Rap Genesis

Rapping may seem easy to some, just talking with music in the background.

But being a good rapper, and making it as a rapper, are extremely difficult propositions.

Many American teenagers have this dream, but most abandon the idea quickly, or don't try very hard.

Sab'rey Smith and his roommate Roger "Deuce" Brown, childhood friends from Chicago, have decided to team up to succeed in the rap world, and they aren't about to back down.

Their small apartment on the outskirts of Washington serves as the headquarters for their musical mission. Some of their equipment doesn't always work. They've taken jobs which don't pay very much, but which allow flexibility to devote time to their long-term dreams.

Posters and post-its with inspirational messages keep them going. Without much money or powerful connections, their hustle and commitment to making socially-relevant and energetic hip-hop music is what drives them.

This video goes into their trenches as they start working on a new album called Liquid Assets, representing, as Brown explains, money people keep under their mattresses for urgent and also life-saving and changing expenses.