So there seems to be this myth floating around that there’s an age restriction for rapping. I’ve heard it on both ends from people inquiring if they’re too old to be rapping as well as kids thinking that perhaps they’re too young. Interestingly enough I’ve discovered through conversing with these age-conscious creatives that their concerns have been triggered for several underlining reasons. And it’s likely you have had some of these insecurities as well so let’s take a look at them and see if we can’t put these myths to rest.
Are You Too Young To Start Rapping?
I’m Not Marketable
Some of the younger aspiring rappers feel like they’re not marketable. This is likely due because most of the music they hear on the radio features older rappers whose lyrical content boasts explicit lyrics and mature subject matter. This leaves them with familiar sentiments of not being tall enough to ride the roller coaster and being too young to drive the car. They feel as if they have not yet been given the right of passage and are consequently left harboring a countenance of alienation.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that there’s a market for everything! Even if you can’t get your music on radio stations there are so many more opportunities! For example, if you’re only 12 years old and you’re heavily into Pokemon Go then make an awesome rap song about it and upload it to YouTube. There are a ton of adults who love this game as well and it’s possible they may love your song as well! Who knows maybe you can submit your song to The Pokemon Company and they may decide to feature it in one of their commercials or future game releases!
I Have Nothing To Say
Often times younger rappers feel they have nothing to say because they’re comparing themselves to rappers who are much older. Since they can’t brag about their cars or how much money they’ve acquired they feel disqualified. While it’s true they don’t have all the same life experiences as their older counterparts they still have much more in common than meets the eye because who hasn’t been young right?
What grownup can’t relate to having their first crush? Or how they used to hate cleaning their rooms and being grounded? What about when you tried to talk yourself out of a whoopin’ or when you found out Santa Clause wasn’t real? (Spoiler Alert).
How about the period of time you had to walk around with teeth missing or when you got in trouble at school for disrupting the class and couldn’t play kickball during recess. Oh, one more! What about that time when you were four years old and discovered how to operate your parent’s lighter and you set your room on fire?..No? Okay, maybe that one was just me. lol!
See there are tons of life experiences you can talk about regardless of how young you are and grownups can relate to them!
I Don’t Have Any Money
So perhaps you’re not old enough to legally work to invest in yourself but there are still things you can do to earn money.
Ask people if they’ll pay you to…
- Wash their car
- Cut their grass
- Rake leaves
- Shovel snow
- Tend to their pets when they’re out of town
- Clean their house
- Cut their hair
- Babysit
- Bake them fresh cookies
- Perform a magic show at birthday parties
Even if there’s absolutely no way you can make money you can still create a YouTube account for free, find yourself some free instrumentals, use some free software or just record yourself live with a smartphone with the music playing in the background and upload that sucker to YouTube and get the word to all your friends! Always remember it’s not about what you have it’s about what you do with what you have.
I’m Too Young To Make A Career Out Of Rapping
Do you know how you’ve been often asked what you want to be when you grow up? Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to wait until a certain age to be somebody. You’re somebody right now! Allow me to show you a few examples of young rappers who’ve made sustainable careers for themselves.
Kriss Kross
Kris Kross was an early 90’s rap group duo that consisted of Mac Daddy (12 years old) and Daddy Mac (11 years old).
Under the tutelage of Jermaine Dupri they sold four million copies in the U.S. of their debut album “Totally Krossed Out” which included the hit single “Jump”, which went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 charts for eight weeks, “becoming the first rap song to have achieved such a long stay at the top. No other rap song had ever led the charts for that length of time!
LiL Bow Wow
Lil’ Bow Wow released his first album, Beware of Dog in 2000 at the age of 13. He to was also signed to Jermaine Dupri’s record label So So Def. Bow Wow’s album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard charts and sold 101,000 copies the very first week!
Bow Wow continued to release new music and became a movie star appearing in films such as All About the Benjamins, Like Mike, Johnson Family Vacation, Roll Bounce, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift to name a few. In 2013 he also become the official host of BET’s hit show 106 & Park.
LiL Romeo
In the early 2000s LiL Romeo son of music mogul Master P, signed to his father’s popular record label “No Limit Records” at the age of 12. His debut single “My Baby” went on to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2001 Romeo released his debut album “Lil ‘Romeo” and it was charted on the US Billboard 200 at number six & went on to be certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies!
LiL Romeo continued to release new music and in 2002 was offered his own Nickelodeon show “Romeo!”. The show was a success and ran for three consecutive seasons. Romeo later made his way to the big screen while appearing in films such as Jumping the Broom and Madea’s Witness Protection.
