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From Wondery, I'm Cree Summer, and this is Who's Amazing Start, a special mini episode of Who's Amazing Life.
You might be a musician or an activist. a scientist, or a painter.
There will be clues, so pay attention.
And this is a mini-episode, so it moves fast.
Listen to the end to find out who you are.
So sit back and imagine your amazing life as The Rockstar Rapper.
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Slash iWondery.
Imagine you're nine years old and you're sitting on your bed in your new bedroom, surrounded by piles of cardboard moving boxes.
Parked outside your window is a gigantic moving truck.
You've been carrying these boxes inside from the truck all morning and you're exhausted.
Just then, you notice something poking up from one of the boxes. and you pull it out.
It's a photo of you and your friends from your class field trip to the zoo.
You sigh as you look at each smiling face.
You probably won't be seeing them much anymore.
Your parents divorced when you were six and recently your dad got full custody of you and your little brother.
You all moved to a new town in Georgia, which means starting over at a brand new school.
So much has changed, and it seemed like it all happened so quickly.
You look up from the photo and see your dad standing in the doorway.
Dad, you think the kids at my new school will like me?
Of course they will.
You're amazing.
Just be your loving, creative, silly self.
Your dad walks out of the room, soulfully humming a song you've heard a million times at church.
Tomorrow is your first day at your new school.
You hope more than anything that you'll find new friends, a big group like the one you had at your old school.
You imagine being part of a community, a tribe, that'll always be there for you no matter what.
You close your eyes and fall asleep, dreaming of a world where you never feel alone.
Starting at a new school isn't easy, but it's not terrible either.
Over time, you get to know the other kids and settle in.
And when you're not at school, there's somewhere else you spend a lot of time.
The internet.
Once you become a teenager, you become more and more active on social media.
You even start to post memes and people find you hilarious.
You start to feel a true sense of belonging.
Of course, you're not totally tapped out of regular school life.
You play trumpet in band class, which helps you discover something you didn't really know about yourself.
You love music.
You start thinking about ways to combine your love of music with your love of the internet.
You have a feeling that if you can figure out how to put them together, you'll be able to connect to people on a deeper level and create that community you've always dreamed of.
You're standing in a small dark closet full of hanging clothes.
Over your ears are a pair of big headphones, and in front of your face is a microphone.
Your closet doubles as your recording studio, and you've just finished laying down your latest recording of your newest song.
That was all right.
Let's run it back.
You're in high school now and you've been doing something cool, creating and recording your own music.
Your little brother creates the beats, and you write the lyrics and record the track.
The music is awesome.
Not that anyone's heard.
You haven't actually put out any music yet, but that's about to change.
You're contemplating posting this song online.
You think your online friends would be into it, but you're also nervous about what they might think.
Your brother snaps you back into focus.
I'm feeling that melody you did on the hook.
You step out of the closet where your brother is sitting on the floor.
I'm digging it too.
Those drums you made are hitting hard.
As you and your brother put the finishing touches on your song, you think about how your friends and followers on social media will react to you making music.
They think you're hilarious.
But will they take your music seriously?
You start to second guess whether you should really post this song online.
You're afraid that if they don't like your music, they'll stop being your friend and you'll lose the safest space you have.
You nervously murmur to your brother.
Do you think we should post it?
Your brother grins and grabs you by the shoulders.
Post it!
Post it!
Post it!
This song is fire!
Your brother gives you the boost of confidence you need.
He's in your corner.
A part of your tribe.
And the song does sound really good.
Take a deep breath.
Type up a caption.
And post.
Now what?
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
As the months go by, you become more comfortable with releasing your music online.
The Internet is a crowded place, so you don't get that much feedback.
But the few people who hear your stuff seem to like it.
It's all fun, and you try not to take it too seriously.
But at the same time, you don't want your music to be just a hobby.
You want it to be your career.
The truth is, things aren't going so well in your life.
Your younger brother recently joined the army, so you've been making music without him.
You've been fighting with other family members and don't always feel like they support you.
You've been working a job operating roller coasters, which can be fun, but it's not what you really want to do with your life.
And on top of that, you're barely making enough money to get by.
Times have been tough, and you feel at your lowest.
But through all of this, you believe in your music and you know if you can build up a community that's really big and really supportive, the whole world will believe in it too.
One o'clock in the morning, you're sitting in the living room on your computer and your eyes are so heavy you can barely keep them open.
You've spent the last few hours scouring the internet for beats to sing to, but nothing is clicking for you.
When you search for beats, you always look for music that matches your current emotions.
You live for music that speaks your language.
But lately, life has been so stressful you barely know what your language is.
