Anthony McLean

Transcript

my name is Anthony McLain and I am a rapper and what I want to do today is you haven't hurt me yet hold on hold on you might not like it who knows right what I want to do today is I want to actually share with you the very first song I ever wrote I was I was 12 years old and it's the first thing I ever wrote so be gentle it goes like this mm-hmm you know what I'm saying you know I'm not playing when I rock the mic I rock the mic was saying dope sounds leaps and bounds from fake clowns who try

to sound rough like they're all that hit you with my baseball bat bust your face bust your arms bust your knees plus it is now you got a new fish yeah thank you thank you a lot of pent-up anger at that point of my I've been to counseling I'm good now everything's good yes counseling yeah yeah so for me though I hear that song and I love it because I know that twelve-year-old and I know how much I loved rapping and I started from that point rapping and writing lyrics every day and everywhere if I couldn't find paper I was writing on a napkin if

I couldn't find a napkin I would rip a cereal box to get the cardboard on the inside and write my raps on there and I would dream about my music being in the world and being on the radio and I saved my money and I went to a studio and one day I finally recorded a CD now a CD was a disc-shaped object and it had music on it you know I'm saying it was a CD and you would listen to music now you can't listen to a CD you need a laser and some technology but anyway my CD it was only four songs but

I'm now putting my heart and my soul into those four songs I said this is me and and I gave it to my friends and my family and the street car driver and the woman behind me in line at the grocery store anyone that would take it because whenever someone told me that they liked in they were telling me that they liked me and that affirmation it was like a drug but not everybody liked it you know that is I don't like your music either but really like when someone didn't like it or they're just like oh it was it was like they were saying

they didn't like me it was like they were like you know just cutting off an arm that I didn't need and I had these dreams of this music being on the radio I saw it I believed it but none of it happened the CD just kind of died it felt like I gave myself to the world and the world said have you ever put yourself out there have you ever like really put yourself out there and then been rejected it hurts so bad it can make you never want to put yourself out there again that's what happened to me after this CD I stopped rapping

I stopped writing I couldn't even listen to rap music the song came on the radio some new rapper I it hurts so bad I just had to turn it off and that is how I ended up in counseling and I worked through all this stuff and it was amazing if you have the means I recommend counselling so highly and it's funny because the most powerful thing I learned in counseling was three words I am enough yeah and and regardless of what happens with this I am enough and I am enough not because I made something of value but because I was made of value and

once I had that inside me I knew that I have to see myself differently and so I the first thing I said today is my name is Anthony mcclain and I am a rapper but that's that's not quite right it's close not quite right so please allow me to reintroduce myself my name is Anthony mcclain and I am enough yeah you know I put it like this I used to need an outside voice to validate my every choice what do you think of my decision that became a kind of prison but thank God I found the key I don't need anyone to approve of me

I affirm myself each day I am enough and I'll be okay and if they like me if they cheer or if they kick me in the rear it doesn't matter what comes my way because I am enough and I'll be okay you know before you share your gifts with the world before you release your ardor or step on that platform you need to know on the deepest level you are enough just you as for me I am listening to music again and loving it turning it up what I hear a song that I like yeah and I am writing music again yeah oh man I'll

be honest with you I cannot wait to share my new music with the world it's probably not gonna be on CD though we can do it like a Spotify things so the lasers I just forget that and when I do release my music if they like me if they cheer or if they kick me in the rear it doesn't matter what comes my way because I am enough and I'll be okay thank

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.