A Young Rapper Asks: How Do I Know if I Have Talent?
by T. Perry Bowers
I’m going to say something controversial here: It doesn’t matter if you have talent or not.
The more important question is – do you enjoy what you’re doing? When I say “enjoy” I mean “in joy.” Are you “in joy” when you are performing, writing, rapping, singing or making a beat? Being “in joy” is a spiritual thing. It feels like the stars are aligned and nothing can distract you from your task. There is no question that you were put here, on this earth, for this sole purpose. If you feel that, then your talent doesn’t really matter because you will keep coming back to that place as often as you can. It draws you in. You don’t need drugs, TV, video games or any other distractions because it is a whole and complete experience for you. Maybe it feels like something ancient has awoken inside and the fire has been lit! That feeling will teach you everything you need to know as long as you keep coming back to it.
Here’s a great blog on this idea:
http://www.kniteforcerevolution.com/posts/why-make-music-no-really-why/
It’s often said that in order to become a master at anything, you need to spend ten thousand hours doing it. If you have that feeling of joy, and it is a deep well inside you that will never run dry, you probably will spend ten thousand hours there. If you do, your discipline and dedication will out-perform even the most talented person. Sure, some people are born with talent that oozes out of them. It seems like they don’t have to work at their craft and they’re still better than you. Those people who are born with that gift AND spend ten thousand hours crafting it; they’re the true legends of the game. But, you know what? People with both god-given talent AND discipline are very rare. More commonly talented people get lazy. Everyone around them is telling them how talented they are – and they don’t even have to work at it. So, they never develop the discipline. Sooner or later, you, the dedicated turtle, are going to pass them on the racetrack. At that point, you will have developed your skill beyond theirs, and you have the discipline to last a lifetime.
So, be the turtle. Work hard and get in the zone. Listen to the feedback, but most importantly, listen to yourself and always be ”in joy”. The turtle that puts in the time always eventually catches the hare.
Stay in joy!
