My mom always jokes with me and says that if the world ever came to an end, in the hood there would barely be any doctors, people who knew how to grow food and garden, etc.. But we would have plenty of rappers, basketball players, singers, etc…Needless to say we would die off quickly.
Sure her comments may seem facetious but there is a ring to truth to what she is saying and if you are from the hood you would agree. If you don’t believe me then take a quick poll of about 10 – 20 kids in your neighborhood. Sit them down and ask them what are their plans for the future? Where do they see themselves in 10 years? What career or job would they like? I guarantee that if you live in an urban area where the demographic is mostly African American and Latino then the majority of the responses will be one of the following: Rapper, super star producer/beat maker, singer, basketball player, soccer player, or some other athlete. The professions you will more than likely not hear as often are teacher, fire fighter, police officer, business man, surgeon, doctor, nurse, lawyer etc..
This generation of children not only do not find these professions respectable, they find them boring. What they do respect are the images they see on TV. The rappers with the expensive cars, homes, promiscuous women salivating over them. The athletes wearing more jewelry and possessing more bravado than some of the rappers.
Sure, these careers are exciting and profitable but they are far from realistic. The problem with your child investing all of their energy, time and spirit into one of these careers is that there are only so many members of a sports team. Not every one who can put a ball in a hoop is going to be the next Lebron James. Also, not every rapper is living like Jay-Z and Puff Daddy. In fact, most of them are not living nearly as well. It has little to do with their rap skills not being sufficient and more to do with the way the music industry is set up. It is not strategized to have every new artists that hits the scene become a millionaire. Not to mention the mismanagement of money trap that many new artists fall into early on in their careers. Even the more business savvy rappers are realistic enough to know that they will not be rapping all of their lives and have invested in other business ventures as a back up plan. In fact the more successful rappers earn majority of their money from other business ventures aside from their rap career.
What does this mean for your child who is set on being the next Lil Wayne? Well, it means that they probably won’t be. Sure it is a hard truth but truth nonetheless. Not everyone is meant to be a super star and if they were then well, we all would be. That is not me being sarcastic but rather real. Something that I think more parents need to be with their young children. Especially those of a minority background that I named earlier. In our society, things are not made easy by any means for little black and brown children.
So, what can parents do to prevent their child from falling into a pipe dream? Offer them balance. While I would never suggest that any parent does not support their child’s dreams, no matter how ridiculous they may be; I do suggest that they instill in their children from a young age balance. In this case balance refers to the theory that while your child may have an interest in becoming a rapper, there is a chance that he might not make it. Knowing that, he has to have a back up plan. He must possess another set of skills to which he can use at a moments notice to support himself in case he does not become the super star rapper he thought he would be. Parents who refuse to do this are the ones who we see on YouTube recording their 3 year old rapping a Nicki Minaj’s verse. Sure they think it is cute but what message are you sending to your child?
Encourage your kids from a young age to go to school the same way you encourage them to know all of the lyrics to a Wacka Flacka Flame song. To have other interests aside from the glamorous ones. To not only have a back up plan but to also invest in that plan as much as they would their big dream. While there may not always be a need for a rapper or an athlete, there will always be a need for a doctor, surgeons, lawyers etc.. These people will always be in business and on high demand. One day Lil Wayne won’t. Even if he won’t admit it.
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