Growing up I use to listen to nothing but country. That was it. I grew up with my great grandma and thats all she really listens to.
Come 2004 I watched "8 Mile" and fell in love with Hip Hop and decided that I was goin to try freestylin in my mirror. I did ok but I didn't really know what I was doin.
I first started writing rhymes and, more or less, poems as a form of escape. Escape from everything. It was what I was comfortable doing. I hadn't ever picked up a mic and performed for others. I just wasn't comfortable with it.
My biggest turn to date when it came to writing raps was back in 2006. That's when I came to Christ. After a while, while I was building my new relationship with the Lord, my rhymes started going from escape to therapeutic. I went from writing rhymes about sulking to more thought out rhymes. Don't get me wrong though. I knew that I still had a long way to go before I was going to be able to do anything like I'm doing today (which isn't a whole bunch, but it's more than I was doing).
Even while I was doing rhymes I still hadn't picked up a mic yet. I have done a track before though through Safe Haven Records out of Rose Hill, Kansas. (Huge S/O to them. Ain't talked to anyone out there since 06.) but even still it wasn't a huge deal. I didn't get a copy of the track and I didn't do a great job on it either. The song was called "Just As I Am" which was the theme for a church retreat that I was in while in Wichita. I did the song with a couple of people. Can't remember who all I did it with now, but it was pretty legit. If I can ever get a hold of just the track I'll find a way to post it up. It was dope.
But after that it was all still just writing lyrics. It wasn't until I got here to Manhattan, Kansas that I first picked up a mic.
I did my own version to "Put On" by Young Jezzy and Kanye called "Put On for My Christ." It wasn't all that dope (I had to read my lyrics off the paper) but it got the crowd's attention. I did it for my church for a dinner and a show. I had a lot of fun with it to.
That was the last time that I've picked up a mic to perform in front of people. But it won't be the last, Lord willing.
The point is that you can do something like this and still have to wait quite some time before you get any kind of break through. Although mine was small it gave me a taste of what the bigger platform will be like. It taught me what stage performance will be like. At the time, I wasn't as ready and confident as I wanted to be. Even now I still could use some work. But I know now what to expect from the general populas later on.
My lesson today comes from Romans 12: 11
"Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord." CEV
That's a lesson that I have been learning for quite sometime. Last night I had this sudden feeling to do just the opposite. I wanted to quit. I felt like I was never going to be able to get anything done with my music or just plain service to the Lord. But today a dear friend of mine (who admittingly I met for the first time last week via video chat with West Coast Fiya) gave me some advice today on twitter. She told me not to give up. To have hope. To keep working hard and staying in the Word and my faith in the Lord. She was completely right. This verse tells that in the most simplist way possible. The nutshell version. That's my renewed goal. I want to continue pursuing music. Weither that be through me being a producer or a rapper will be God's will. But I will follow it. My prayer is that if you in a similar boat do just what the verse says. Do NOT give up. Listen to the Lord. Read in His Word. He will be there for you. He will never let you down. He will never abandon you. Even if the world feels like it's coming down on top of you, He will be there to provide.
So I hope you've found this to be an interesting read, I'll try to have something posted tomorrow. Maybe tonight if I think of anything.
Grace and Blessings,
Richie
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