Attention Rappers: In Order to Be a Gorilla, it’s Monkey-See Monkey-Do

It’s a jungle metaphor with a truth as old as time. In the words of Ric Flair, “If you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man!”

A good rapper should always want to continually get better at what he or she does, just as people in any profession who are serious about advancing to the next level. Here’s an easy way to do that.

“If I can see it, then I can do it. If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it.”

I love R. Kelley’s smash hit “I believe I can fly”. That song, besides being a very inspirational and majestic work of music, has an excellent formula for achieving more in our lives.

LeBron James grew up watching Michael Jordan, studying his every move and emotion on the court, perhaps LeBron imagined himself performing the very same moves. It serves us well to find mentors or people whom we can look up to.

Pick three of your favorite rappers and notice what are the best qualities of their raps. Notice the details of what makes their music compelling. Then emulate it in your own way. It’s like taking something good, and remixing it and maybe even making it better.

An unrelated technique but still very important is practice. It’s a great idea to pick out 15 of your favorite songs, make a CD out of it and then rap/sing along, but seriously like you are the one performing.

Also while it’s great to have strengths, it’s best to work on weaknesses. An obvious weakness takes away from an overall great performance, however a weakness that is improved upon can blend in with the overall performance and not be an issue. Best to find the holes in your armor as soon as possible. Once you do, then focus on the things you can do to improve them.

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