You think about all the troubles you've been facing. and how you just want to get away from it all.
But then, you hear a beat unlike anything you've ever heard before.
Whoa!
What is this?
The beat is nothing like the ones you usually use.
It's hypnotizing.
The sound pulls you into a different dimension.
A rumbling 808 bass drum, snapping snare and rolling hi-hats immediately drop into your ears.
You close your eyes and visualize yourself on stage.
Microphone in your hand, singing words to this very beat in front of a sea of people.
Your people.
People who get you and support you and vibe with your sound.
Your tribe.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I can work with this.
As the music plays, you furiously start to jot down lyrics.
You think about your days of making memes and you incorporate that style of humor into your lyrics, almost as if you're writing comedy.
You start to hum as though you're singing a country song, and the melody fits perfectly on top of the twangy hip hop beat.
You realize you're doing something almost no one has done before.
You're blending the elements of hip-hop and country, and it's creating something undeniably cool.
You love what you're coming up with, but this is extremely different from the music you usually create and post.
Your friends online are used to a certain type of sound from you and you wonder if they'll understand what you are making.
You think back to when you began creating music and how this same fear crept into your thoughts.
The thumping beat brings your focus back to the paper in front of you and you know you have something special.
You won't let the fear hold you back.
Yeah, this record's gonna make me a star!
Break out your recording equipment, plug your microphone into your laptop, and hit record.
Over the next month, you work on your song, switching lyrics, changing melodies and adding new ideas, before finally hitting post.
You're still relatively unknown in the music industry and you don't have the money or resources you need to promote your song the traditional way.
But you do know how to get attention on social media.
Every day, more and more people listen to your song, love it.
Pretty soon the numbers start spinning out of control.
You've officially gone viral.
Everyone loves your song, and it's not just because the tune is catchy and the lyrics are fun.
People also like you.
They appreciate your sense of humor and the way you say what you're really thinking Deep down.
You know that while your fans know a lot about you, they don't know everything.
Sometimes you find yourself wondering just how much you should really share with the world.
But for now, with the ink still drying on your brand new record deal, you feel like you're on top of the world.
It's a bright, sunny day, and you're quite a ways from the small town in Georgia you grew up in.
You're in Glastonbury, a town in England famous for its annual music festival.
You used to watch the performances online, and now you're one of the featured artists on stage.
You're sitting in the backseat of a car on your way to the airport so you can fly back home.
You just performed in front of thousands of people and you're buzzing from all the excitement.
The driver turns on the radio and you recognize a familiar tune.
It's your song.
By now.
You've already heard your song playing on the radio numerous times, but you still can't believe it.
You turn your head to look out the window and see crowds of people in the streets.
Some holding hands, others hugging and the majority with smiles over their faces and waving rainbow flags triumphantly.
You catch the driver's eye in the rearview mirror.
Is it always this lit out here for pride?
Lit?
Yeah, lit.
You know, like, exciting.
Ah, yes, indeed.
June is an especially celebratory month for the LGBTQIA plus community.
You think about the songs you've recently released.
There's one in particular that has a message nobody seems to have picked up on.
It's about how you no longer want to hide who you are and who you choose to love.
You think about your recent show, your fans online and how much love and support you've received from them.
You feel courageous.
You pull your phone out from your pocket and start typing rapidly.
Your heart is racing as you type.
One final look at what you've written.
Add a rainbow emoji and click Tweet.
You've just come out to the world.
Within seconds, messages of support start pouring in.
You put your phone back in your pocket, close your eyes, and smile as you approach the airport.
You feel a sense of peace, of joy, of accomplishment, of belonging.
In 2020, your hit song goes on to sell 18 million records and win two Grammy Awards.
You continue to create music and the following year you release your critically acclaimed debut album.
It receives several Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year.
Your popularity on social media continues to grow and you become an influential advocate for the LGBTQIA plus community.
You have more music on the way.
And continue to inspire other people to love and express their true selves.
Your birth name is Montero Lamar Hill.
But to the world, you are Lil Nas X.
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From Wondery, this is Who's Amazing Start.
I'm your host, Cree Summer.
This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details.
We use many sources in our research.
A few that were particularly helpful for this episode were GQ, Time Magazine, and Rolling Stone.
This episode was written by Matt Gantt.
Sound design by Lucas Siegel.
Audio assistance by Sergio Enriquez.
Our producers are Jennifer Klein and Olivia Richard.
Our coordinating producer is Desi Blaylock.
And Matt Gantt is our managing producer.
Tanja Thigpen is our senior managing producer.
Ginny Bloom and Megan Begala are our senior producers.
Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Stephanie Jens, and Marshall Louis for Wondery.
