I recently watched a documentary, one of those short pieces commonly found on YouTube. It was about Future, the legendary rapper. When I was in high school, all the skaters, hustlers, druggies, and popular kids liked his music for a lot of different reasons. A decade later, Future is still one of the top music artists. Not one of the top rap artists. Future is the 5th most streamed musician in the world. This is wild when you think about it because a lot of people look down on trap music. The themes aren’t family-friendly, and the lyrics are often incomprehensible, even for those who are familiar with AAVE (I feel very strange using this term). Taking note of how Future’s career seems to have been relatively arrest and controversy-free (from the perspective of the public, Future, I Googled his age. One of the biggest influences on Gen-Z culture is 41. Hearing Future’s story showed me how consistency is key in everything that you do.
The Insane True Story of FUTURE (youtube.com)
I’m not going to go through the entirety of this documentary, but I must say that Volksgeist does a wonderful analysis of this artist’s career. He points out that although music like Future’s sounds simple, basic, and requires little effort to make, its standout success is indicative of the skill necessary to produce it. Volksgeist goes on to talk about how Future’s career had a lot of ups and downs, and that while he started making music almost two decades ago, he had no releases by the relatively mature age of twenty-seven. He proceeded to get famous and go through some tough times due to public relationship drama with his now former wife and baby mother Ciara. It’s amazing to think that at age 31, just a decade ago, the king of trap was down bad. What’s even more amazing, is that he hadn’t even released anything by his late 20s. But he honed his craft, and now Future is a household name.
I’ve experienced this myself. I’ve tried my hand at a few different things, and have the experience now to know what to do. I spent each day of my life building my online presence, knowing that someday I’ll put my knowledge to use. But for now, I’m just a blogger with very few followers and a dream of success. One day, my catalog will be something like Future’s, full of insightful thoughts and ideas, earning me money in my sleep. I don’t think ChatGPT will be able to mirror that for a very, very long time.
Consistency allows you to develop a reputation. You become the go-to guy when you get a reputation for good work and don’t destroy it. It doesn’t matter where on Earth you are, Future is the go-to guy for “mumble-rap” and trap music, with Playboi Carti being a distant second. People always play Future when they’re trying to just chill in a party environment, at least in the circles I’ve rolled in. So pick a craft, and stay consistent if you want to win at life. For me, it’s writing, technology, and the internet. You’ll find me working at the same things in 20 years as I was today. I hope the same goes for everyone reading, and wish everyone a lot of success. Just remember that it takes a long time for things to come to fruition, in most cases.
