When you face enough rejection, it becomes incredibly easy to just give up. No stability and all stagnation cause creative people to eventually choose a more normal 9-5 instead. It makes you wonder about the different artists over the years who were close to giving up before they became superstars. Who knows what the domino effect would become if certain musicians committed more to their day jobs? There’s one big ‘what if’ back in the 80s that would’ve radically changed the complexion of hip-hop. In a 1986 interview with Record Mirror , LL Cool J opened up about the winding path that eventually led him to sign with an emerging Def Jam. Early on, he felt discouraged enough to wonder if hip-hop was his true calling. However, his mom proved to be the driving force he needed to keep him steady on his path. Videos by VICE “I went to the record store and bought all the rap albums and looked at all the record company addresses. I sent tapes to all of them, and all of them turned me down.…