Unleashing the "Genius of the next Generation"

I had a very interesting conversation with my talented, creative, innovate nephew about his pursuit to become a best selling rap artist. As I would never discourage him from pursing his dreams, my argument is that today's artists are selling LIES. They aren't as wealthy as they're perceived. And the people that are ultimately making the 80-85% of the revenue aren't the artists. It's the back-office (business) behind the artists. We've lied and believed lies for far too long! Hip Hop was birth out of the need for the urban community to have a voice about the harsh living conditions. At a time when budget cuts lead to a reduction in school art and music programs, and when vocational training in high schools lead to jobs that had significantly decreased or no longer existed, "inner city youth transformed obsolete vocational skills from marginal occupations into the raw materials for creativity and resistance," with "turntables [becoming instruments] and lyrical acrobatics [becoming a cultural outlet]." Today, there's a perception that the only measure to wealth is through Entertainment. I argue that we've failed to provide or pursue other avenues in which wealth creation has a higher probability. Our young people are brilliant geniuses. If you're able to compose a song or engineer a beat, you're able to become the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. One way is through learning technical skills and applying that same creativity [song composition or music production] to create new application, software, video games, or phone applications. The world of possibilities is at your fingertips. You don't have to remain a starving artist, just pursue other avenues in which your creativity, ingenuity, and innovation can provide more probable wealth. Think about it: The 1st rap billionaire had to strategically partner with a technology company to become a billionaire! Any artist that’s bragging about making billionaires is a liar. Please know I'm not discouraging anyone from pursing a musical career, I just want to open the conversation to give you other alternatives to capitalize on your creative expressions and skills. The world is awaiting your genius! I'm here along with many others to support anyone who wants to pursue a degree or career in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). You were made to accomplish great things. Remember one-dimensional living is not a way to survive in a multi-dimensional era/economy. You can do MORE than ONE thing EXCEPTIONAL. Focus on your versatility and see your world transform with amazing new opportunities.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-09/jay-z-is-right-most-rappers-are-lying-about-their-money