The Difference Between Professional Rappers and Amateur Rappers

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Do you know what the difference is between a professional rapper and an amateur rapper? In this article we want to talk about writer’s block, Resistance and getting the job done.

Hey, guys. Welcome to our Rapper Gets Motivated updates.

I believed a myth. I believed that, if you’re truly talented, if you’re supposed to do something, it’s going to come easy. Now, I’m finding out that that is totally false.

Here’s the myth that I believed: if you’re truly talented,
if you’re really supposed to do something,
it’s going to come easy. That is totally false.

I’ve discovered there’s two people living in my head – the entrepreneur and the artist – and they are really at odds with each other. So, part of the struggle I’m having is letting go of the entrepreneur side a little bit. There’s a time and a place for that side of me to take dominance, but not when I’m supposed to be in artist mode.

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield talks about Resistance, which he describes as an internal force that tries to stop us from doing whatever it is we’re born to do. You know how sometimes you find yourself doing anything to avoid sitting down and working on your music? You’ll wash the windows, put your books in alphabetical order, clean the lint out of the washing machine filter… all before doing the thing that you love to do most. That’s because of Resistance. It often appears as procrastination, but it comes in other forms, too, and sometimes they’re subtle.

Steven Pressfield says that how an artist responds to Resistance shows who they really are. The amateur will avoid, avoid, avoid, because he knows the work is painful. The professional will embrace it. The professional sits down and does it anyway. The professional musician struggles through the pain of creation, whereas the amateur would rather avoid the pain entirely, and therefore will never write their symphony.

The professional musician struggles through the pain of creation,
whereas the amateur would rather avoid the pain entirely,
and therefore will never write their symphony.

So, do you want to be an amateur or a professional? Basically, what it comes down to is, how much pain tolerance do you have? How uncomfortable are you willing to get to achieve the end result that you ultimately want?

Initially, it’s going to feel like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill, but once the boulder gets over the top, it’s downhill from there. Be encouraged: at some point, it does break and the creativity will flow. What I’ve found is that the stuff that comes after I push through is usually my best work.

So that’s where you may are at – pushing through the pain. But I know, however, that when I come out the other side of this, I’m going to feel fulfilled and proud of what I’ve written.

“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest
of us just show up and get to work.”
~ Chuck Close, visual artist

We hope you keep following us, and that you’re encouraged by what we have to say.

As you’re thinking about your own projects, see if you can figure out how Resistance works against you – what tactics it uses to stop you from making rap. Let us know what you come up with in the comments below. And here’s the challenge: in the war against Resistance, are you going to be a professional rapper or an amateur rapper? Maybe the secret to being successful all boils down to this:

“Go to your studio and make stuff.”
~ Fred Babb, artist

Cheers,

~ Micheal from Royal Beats![walk-on-water-teaser.jpg]