recorded a verse on a track that would eventually become “So Appalled” from Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Beyonce, Jay Z and Ye heard it at the same time. Apparently, Beyonce was so impressed, she made the suggestion to Kanye, and the rest is history.

On the subject of ghostwriting, Cyhi is not against the practice, and rather than treat it as something that should be hidden, he likens it to what happens in other genres of music, where artists typically have several writing collaborators. “What I’ve learned is when you get to the Grammys and you’re going up against real artists like Country singers…they have 20 people working on their songs. So, you’re in the studio trying to write this song by yourself [while] Whitney Houston [was] in the studio, Adele is in the studio, with 20 people. And, she wins the Grammys or Sam Smith wins the Grammys ’cause he had 30 people working on his project, when you feel like as a rapper you can only have yourself.”

Related: CyHi The Prynce’s Latest Jaw-Dropping Freestyle Mixes Punchlines & Substance (Video)