LiL Wayne
In 1991, at the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. A few years later in 1996, Lil Wayne formed the southern hip hop group Hot Boys.
Most of the group’s success came in 1999 from their platinum-selling album Guerrilla Warfare and subsequent single “Bling Bling”. During the same year, Wayne released his debut solo album “The Block Is Hot” which also became certified platinum!
LiL Wayne continued to consistently release new music. In 2008 he dropped Tha Carter III which became his most successful album to date, with first-week sales reaching an impressive one million copies in the United States alone! The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album which also included the hit singles “Lollipop”, “A Milli” and “Got Money”.
Lil Wayne has sold over 100 million records worldwide making him one of the best-selling artists of all time! And remember he started pursuing his career in music at the tender age of only nine years old!
No Excuses
No matter how young you are it’s never too early to start pursuing your dreams. Yes, you will inevitably have naysayers who doubt you can achieve anything great at a young age but opinions are like butt-holes; everyone has one and they all STINK!! So do what you love, have fun and be yourself!
Also if you’re wondering if you’re too old to be rapping be sure to check out this video that digs deep into that topic as well!
How Did I Do?
Did you find this article helpful! Have a question or comment? I’d love to hear from you so make sure you drop your 2 cents in the comments section below!
Being young isn’t the issue.. if it were, we wouldn’t have prodigies. The real question is what age is too old to rap?
Hey Mike, that’s a good point! I can’t wait to write my next article on “Are You Too Old To Be Rapping”. Thanks for reading and commenting Mike! I always appreciate your support! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Aye cole how to do find a beat for your songs
Hey Lucky if your trying to find beats for your songs check out this article I wrote called Top 10 Tips For Buying Rap Beats Online I hope this helps 🙂 – Cole Mize
Hey mize i want to learn to rap but dont know how i think if i get help il be the best ever is and ul be to thank can u help
Hey Sam you’re in the right place. I’ve already created lots of great content that’s going to help you out. Feel free to start by watching the videos in this playlist and then sifting through the rest of my content. I hope this helps! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Hey cole I would love to talk in person to you I have some stuff I’d like to be able to talk to you about I’m doing some research and I’ve recently got into the bis of doing songwriting and I was just wondering if we could work together since I kind of want to work up my rap game thank for the advice you give its really good btw
Hey Jayden, it’s great to hear from you. Sure thing, if you would like to work together you can purchase however many hours of coaching you would like from me at http://colemizestudios.com/coaching and if you have any questions let me know. Thanks for the positive feedback as well! Much respect! 🙂
Sir do I have any means to send u a song I made so that you could identify some anomalies on it. I’d be greatful
Hey Dambaru I actually offer a music review service here on my website. – Cole Mize
Cole what about to.old what is the cut off age u beleive and how will people know how old u are anyway
Hey Clarence, there isn’t a cut off age and people won’t know how old you are unless you tell them. There are rappers that are in their 50’s that still are rapping and performing live. For example Biz Markie. Thank for reading and commenting! I appreciate it Clarence! 🙂
Im 22 now and i started rapping at the age of 19 but still im unable to find my own flow what should i do to find it.im confused…if u tell me that means it will be very helpful
Hey Vinay thanks for reaching out with your question. Finding your own flow is really a matter of personal preference. I have a few articles I would like to share with you that you will help you out on your journey. How To Create A Unique Rap Style, Creating Cadence, Establishing Your Flow I hope this help you out! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Oh yea cole how do you make your own rap name i like lucky to start with u know what i mean i was thinking of lucky 13 it stand for lucky mexican but i dont like it because lucky 13 is a tatoo name and if i choose lucky mexican its too long i want a short name if you can help me it would be very helpful
Hey Lucky, that’s a good question. Coming up with a good rap name often takes a bit of time of through ideas back and forth until something sticks. If you haven’t already make sure you read my article on picking a good rap name as it will give you lots of tips and advice on how to see if you’ve come up with a good name or not. I think Lucky is a good place to start now your just got to figure something that works before or after it. Wishing you the best with it! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Hey cole i found a name for its called lucky luciano but its already taken but can o take it still
I wouldn’t if it’s already taken. You want you’re name to be as unique as possible so people can easily find you.
Cole is lucky phil good or should use lil phil
Hey Lucky have you google searched both of those names to see if other people are already using them?
