I don’t quite remember what got me into rap, but I do know that a group called Wu-Tang Clan was responsible for my rebellious years during high school.
In 2005, I had written my first rap song called ‘Buster’, with lyrics that would be censored. Not to mention that it was poorly organized and written, given the level of my English knowledge at that time. But, that didn’t stop me from continuously writing rap lyrics, and acting like a rapper as well.
I went through a phase back then. An example I can share with you right now would be the moment I decided to get a cornrow hairstyle. I was in my senior year in high school. My peers and teachers were baffled by my new imagery. They were acquainted with my baggy clothes and accessories, but I don’t think they expected me to have that type of hairstyle.
Despite going through an identity crisis, I managed to get high grades in school. It was an interesting contrast, which paved the way for an even higher achievement, when I continued my studies at University level. At that point in my life, I couldn’t act like a rapper anymore. My self-image improved, so I began to wear more formal attire. It’s safe to say that I had become more mature.
If you’re wondering how this artistic passion came to be, I may have an answer for you, and it has to do with the family’s gene pool. From one side of the family, an artistic gene was passed down through the generations. My grandparents were music teachers, who also sang in choirs and taught others how to sing. Many of their students reached high levels of performance. So, it only came as natural that I was somehow going to perpetuate this line of work. But, it didn’t go as planned. When I was in primary school, my grandmother wanted me to learn how the play the piano. I didn’t like it to be honest.
During my student years, when I was hanging out with a friend of mine, who was into rock music, I began to try this genre out. I had even bought an electric guitar, to develop my skills. That, too, was a failure. I didn’t feel like that was a real artistic passion of mine. So, I sold the guitar to someone who wanted it more. I don’t regret it. It found its way to a proper owner.
You see, music is very important to me. I’ve been through many hard times in my life, but music has always seemed to lessen the pain. I was in love like any other person. I’ve had my own share of emotional failures, but certain type of music helped me to move on. On one of my former blogs, I created a page where I compiled a list of motivational songs, the kind of songs that can get you through a rough time, be it emotionally or professionally.
As you can probably tell by now, I tend to listen to different music genres. I’m not stuck on rap. Rather I diversify my tastes in order to get a broader view over the importance of music. I also listen to rock, pop, and even soundtracks from anime or famous movies. It’s funny because I don’t listen to rap that much nowadays. You’ll understand better how that came to fruition, as you keep on reading.
Below is a picture of myself taken in my first year of the master’s program. By the way, I did mention that I became valedictorian during the bachelor program, right?
Okay. Let’s get into the most fun and revealing part of my musical endeavors, the personal development period.
I had started going to personal development seminars, and entrepreneurial programs. I wanted to become a better version of myself, and achieve my dreams. In that regard, the decisions were easier to make. I attended a lot of events on personal development, and then I went on to the next level, which was to join entrepreneurial programs of several days in length. That was a game changer for me.
At one of these programs, Fabrica de Antreprenori, my passion for rap music had come as a saving grace. During that program, the participants were asked to develop a short business idea and present it in front of a jury. Unfortunately, my business idea was poor and lacking in many relevant parts to be a good one on today’s market. But, my rap lyrics brought me a lot of happiness, when I decided to try an unconventional approach to marketing. The presentation of that idea involved a tactic I call ‘contrast marketing’, which entails to associate two subjects with nothing in common. To better explain, I told the audience that, as a person who majors in management and economics, I would also sing rap. The expression on their faces told the whole story. I even threw an extra ingredient in the mix and that led me to make money off of that presentation. And, by sheer luck, I had decided to only sing a small part of a song. I say that because what followed was my moment of glory in 2013. The song I had started before was the one I sang at the closing party of that entrepreneurial program.
I started to see tangible results, after some 8 years of trial and error. I had finally found the courage needed to progress. So, with that mind, I joined a slam poetry competition several months later. This concept of slam poetry was pretty close to what I was doing. I didn’t have any instrumental part, just the lyrics, and the rhythm. But, it was enough to earn me the third place at that small contest.
This is the song I sang at the entrepreneurial program, and at the slam poetry event – “The City of Dreams”. It’s about how I began to follow my dreams, how to persevere and how to unlock your personal legend from the corners of your mind.
Fast forward to 2020 and I have 10 slam poems. I can tell you about another one of my poems, which is called “Cleansing Dye”. It speaks about superficiality and spiritual development, the reason I’m writing, and how to develop a product which isn’t based on superficial ties.
One of my objectives is to become the first Romanian author and public speaker who developed slam poems to mix with his personal development advices. After all, personal development permeates every bit of my writing.
Having a dream is wonderful because a vision coupled with action can change the world. I want to be exceptional in what I’m doing to bring a positive change in society. Writing, public speaking, and slam poetry are the means through which I want to do that.
“I will have faith in my abilities
Even under heavy penalties.
I ain’t got no pedigree
But I’ve built my own philosophy.”