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This above statement is so incorrect.If he's been honing his craft since he was 13, zeroing in on what his style/flow is, has a local following and now feels he's ready to try and hit the national stage than that's one thing. The kid hasn't done anything yet to determine if he has any semblence of skill or future yet. Starting this at age 18 in the rap industry (while being white at that) is just a silly notion.
Good point for those of you not familiar with MN. I'm learning more too.A recent disconnect on this topic last night was him talking about eventually moving to the Twin Cities. Which is fine in and of itself. But I'm trying to get him to think more than one step ahead. I'm like what are you going to do for a job? I'll apply for jobs. I said rent is more than here, etc. He said he can crash somewhere, that people have places that you can crash at and when they come up to your town they can crash at your place.I said this isn't your high school friend who might live in NY now and you visit there and sleep on his couch for a few days vacation. You're not going to be able to "live" there. What about food? Imo if there's a "house" that people from wherever crash at while they play the scene in Mpls, that's likely a gang atmosphere, drugs and drinking all the time, etc. Doesn't feel to me like a house where a band lives and the dudes wake up and watch Ren and Stimpy, eat a bowl of cereal, smoke a bowl and pick up their guitar and jam. Just seems much more dangerous and an angry atmosphere but I'm just talking off the cuff. Am I wrong? Of course down the road he can get a bartending job in Mpls and rent a normal apt. with a buddy but he didn't say that. He mentions the poorly thought out, dangerous, "I'll be fine" angle which makes me question his thinking further. It's frustrating.
I have an opening in a local bases league. Any interest?
I used to be the same way when I was his age. I think the lyrics to "Kick Some ###" by Stroke 9 sums it up nicely.
Absolutely love this post. I'm starting to see a song in there.
Good relationship with Mom. The lyrics I found and referred to before were VERY derogatory toward women. Totally out of character for him. He was trying to be someone he's not and listeners won't take that seriously imo. My wife would be dissappointed if he chose lyrics ripping her but she wouldn't take it personally and would probably laugh it off. She would just be embarrassed for him like we are when his boxers are 8 inches above his pants which are still low riding on occasion even though he doesn't wear them like that much around us. Leaves his tshirt untucked to cover it up so we don't have to look at it.He wears khaki's around his hips to his job. Has to. Write about that.
Did you go on a cruise with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis?
I'm already in one league and that's probably one too many. Thanks though.
Brown Mark - really nice guy.We emailed for a bit right after the cruise. That's my closest "brush with fame"Did you go on a cruise with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis?
Disney Rap!
How do you lay down reality other than what I've done? Seriously.Poked holes. Laughed at the absurdities. Shook my head in amazement at the lunacy. Asked all the tough questions and called him on his poorly thought out ideas. Told him to do it. Do anything. Told him how the real world is and how they'd react to what he was telling me. Gave constructive criticism. Gave very stinging, mean and harsh criticism. Gave him food for thought. Gave guidance. Had other mentors and family members chime in, Grandpa who he is close to, my brother who he respects and admires.Locking him in his room until he likes rock and roll better ain't gonna get it done here.
He can do both, and that's exactly what Pickles and others are suggesting. But one flaw in your wording I want to note -- if he treats the career he actually will end up in as his "safety net," he'll presumably put a whole lot less time and effort into the part of the pie that matters here, and as a result he'll be lagging in education, then job opportunities, salary, advancement, and ultimately life opportunities.
The "safety net" -- or part of this that is less important -- should be his "rap career."
Perhaps. But it's also possible that he's only recently committed himself to the idea. Like his dad, I'd encourage him to work toward set goals to determine if he has what it takes, rather than completely shoot him down or laugh at him as you've indicated would be your response.
People are all built differently. I think your friend's situation would be hellish. When I finally realized that the only alt-country bands getting anywhere out of Austin were hacks like Cross Canadian Ragweed and Reckless Kelly, I packed it up for good. I think I've strummed a guitar 3 times in the last 7 years; if I wasn't going to get anywhere doing it, I didn't want to waste my time.I don't know if this "works" for rappers but my buddy was in a "original band". He was working, then went to school and playing in the band. He evntually finished school and got a full time job for his major but he still plays in a cover band every other weekend or so. They got "signed" by Coors Light to do local events in the area. Seems like a happy mediumM.C. Skittles!!!
I dunno, that seems kind of strange to me, Colin - none of my bands ever got record deals, but I can't see deciding to never play my guitar again because of that. you don't enjoy just playing music for the fun of it? Kicking back with a rum and coke and strumming my acoustic is one of my favorite things to do to relax in the evenings.
I'm not the parent afraid to tell his kid that he's off key singing Happy Birthday. I'm the opposite. Very harsh and blunt, like he-wants-to-punch-me-because-I'm-an-##### blunt because I've been trying to prepare him for the real world, not a world where everyone gets a medal for 7th place.
