A thirteen-year-old with a lifetime of skill
There is a recurring theme in the local music scene that I address from time to time. I’ve written whole features about it and as I’ve sat here outlining today’s entry it occurs to me that I may do so again, soon.
It goes something like this: A local band or artist, having achieved some small degree of recognition, whines and moans about the lack of opportunity. Crowds, bars, owners, the city, the angle of the sun in the afternoon and every other conceivable target is blamed for why they aren’t making a thousand dollars a gig playing downtown on a Thursday night.
Bold declarations are made about the need to go “somewhere else,” a bigger city with greater opportunity where they will be appreciated for their genius. Away they go, to swiftly develop a newfound respect for how large the food chain is by finding themselves suddenly at the bottom of it.
The point of all that is opportunity is anywhere you are, if you’re willing to look for it or, if necessary, to create it. I can think of no better example than this week’s subject.
YM (Yung Mann) is a 13-year-old rapper from Chattanooga, and all the long years I’ve been in the business, I can’t remember the last time I met anyone of any age who was as on the ball as he.
In the first place, he is wickedly talented. Thirty seconds into his debut single, “Fortnite”, and there’s no question that his flow is on par with any pro working today. Stylistically he’s like a junior version of Childish Gambino, a bold comparison and one I do not make lightly.
Lyrically, he accomplishes something I don’t think I’ve heard before. He writes about his world and peers with an awareness an older person simply could not have, with a level of skill far beyond his years. The result is a much higher caliber of relatable music than the demographic typically gets to enjoy.
Frankly, it is exciting to see that level of ability at such a young age and it commands respect and admiration. He is going to be a star. There is no question, it is a given, and I’m not the first person to make that observation, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
So he’s talented, remarkably so, but talent alone isn’t enough to make it in the music business as a million guitar gods no one has ever heard of will attest. Without motivation, determination, innovation, intelligence, and a touch of luck, talent is just a fruit left to wither on the vine, but YM is no mere musical prodigy. He has just as keen an instinct for the business side of the music business.
The opportunity to open for Curly Head Monty, a YouTube sensation and influencer with a reach of over a million fans, was his first break.
That success led to a series of speaking engagements at area middle schools which he was then able to parlay the speaking engagements into a bona fide tour of those same schools, the “Splatt” tour. Consider that carefully, but it is the crucial point to his success.
He did not wait to be discovered. He created his own opportunity and it was a stroke of genius. His social media presence soared, leading to more and more appearances until he caught the eye of the right man in the right place.
That man is Nick Cannon, who began his own career as a teenager, racking up a list of credits as an actor, comedian, writer, rapper, producer, and these days it appears, star maker. Nick Cannon has signed YM to his N’Credible label as a member of the up-and-coming boy band, NCK and it is now a matter of when, not if, the band becomes a household name. Odds are it won’t be long.
It seems like a fairytale story of success, and perhaps it is, but it never would have happened if a talented young man from Chattanooga hadn’t created his own path to stardom. Opportunity is wherever you are, and if you can’t find it, create it.