When Should Rappers Retire?

Posted on: November 11, 2008 4 comments so far (is that a lot?)

Coolio ringtone

This post was inspired by seeing Coolio on his show Coolio’s Rules.

So I finally got to catch Coolio doing the rapper-turned-reality-show thing and felt like vomiting in my mouth. I was pretty young when Coolio was hot and considered him decent and to see him doing a reality show was just real sickening to see. Now I know he’s getting his cake and if I was in his shoes I would do the same thing but it got me think when should rappers retire?

When does being a rap personality get old? Flava Flav,even though he’s now more popular than he’s ever been, has become popular for all the wrong reasons. He’s an old man pretending to be fifteen. Isn’t that sad? I’m not saying it is, I’m just asking. Today I was at the grocery store and saw a father and son shopping, and the father looked like he was 65 and his son was probably 35 and they both dressed like Nelly in 2000. When do old heads need to retire from the “hip hop look” even though that look is outdated in itself and “act their age”.

I used to think rapppers’ should retire at the age of 30 because at that age you shouldn’t be rapping about frivolous partying, selling drugs, and/or banging hoes. Even if you don’t rap about those things, it’s even worse if you are the lyrical rapper over 30. But now most rappers are nearing their thirties or are damn near 40. Also if you look back at history, some of the greats only blew when they we’re in their late twenties and achieved iconic status in their thirties.

Coolio, for instance, gave us “Gangsta’s Paradice” when he was 32. Jay-Z was 30 when he sold 5 million with his third album Vol…Hard Knock Life. DMX dropped It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot when he was 28. Eminem dropped The Slim Shady LP when he was 27. Kanye dropped The College Dropout when he was 27. Need I go on? All these artists really popped off when they we’re in their thirties. So this begs the question when should rappers retire?

I think five albums should be enough to say what you need to say, get your paper and bounce. Let the younger generation get in and get out. Since no great music is coming out we might as well turn hip hop into a factory where every year new artists are breaking and old artists are bouncing. We should even have this same mentality with managers, directors, moguls, websites, etc. Who wants to see a Hype Williams video anymore? Get Rik Cordero a budget. Who cares about Diddy? Can’t we replace him with Foxy’s brother, what’s his name? The point is, in with the new and out with the old. Ya heard me?

What Age Should Rappers Retire?

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4 Responses to “When Should Rappers Retire?”

  1. unico Says:
    May 22nd, 2009 at 10:54 pm

    When should Rockers retire?

    I noticed when Rappers age, they calm down, and mature. They get the point in there life, when they no longer HAVE to prove themselves to anyone.

    It depends on what the theme of the rap is.
    If an older rapper (30 +) is telling a story about their life. Then they should keep going.
    When they get married and such. yes, talking about hoes,money,and cars… wouldn’t work for them.

  2. The Chairman Says:
    July 9th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    See.. here is the problem with Hip Hop. It’s the only form of music where we shove our elders out the door, even when they’re still great. Look at other music. Look at the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Aerosmith, etc. They’ve been going strong alongside the young guys for over 30 years and nobody can tell ‘em SH*T. If you’re still making good music, and the people still want it, give it to them.

    There’s music for everyone. There’s a spot for everyone. What happens when the fans that loved Jay-Z, Nas, Ice Cube or Scarface, but don’t identify with a younger rapper like a Soulja Boy or Drake hit 40, but he doesn’t make any more music? Are they supposed to stop liking rap? What are they supposed to do? Start listening to country?

    Then there’s the conundrum for older rappers. Yeah, if you’re like 35 – 40 and still rapping about selling drugs on the corner and catching bodies: that’s just WACK. At the same time, rapping about grocery shopping and going to Wal-Mart with the kids is just boring. So basically, you better have something pretty good. But music has no age limit.

    Just my two cents. God bless.

    The Chairman

  3. Trickstar Says:
    July 14th, 2009 at 6:49 am

    Can u check some rappers out?Say Jay-Z,Scarface,Ice cube,Nas,–this guys are Ova 30.yet u neva hear dem rappin bout slingin crack,bangin hoes,smokin weed….this guys represent true hip hop and their retirment would spell doom 4 lyrical hip hop…this guys are relevant and shouldnt retire….but check out Snoop Dogg,Ghostface,Fat Joe,Rick Ross,50 Cent,The Game,busta ryhmes,dipset….this guys keep rappin bout crack,hoes e.t.c…this guys should retire.Rappers can keep rappin tell dey are 100 if they still sound relevant..

  4. Prophet aka Rsien Monk Says:
    August 5th, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    Thanks for the insight. I think it’s a good topic. I don’t think age matters but I think cats should act age appropriate. I think if you are in your thirties you shouldn’t dress like you’re 18. As far as content, the industry keeps spitting out cats who talk about the same thing– crack, females, sets. Will that ever change? Sure, I think cats will rap in a different way only if it affects their financial bottom line. It is really on the consumers. Thanks.

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