Rap music. By high school, you have all probably figured out how you feel about it. Most of you have heard of big rappers such as Drake, Lil’ Pump, or Chance the Rapper, but what about the people who write rap music because they just love it, those people who aren’t famous yet? Did you know that some people in our own school, maybe even in your class, are included among those aspiring to be famous rappers?

Sophomore Lukas Vieyra-Hartmann has been writing rap songs for a couple of years. He’s also released five or six tracks on a program called SoundCloud. SoundCloud is an online streaming platform that allows its users to upload, record, promote, and share work that they have created. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity for someone who wants to make rap songs, to make that possibile. However, don’t think that this is a free pass that requires no work. Hartmann still puts in time to make his music sound good. “I write at home, but I also have an engineer who lives on the other side of town. He produces beats, at the time I’m just making remixes,” Hartmann said.

Also, if you’ve ever heard a good rap song, you know to have skill in rapping you have to have inspiration. Hartmann gathers his from all the rappers that he’s heard.“I’ve been listening to music since before I can remember, all kinds of stuff, like Eminem or Lil Uzi Vert. My genre is just all over the place. I’m influenced by a lot of those guys,” Hartmann said. Junior William Vega released his first song called “Unreachable” this summer. His inspiration is just his love for music. “I like music, I love rap, and that’s how I have fun. That’s my hobby,” Vega said. Vega and Hartmann both value their music as more beneficial to them than just getting famous. For Vega, it helps him when he’s bored. “When I have nothing to do, I write music. I love to make music and I love to write songs.” For Hartmann, it’s a way of expressing his talents, “I’ve been writing for a while, just perfecting my craft, and I’m making it because I like it. And if people don’t like it I’m not too worried about it.”

Also, rap doesn’t have to fit one specific age group. Vega has only been writing music for one year. Hartmann, on the other hand, has been writing for quite some time, and he feels as though music is much more than just words on a paper. “I look at rap as an art. There’s a lot of people out there, and a lot of them are really good. But there’s a lot of people who can’t even do it. It depends on the kind of track, so if it’s a sad song, that means it’s someone is stepping out of their comfort zone, to kind of show you how they feel. That’s why I feel like it’s art, because it’s more complex than it sounds,” Hartmann said.

So maybe rap isn’t for you, or maybe you just haven’t given it quite the chance it deserves, but either way, everyone has different gifts. Some people around you have much different gifts than you, gifts like rap, and it’s a pretty unique talent. So give these guys some credit, and give the people around you credit when they do things well.