CORY GUNZ GETS A NEW REALITY MTV SHOW CALLED "SON OF A GUN"

Like rapper, like son: Cory Gunz is déjà vu all over again with a new show on MTV.

His father, Peter Gunz, scored a hit record in 1998 with the uptown anthem "Déjà Vu." Now Cory is the Bronx rap star, touring and making songs with Lil Wayne.

A reality show about the young man's struggle to escape the rough streets of the Boogie Down premieres April 28 at 11 p.m.

"Son of a Gun," produced by actor and Mariah Carey hubby Nick Cannon, features a showdown between Cannon and Wayne's crew over Cory's career. Cannon called it a "coming of age story" in the tradition of "A Bronx Tale."

"The show is going to give people insight on me trying to find myself as an artist," said Cory, 23, whose real name is Peter Pankey Jr. "It's going to give y'all some drama, too."

Cory grew up with his grandparents at E. 174th St. and Vyse Ave., a treacherous block where he says he had to dodge bullets. His father, one-half of the group Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, hoped his son would become a doctor or lawyer - not another one-hit wonder.

"I didn't want him in the music business," said Peter Gunz, also featured in the MTV show. "One minute you're hot, and the next, you're not. Most people can't handle that."

Then he heard Cory rhyme.

"He had great timing," said Peter Gunz. "He was 10 years old ... rapping beyond his age."

Fame came early to Cory, who signed record deals with super-producer Tommy Mottola and Jay-Z as a teenager. Those ventures fizzled, however, and the James Monroe High School grad failed to release an album.

"When I found him he was still living in the 'hood," Cannon said.

"He was ready to give up," said Peter Gunz. "He went all the way up, and then all the way down."

Cory kept rapping, determined to provide for his two baby girls. Last year, he finally earned a deal with Lil Wayne's Young Money label, the hit-machine behind Drake and Nicki Minaj.

"The kid is a genius," said Cannon. "The way he puts words together - he's a prodigy when it comes to that."

Cory and Lil Wayne sold out Nassau Coliseum last month. Their hyperactive song "6 Foot 7 Foot" is a radio sensation.

"To hear myself on Hot 97 - it's been unreal," said Cory, who comes off as a shy homebody in "Son of a Gun."

"I can't even describe it. ...It's been crazy fun."

For the baby-faced, quick-rhyming rapper, blowing up means a chance to represent his borough - the birthplace of hip hop. Both he and his father sport Bronx tattoos.

"The Bronx is the mecca of what I love to do," he said. "What I'm doing is where I'm from."


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