Whether you have been rapping since childhood, or just recently dreamed of becoming a teenage rap artist, you can make it happen with some hard work and a few lucky breaks. There's nothing we can do about the luck, but here's the hard work that you'll need to put in in order to become a teenage rap artist.

Start working on your skills. Find a coach or teacher in your area to help you with this. Don't automatically assume that you are perfect the way you are--even professional rap artists continue training. As a teen rap artist, you will have plenty of room to grow.

Have a demo CD made up of your work. Whether you want to use songs you have written yourself--your best bet--or samples of other songs, you want this CD to be professionally done. Find a studio in your area to have this done. Every big city has a few studios to choose from. These CD will showcase your rapping ability to potential agents or club owners.

Shop your CD around to different agencies. Check local listings for talent agencies. Many modeling agencies in the smaller markets are also talent agents. They can help you get bookings and do not require up front payment. There may be commercials or fairs in your area looking for a rap artist that go to talent agencies.

Do some legwork on your own. Shop your CD around to local clubs and try to book a performance.

If you have all original material on your CD, you can also sell it at local fairs or record stores. Keep it inexpensive, since right now this is advertising and promotion for yourself.

Promote yourself online. Use MySpace and Facebook and other social networking sites. This is a great way to expose your talents as a teen rap artist, and possibly even sell your CD (see Resources below).

Once you have a bigger following, you are now ready to hit the streets of either New York, Chicago or Los Angeles where most of the bigger record labels are. Choose labels that produce music for other rap artists and start sending them your work.