Young prodigy exceling in drumming and bowling shares keys to success

By Veronica Ortega

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    DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — A 7-year-old boy from Detroit is stealing hearts with his incredible talent for music and bowling.

Kalvin “KJ” Gupton is a musical prodigy.

“I practice almost every day. Practice makes you better at things,” Kalvin Gupton said.

Musical talent runs in the family.

“Me and my brother, we both play the drums, and then my dad, he’s mostly getting on the keyboard or the organ,” Kalvin Gupton said.

At a music studio, Kalvin Gupton plays alongside his father Carlton Gupton, founder of the jazz fusion band the CG Experience.

Carlton Gupton says he first noticed his son’s raw talent when he was just 4 years old.

“He just had it. He had the rhythm, Carlton Gupton said. “He had the ability to hear different sounds and stuff like that. I would play a song on the piano that he had never heard before, but he automatically knew the beat.”

You might also find Kalvin Gupton practicing to hook a bowling ball at Merri-Bowl Lanes in Livonia.

“I also got inspired by my mom. She was a bowler. She was a bowler in like the 1900s,” Kalvin Gupton said.

His high score of 154 shows above-average talent for his age.

“I feel so proud to be his father, and I tell him all the time how proud I am of him,” Carlton Gupton said.

On top of wanting to be a professional bowler and platinum recording artist, this “A” student also hopes to be a meteorologist one day.

His message to other kids in search of their passion is simple.

“Try different things,” Kalvin Gupton said. “It may not go the same way that you might want it to, but you’re still learning. So just encourage yourself.”

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