I’m Bobby Newnan; I live in Marietta, Georgia. One of my dreams has been ultimately becoming a rapper. My family says I have talent but that’s just my family. I’ve never had that real opportunity to show what I got. Maybe that opportunity has come but I was just too shy to take it, whatever it is, I need an opportunity, bottom line. I’ve performed at a couple talent shows at school where I have actually been booed of the stage, elementary school is brutal. But luckily, I’m out of there now and in the eighth grade, I can’t say it’s so much better but it is an improvement, nonetheless.

I write new raps almost every day, just hoping that someone big would notice it, but the only way that’ll happen is if I push it. I’m not the guy that has all of the out-of-the-blue lucky stuff happen to him, like the guy that finds a hundred dollar bill on the side of the road, that’s not me. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember a time where I actually had anything good happen to me, ever. I try to contemplate a way for people to see me and a few weeks I thought I found a way, I thought. My idea was to tape myself live on YouTube and just rap, but what happened was probably THE scariest thing that could happen to a kid.

It was a hot night and my mom was out. Unbeknownst to me, the front door was not locked. Four crimes have been reported in that one week, so it wasn’t a very good idea to leave the front door unlocked with a fourteen year old kid with headphones on inside the home. Yes, I had headphones on, listening to my beats, getting ready for my rap to the world, and then, the front door opens, but I didn’t know. The trespasser was coming upstairs, but I didn’t know. He was staring right at me, but I had no clue. After turning on my camera, it happened, via live feed, the world watched a kidnapping, the kidnapping of Bobby Newnan. The kidnapper, who smelled of beer and cigarettes, opened up my window and motioned to a buddy to “Come here”. The muscular buddy came over and the kidnapper tossed me out to the buddy who caught me and quickly ran to a van where I saw three other kids who looked just as extremely terrified as I was. I didn’t see my kidnapper until about ten minutes when he got into the van, and then we drove off, maybe 80, 90 miles per hour which was how fast we were going in this van. The police aren’t really tight on duty around this area because going 90 mph, we drove right past them, and we heard not one siren. Four kids are in the back of a speeding van, but the policemen either don’t care or they don’t know.



As we started to slow down, I was getting more and more scared by the moment. We stopped at a huge warehouse, where I saw plenty of other people in there. Maybe these guys were good people bringing me into a fun place, but just in a very forceful way. I thought that but that was just my denial and fear invading my thoughts. Reality started to set in when I saw the guys in there smoking marijuana, cocaine, meth, and plenty of other illegal drugs that I’ve never even heard of. But that didn’t scare me as much as the guns, the hundreds of guns terrified me.
I didn’t talk to any of the other kids, I guess the fear and shock also covered my mouth like duct tape.
“Hey, you, kid,” the guy, whose name I learned was Gus, looked at me, “come here. Come here now!” I was reluctant to get up, but I did for the reservation of my life, he was sitting by a laptop (probably stolen) and when I got close to him he snatched me over, “I thought you might want to see this.” And there it was, the video of my kidnapping, but the kidnapper appeared to have added some extra dialogue to my video, saying that no one should even try to look for me. “So much for ya dumb rap, huh kid.”
That’s when it hit me. The rage, shock, and worry all mixed together to create this one big emotion that channeled my fist. And I did it. I laid a huge punch to his face, not thinking about the repercussions that were probably coming my way. It’s just that I’ve been waiting for that opportunity, where thousands were watching, and I just saw it ruined. At that point, I didn’t know what else to do.
As Gus tried to stabilize, three other guys were coming my way. I closed my eyes and waited for what was to come, but it didn’t. When I opened my eyes I saw the three kids doing exactly what I did and more to the oncoming offenders. Surprisingly, we left the criminals stunned, which gave us enough time to make our escape. Luckily and oddly enough, there were a few bikes near the exit. I think maybe that was the fastest I’ve ever ran in my life when we ran to those bikes.
We hopped on and pedaled for our young lives. I started to feel a little relief set in after we got going. It took some distance to realize that I still had my phone on me. The first number I dialed was 911.
“Hello, yes, please, we four kids were kidnapped by a couple of goons that stay at the warehouse on Greenbell Street. If they’re not there, then they’re probably in their big white van, they’re unmistakable and easy to see on the road. You can’t miss ‘em. Hurry up!” I didn’t even let the officer speak because I had someone else to call, “Mom, I’m fine, yeah they kidnapped me on live video. I’m comin’ home now. Calm down, I’m fine.” Oh Mom.
I don’t know if I was going to regret not talking to the kids who helped save my life. I did happen to catch their names though.
When I walked into the house, I saw my mom crying and dad comforting and they saw me with a relieving smile on my face and we all gathered for a group hug.
The next day, I walked into school to a roar of applause and people chanting my name, and all I could think was that this is the most recognition I’ve ever gotten in school, and what happened next was unthinkable. I saw the hip hop mogul Sheky Shibaz looking for me and from that moment, things started looking up. I got a record deal and I am now known by the whole world. I tell people to get used to Bobby Newnan, the Trap Star. Maybe I am lucky.