SIR, [ I HOPE THIS GET REPLIED ]. AM A 15 Y/O WHO REALLY LOVES MAKING MUSIC, BUT PEOPLE SAY AM TOO YOUNG. MY PARENTS DON’T SUPPORT ME, I DON’T PROFFESIONAL RECORDING TOOLS, . I’VE BEEN REALEASING SONGS ON MY PHONE. SOME SAY IT’S NICE , SOME SAY IS SHIT BCOS IT’S NOT PRODUCED IN A STUDIO. BUT NEEDS PROFESSIONAL MIXING. IDK WHAT TO DO. SHOD I JUST GIVE UP. SHOULD I WAIT TILL AM OLDER, SHOULD I KEEP REALEASING MUSIC IN THAT WAY.
Never mind
okay 🙂
Hey Cole, how can you feel about a 14 yr. old like me who is interested on subject matters like government, family, life, and social issues? 🙂
Hey Ronniel, I think that it’s awesome that you are interested in those topics at your age. Run with it bro! 🙂
I am a 13 year old boy(from Greece)and I rap at school events and I am trying to start a band.I want advice on how to organise concerts.
Hey STR, check out my article on booking shows I think it will give you some good ideas and insight. 🙂
so how do I make sure what I write down isn’t bad or whack. The reason I ask this is because I thought about showing my friends but I thought maybe I would make myself look like an idiot or no body would listen and loose interest. So before I share my masterpiece, how do I go through and make sure its what I want by myself
Hey Justin, well you’re the only person that can answer that question. Who knows what you want better than you? However if you would like a professional opinion about your work I offer a 1 on 1 coaching service here on my website that will help you out tremendously! If you have any further questions let me know. Thanks! 🙂 – Cole Mize
How do get in contact with wendy day ? Does she have skype ? What’s your skype name cole mize can u email it to me or just shoot me a text or give me call maybe how do i get wendy day 2 pick me on a record deal ?
She has all of her contact info on her Youtube channel and in her videos. She’s not a record label, she helps artists grow their business. If you want her to work with you her fee is 80k. – Cole Mize
My fee is $100k. It’s all on my website at HelpfulAngel.com.
Thanks Wendy! ??✌
Is 10 2 young 2 start rappin I gotta lot 2 say but my 9 yo cousin said we gotta wait till we 14 but idc
Helio I have 2 questions .
1 Can girl [ I am girl ] rap about things that aren’t sex releted? I ask that because most of pop and etc songs sung by girls have so disgusting lyrics about sex,drugs and etc .
2 Can you here my hip hop songs or rap someday ? I ask that because the song/rap can be in englisg but in korean too .I prefer korean rap and hip hop .
p. – Sorry for my english . English isn’t my native language
Hey Yuki thanks for reaching out with your question.
1. Absolutely! You should rap about whatever is true to you. Don’t worry about what all the mainstream female rappers are doing. Just be yourself and make the music that you want to hear. No one artists music will be for everyone and always remember it’s better to be disliked for who you are than liked for you are not. 🙂
2. Sure if you ever want me to listen and give you feedback on your songs check out my music review service at http://colemizestudios.com/music-reviews I’ve reviewed quite a few songs that aren’t in English and the artists we’re blown away with how much feedback I was still able to give them because music is a universal language. 🙂 – Cole Mize
Ok first of all tap on the back job well done. The professionalism of the blogs, live streams, on freaking everything, is absolutely amazing.
Secondly, thank you for being a good source for young people to have to go to. A teacher not only of music, but of life itself. Positivism is hard to come by and self-confidence a rare commodity afforded to few but people like you give hope.
Thirdly thank you for making hip-hop, hip-hop again. Giving me my love back for the type of music that so many good time memories are affiliated to.
I feel star struck. Great human being as soon as i can i am getting a pre-paid cc and ill be donating regularly to you thanks for the e-book(free WTF), not for money even in asking you have the utmost class when you’d be in every right to demand it. Simply amazing, bro.
Jason Jake Gravelle
Thanks so much Jason! I’m truly honored and humbled by your words. What else can I say but thank you so much for valuing what I’m doing and showing your love and support! It truly means a lot to me and encourages me to keep going hard with all that I’m doing knowing that it’s reaching, teaching and inspiring others. Much love and respect to you Jason! Thank you for everything as well! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Hey Cole thanks for the good work. I want to develop my rap career I be watching to rap abt but my problem is how to make it rhymical. Thanks I need your help. Faith
Hey Kamala, thanks for your kind words! If you’re wanting to take your rhythm to the next level, be sure to check out my free online series 5 Minutes To A Better Rap Flow I hope this helps! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Aye Cole, how old do you have to be to get paid for rapping?
There isn’t a certain age you must be in order to make money. There are child actors and even rappers who are children who make money. I hope this helps! 🙂 – Cole Mize
hey cole im 14 yrs and i wanna rap to make money for my familey and i like the Rapper LIL TJAY