The Obstacles They Went Through To Acheive Their Dreams

The story behind everyone in this song is remarkable. The song "Forever" that features Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem explains the obstacles they went through to achieve their dreams. The song is featured in Lebron James new movie called "More Than a Game." If you seen the music video, it highlights the journey of Lebron James who went from high school basketball star to the number one draft pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron James, Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem have gone through many obstacles to achieve their dreams. This article is just a brief review of some of the things they went through.

Lebron James was born in Akron, Ohio on December 30, 1984 to Gloria James and Anthony McClelland. She was 16 years old at the time. His father was a deadbeat dad and had no intention on raising him. Though his father was absent, Lebron James had a father figure in his life named Eddie Jackson. Eddie Jackson was in his life until he got arrested in 2002 for mortgage fraud and mail fraud.

Gloria James struggled to take care of him and bounced from job to job such as retail and accounting. They also moved from apartment to apartment when he was young. Lebron James grandmother died when he was just was an infant.

When Lebron James was young, his mother brought him a miniature hoop and a basketball to play with. Early on Lebron love playing basketball and played in elementary school to ease his stress and express himself. Lebron James idol was Michael Jordan. He also loved to play football and played both in high school.

By his senior year in high school Lebron James already had the attention of critics, basketball magazines and the NBA. In 2003 Lebron James entered the NBA draft and became the number 1 draft pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the end of the year, Lebron James had an average of 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds per game, won the 2003’s NBA Rookie of the Year and became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in a game. Lebron James also signed a $90 million dollar shoe deal with Nike and reenergized the brand of the Cleveland Cavaliers by making it to their first NBA playoffs in years. Drake also went through obstacles to achieve his dreams.

Drake was born Aubrey Drake Gramham in Ontario, Cananda October 24, 1986. Drake got his start in acting on the tv show Degrassi then made a transition to rapping. When Drake first came in the game a lot of people doubted him. They were like oh that's the dude in the wheelchair from Degrassi. Drake then dropped three mixtapes. "Room For Improvement," "The Comeback Season," and "So Far Gone." As time went on Drake proved to be a driving force in the music industry, receiving acceptance and notoriety from some of the top A&R’s, DJ’S, producers, Hip Hop and R&B artist in the music industry. The song called “Best I Ever Had” was the number one record on the Billboard’s Top Hip Hop/R&B chart for weeks and he didn’t even have a record deal yet. He also had two other songs on the billboard chart with Trey Songz called "Successful" and "Invented Sex."

Drake soon signed to Young Money/Cash Money records, inking a rare $2 million dollar distribution deal with Universal Records which allowed him to keep his publishing, sales of merchandise and only give 25% of sell revenue from his album. In the song "Forever" Drake talks about how he started as a mixtape recording artist to being one of hip hop's top elite. You should hear the verse to know what I'm talking about. Kanye West also went through obstacles to achieve his dreams.

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 8, 1977 to Donda West and Ray West. They divorced when Kanye West was 3 years old. Kanye West is a producer who grew up on the Southside of Chicago. He’s mostly known for tracks on Jay-Z's Blueprint album like "H to the Izzo," "Heart Of The City (Aint No Love)" and the legendary diss track to Nas and Mobb Deep called the "Take Over." He was also an inspiring rapper but very few believed in him.

He went from record label to record label for a record deal and got rejected. They thought he didn’t fit the popular mold of other rappers in Hip Hop. He chose to drop the music himself and received notoriety from fans and music artist alike. After dropping his music, Kanye proved he wasn’t just a good producer but also a good rapper. Soon he proved that he was worthy of a record deal and signed to Rocafella Records. Kanye West was in a fatal car crash where his jaw was broken in three places and wired shut. He didn’t let that stop him and recorded “Through The Wire,” about his life threatening experience.

As time went on, Kanye West received many accolades for his hard work like the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rap Song for "Jesus Walks," the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for "The College Dropout," and the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance "Gold Digger." In the song "Forever" Kanye West talks about how he grew from a star to a superstar and how the fame can destroy you.He also talked about how he would trade his Grammy plaque to get his grandmother back. Kanye West verse was good but I think it could have been better. Instead of saying "I had raped the game young you can call it statutory,” he could of said I came in the game young all ya'll ever did was doubt me. Once again I think the verse was good but it could of been better. Lil Wayne also went through obstacles to achieve his dreams.



Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. in Lousiana, New Orleans to Jacida "Cita" Carter and Dwayne Michael Turner on September 27, 1982. Lil Wayne got his start by playing the Tin man in Wizard Of Oz. Lil Wayne became the youngest member of Cash Money Records by rapping on Baby's answering machine. When Lil Wayne was young he shot him self with a .40 caliber handgun. He survived it and became one of hip hop's greatest rappers.

He proved his loyalty and value by contributing to the Hot Boys album "Get It How U Live," coming up with words like “Bling Bling” a slang word used to describe diamonds. The song launched the careers of many of his Cash Money crew and put New Orleans on the map. Lil Wayne proclaimed himself as the Best Rapper Alive and dropped mixtape after mixtape until the world knew he meant business. Both mixtapes hosted by DJ Drama called "The Dedication 2" and "The Drought 3" was critically acclaimed and solidified him of what he meant when he said he was the Best Rapper Alive.

Soon he became high in demand collaborating with top Hip Hop and R&B artist in the music industry. These artist included Destiny Child, Chris Brown, Fat Joe and Lloyd. He also released The Carter 3 in 2007 which went platinum in a week, won a Grammy Award for Best Album Of The Year and the Grammy Award for Best Song Of The Year for "Lollipop". He also has his own record label called Young Money Entertainment. In the song "Forever" Lil Wayne talks about how he love the game and how he want it forever. He also talks about being true to himself and how he won’t stop til they give him the crowd. Eminem also went through obstacles to achieve his dreams.

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Matters III on October 17, 1972 to Deborah Nelson Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. in Saint Joseph, Missouri. His father was a dead beat dad and had no intention on raising him. Eminem and his mother grew up in poverty and moved from place to place before settling in Detroit, Michigan. Eminem got his start freestyling with kids at Osborn High School. He also won the 1997 rap Olympics. Due to personal problems Eminem battled alcohol and drug abuse. He also made an attempt to commit suicide. He survived it and went on to become one of hip hop's greatest rappers.

After hearing Eminem's demo, Dr. Dre signed him to his record label Aftermath Records. Eminem over came adversary by becoming one of the first white rappers to sell over a million records with his debut album the "Slim Shady LP." It became the fastest selling album in history. the 2000 MTV Award for Best Male Video and the 2000 MTV Award for Video Of The Year.He also has a record label called "Shady Records" and his own music channel called "Shade 45" on satellite Direct TV/XM radio. In the verse "Forever" Eminem unleashed all his frustrations on this track. His verse is one of the best verses in the song. He talks about how people lie on wax and his rise back to the top of hip hop’s top elite. It's like he never left.

Everyone in this article overcame many obstacles to achieve their dreams. I get inspired every time I hear the song “Forever” because it talks about what they went through to achieve their dreams. I admire them because they didn’t let anyone stop them from achieving their dreams. They had a vision and didn’t let it get tainted by what people said. They dedicated their lives to achieve their dreams and are the true definition of, discipline, determination and diligence. We all should strive to achieve our dreams and never give up.