That wasn't a comment directed at you, it was more for everyone else telling you to just go along with it and make him believe it's possible.Sounds like you're doing everything you can without straight up saying he's completely delusional. Somehow he needs to be scared straight and soon....Find a rap batle in another city where he won't know a soul, sign him up on your own and then about 3 days before let him know this is happening and you'll be going with him to attend". At that point it will be time to shat or get off the pot. You'll be "supporting" him, knowing he'll fail miserably and hopefully see the light and go a different direction.
Everything you wrote is reasonable. And yet, the very word "mistake" is a semantic choice I wouldn't make. "Mistake" implies that there is a correct path and an incorrect path.
challenge him to a rap battlerhyme his #### into submissionpost the results
Ask him what makes him so special and unique that people will want to pay money to watch or listen to him. Ask him if he thinks he can be better than Eminem. If he says no, let him know that there already is an Eminem and he will have to be better than the original to get noticed. If he says he can be better, tell him to prove it. Let him be aware of the astronomical odds he's up against and then ask him what he plans to do if he does not succeed. It's OK to have this ish as a hobby, but it sounds like he's banking on paying his bills with rap. He needs to know that whatever success he wants, whether it be in sports, rap, business, will only come through hard work, discomfort and a STRONG desire to be successful.
I'd say the same thing if it were art that my kid was into, and I'm not an artist. My cousin was an extremely talented artist as a kid. When he graduated from high school, he wanted to go to art school. His parents insisted that he go to a reputable four year university. So they spent a zillion dollars on college, he graduated with far fewer connections than he would have had he gone to art school, and he now works as an artist in an area where a college degree is meaningless. Not saying that the situations are similar, but sometimes I think too much emphasis is put on college as an across the board default position.
Great post. He got JayZ's new book and Eminem's book for gifts. I'll pick that one up too and read it also.Fear is definitely there. If you never put yourself out there then you never fail. but is it fearlessness to think you're going to move to Detroit (he hasn't said that in awhile now) or stupidity? I say stupidity.
I would laugh at him for the notion of the suburban gangsta rapper picking up and moving to Detroit to be the next Eminem after he graduates high school, particularly given that he's never rapped before, recorded anything, or done anything even remotely serious with it. If it were a super gifted rapper who had been pursuing this for some years, was in a "rap band" (is that even what you call it?) or showed some other sign of promise, it might be different. But on these facts, it all sounds absolutely absurd.And lol at him rapping about hos, gats and forties. #### just got real in that Minneapolis suburban ghetto.
Agreed. No barriers to entry is why I pushed him to record something. He was talking about being signed to a label without even one song on a demo and I'm telling him to use a freakin' iphone to record a battle in the hall and post it. You don't need a record deal anymore!!!! Post it in digital stereo HD for free! No more excuses. It is sickening.
Old school Kid 'N Play rhyming duel.
If he goes to college it will be loans and work for him. He can invest in his own future. If he was gung ho in school I would've helped out.Or waste tens of thousands of dollars because he pulls F's and drops out. The money my parents spent on my education was money literally flushed down a toilet.
But your problem is that you're hostile to any encouragement at all. You said it would be different if he'd been pursuing this for some years. Well, perhaps this is the beginning of that pursuit. I get that moving to Detroit is both premature and impulsive. But I don't see why providing encouragement in a sensible way is somehow tantamount to bad parenting, as you seem to suggest.
Yeah, I wish he was my dad.
I have no problem with a trade school but he's had numerous opportunities to help his uncle do construction and help when we built our house and he didn't want to. If he does get in at the metalworks place we'll see how he likes that. Either way, he ain't living in my basement with no job playing xbox and getting baked all day.I did tell him it would be better if he lived at home while he got the better job and rapped p/t rather than living with his friends in the hick town which will almost surely lead to trouble. He's not going for that.
Well this wasn't the main point of my post but...You have to start somewhere. For this it would be better to get himself out in the open instead of practicing in private for several years "honing his craft". Also would it be better if he waits until later in life when he has more responsibilities and potentially a family to support?
Me too.
Good point. But as in many areas of life, it's in the execution. As someone mentioned, 100,000 white kids think they're Eminem. Some will make it because they work harder, longer and have more business sense and charisma than the others, even with less talent. He'll need to start exhibiting more of these traits if he even wants to get 1,500 views on youtube with $0 revenue.This weekend he wants to finish the song he recorded last Sunday and put it on youtube. I've only heard it once. I don't want to define him only by this first song but no doubt we all will make judgments based on the body of work available, one song and 5+ pages of posts.
I was going to suggest Casper, but it appears to be taken.What's his rapper name?
Just trying to get caught up here as we go. To be clear, the trailer is in the next town over from where we live now, not Detroit. The Detroit talk was about a year ago. Although a few months ago he said he thought Philly would be a good place to move to because they have a great "Battle Scene" (my words not his) or something like that. I was like seriously? And walked through AGAIN why that's about the dumbest thing I ever heard. You're just going to drive there, get a job, an apartment and head to the rap clubs? Wat?
There's a saying I like but maybe need to use more often. Think farther than you can pee.
My wife is the same and it makes me lean even more to the harsher side to even it out so the kids get some reality rather than if you never climb a tree you can't fall down.
