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There is just no stopping the momentum of a hit record. What sometimes begins as a small local movement can grow legs on its own and intensify into a national phenomenon. Take, for instance, the almost overnight successes of Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em’s infectious “Crank Dat Soulja Boy,” Yung Joc’s seminal “It’s Going Down” and Gucci Mane’s braggadocios “So Icey.”

Without the aid of million-dollar budgets and initial major label support, these singles spread from state to state like wildfire and quickly secured a stranglehold of fans for the artists.

Walking in the same paths of those record breakers before him is Dallas-bred hit maker T-Willz. In a matter of only a few months, the 21-year-old future superstar splashed head first into the hip-hop arena with his regionally successful “Nature Walk.” Building upon his local buzz in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, the single heated up fast in the clubs, on local station K-104 mixshows and even in rotation of Sirius satellite radio.

“Nature Walk” made so much noise since its November 2008 release that it reached the ears of Ric Flair, the professional wrestler to whom the song is dedicated. “As soon as I brought the song to the DJs, they knew it was an instant hit,” says T-Willz. “All of them were like ‘this is a hit. We’re going to get this to all of the DJs.’”

With even more in store, T-Willz is now gearing up for the Summer release of his CMG/Vanguz/ Universal debut album I Wanna Be A Rapper. Not bad for a kid who has only been rapping for a handful of years. Born and raised in the Pleasant Grove community on Dallas’ northeast side, young Terry Wilson has been a fan of hip-hop most of his life. While he was known to kick rhymes back and forth with friends, he didn’t record his first song until his senior year in high school when T-Willz dropped a local mixtape with some friends.

Although the CD was only Willz and his crew rhyming over industry beats, Untamed Guerillas made the schoolhouse rock.

“All during high school, people used to tell me how good I could rap. So during my senior year, I put out a CD with some friends,” Willz remembers. “It sold like crazy. I’m coming home from school with more than $100 in my pocket every day.”

After graduation in 2005, T-Willz knew it was time to go hard in pursuit of his career in music. His first local hit was the bouncy “She Got It All” last year. Willz let his hometown know he was here to stay on K-104’s Hometown Showdown show. Listeners called in for weeks to vote. His first official buzz, though, was when Willz and his brother linked up to record “Catch Us Cirque” last year. The song won a competition held by Dallas’s Club Cirque.

But nothing has matched the impact of Willz follow-up single “Nature Walk.” With no promotions behind it, the single went straight to mixshow within five weeks and also prompted Willz to a major label recording contract. The result is the Summer release of his CMG/Vanguz/ Universal debut album I Wanna Be A Rapper.

“I’m an artist. I’m not a rapper,” says Willz. “An artist is someone who’s not afraid to step out of the box. A rapper just gets on the beat and raps. I do much more than that.”