Brian Bradley’s mother and stepfather watch his performance with “X Factor” host Steve Jones. (
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Brooklyn rapper Brian “Astro” Bradley is determined to win “The X Factor” to prove his critics — and especially his estranged father — wrong.
“My real dad wasn’t supportive,” Astro, 15, tells The Post. “He wasn’t going to let me compete in this competition. He is just a jerk. Basically, he is not a father to me.”
The lippy 10th-grader — who vowed to become “bigger than Jay-Z”– says his father has tried to reconcile with him since he got on the show. But Astro is not interested.
“I ignore him,” the rapper says. “He is a loser. He wasn’t a good man.
“He wasn’t there to take care of me or anything like that. I don’t really care about him. I am in a positive moment right now. Every thought I am thinking is positive.”
Astro, who began writing rhymes at age 9, was raised by his mother, Cascia Thompson, and his stepfather in one of the city’s roughest neighborhoods, Brownsville.
“My mom is basically the one who got me here,” he says. “Even when I sucked, when I was like 8 years old writing scribble scrabble, she’d take her hard-earned money and pay for studio sessions for me. And teach me how to perform in my living room.”
Before auditioning for “X Factor,” the young emcee tried to land a record deal.
“There was a lot of rejection,” he says. “I went to a lot of labels, and they would sit there and ignore me when I was talking about the ideas I had.
“I know I am not supposed to, but I am giving great performances out of spite. I want them to see this and be like, ‘Oh, man! Why didn’t I sign him?’ ”
During his first audition, judge Simon Cowell called him “arrogant, obnoxious, argumentative … but one of the most talented people I’ve heard.”
Since then, Astro has gotten some harsh treatment on the Internet from critics who say rap doesn’t belong on a singing show or that he is too arrogant.
He plans to use tonight’s performance to send a message to his haters.
“America will get to see a more lyrical side of me,” he says. “I am coming with more metaphors. I am explaining how I feel about the YouTube comments and stuff like that.
“If you are going to hate, then hate for a reason,” he says. “People are saying I’m cocky. I am going to explain that in the song.
“It’s not cocky. When you are competing for $5 million, it is confidence.”