Whether or not mastery comes with 10,000 hours of practice, spending years writing songs and performing will make you good no matter what. Exhibit A: Charli XCX. At 14, Charli XCX started writing nursery rhyme rap songs about dinosaur sex. Now at 21, she can fart out the hits in her sleep (see: “I Want It”, “You Lied (Ha Ha Ha)”, “Nuclear Seasons”) and it’s likely they all smell like “Black Roses”. Ba dum bump. And live, she backs these hits up with a strong, energetic stage presence and a real connection with her fans and audience. (more…)