excellent article. something that isn’t talking all about somebody else’s irrelevant drama or misfortune.today’s young artists need to take note. they enter the game thinking they’ve done something new and original when all they’ve done is ruin an R&B track,or looked stupid in nuthugger jeans, or made themselves look extremely homo in pink.

When you got old ass people like me reppin consciousness… Hip-Hop might have a fighting chance.

I won’t stop, even after death (hearing the screams off the irritated) LMAO!

grow up, and dress like men in stead of “gay thugs! that look is OLD, tu-pac sported that look in “Juiced” check how old that movie is then look how silly you look. pulling yo pants down below your butt cheeks while yo boxer’s under ware showing, nothing ganster about it. So if you hear me remember the look is officially called “Gay thug”, cause gansters dont show there asses on the streets.

Your article is totally on point. The one thing I wish that these Junior Flips would do is SAY SOMETHING WORTH REPEATING! Teach me something! Share some wisdom!

Oh, that’s right, you don’t have any. Cuz ya dumb ass ain’t lived long enough.

Now, I’m not big on Jay, but I got to give it to him when he was trying to drop some knowledge “I don’t have the Bright Watch, I’ve got the Right Watch.” Word to the wise.

I’m sorry but today’s drivel dubbed Hip-Hop is more Slop-Hop, cuz it isn’t urbane, erudite nor remotely educational. It’s clowning.

My only hope is that Jay and others of age and wisdom don’t respond to the barking of biters who would give their left testicle to trade places with any of them.

Just let them keep barking – let someone else throw the shoe that shuts them up.

I feel the young rappers and hip hop artists are the ones who need to put the mic down. Their music is wack.

very good article, i just turned 30 this year, and man i know since im getting older i really appreciate the hip ho pthe past like my parents appreciated the music of their time, plus i relate more to the artist. i think the time has come for different segments of hip hop sorta how rock has developed. because black men have relevant voices past 30. I know media likes to think every black man should be hushed after 30 but its kinda weird cuz even the most gangsta dudes in their 20s gotta find a new saw in their thirties. Cube , Jay z, rakim,twista, othe names i dotn remember are very much relevant for alot of people. Hip hop needs a non dance side back . Cuz hip hop is bout 35 years old now.

These so called rappers today nothing of talent or originality. Hell, I bet most of’em couldn’t even spell originality. They put on this huge play of ignorance and look like and sound like fools. Hip-Hop would be better with out some of them. You know anything that lives in ignorance doesn’t live long.

personally, i love the old school,,,they always had a creative and unique way of telling a story…and the truth as well..they, from back in the the day, would wrap about black people’s struggle, parenting, and other oppressions..today,,it’s all about sex, sex, sex, sex, and more sex..PLEASE, I’VE HEARD OLD SCHOOL SONGS AND TALKED MUCH BETTER ABOUT SEX, AND HAD THE MOST SENSUAL LYRICS, all you had to do was just listen and enjoy…in fact those song stimulated the mind and soul,, not the genitals…so my hats off the older and wiser…you’re doing something that the younger kats can’t not seem to do…look beyond themselves and create their own styles….many of these artists are here because they are sampling music from the old school and taking credit…personally i dont want to here a song that talks about sex, drugs, and money….they’re not telling my how to be successful,, all they are telling me is that that’s all they care about…selfish i say

The last line of this article speaks more volumes than the rest of it. When you’re under control but front like you’re uncontrollable, it shows. These rap dudes are puppets for a larger agenda.

Now we have Age Warfare in Hip-Hop…This is utter foolishness!!!!!!!…Jay-Z is dope, PERIOD!…People like The Game attacking Jay-Z for his age is TOTALLY WACK! It’s almost like he
could not find any real flaw in Jay so The Game was just grasping for straws by saying…….”Man, Man, YOU OLD!”…The Game just sounds stupid and maaad desperate. Thank you for keeping it 100 Mr. Barrow.

HIP HOP doesnt need to grow up.The 30+ need to let go.Im 31 and grew up with Run DMC,Jay Z etc.I dont like most of the new stuff so you know what I do? DONT LISTEN TO IT….Jigga and whoever else need to do their thing and stop worrying about the younger crowd. You do you and let them do them.

It is really just a generation gap like anything else. When you 15 yrs old you think 24 is old so it has less to do with rap and more to do with perception.

Quite a few rappers coming out, even the young ones, are mature… listen to Little Brother, TiRon, Pacific Division, Blu, Wale, etc… there’s a whole slew of rappers who, while they aren’t making it big, are putting out music for grown folks or those who are young and mature. Let the jitterbugs have Soulja Boy and the rest of that awfulness if they want, because it doesn’t age well. I guarantee you in 10 years no one will play a Soulja Boy album and say “OOOH this used to be my JAM!!”, instead they’ll be too embarrassed to admit that they ever liked that garbage.

i co-sign this whole article. im saying i like some of the new artists coming out right now but my thing is why s**t on the emcee’s that came before you. where is the respect? if it wasnt for a melle mel or grandmaster flash there wouldnt have been a biggie, nas , jay-z and if it wasnt for them wouldnt be no lil wayne, t.i., drake, whatever so to keep this music thang going to me i think the dues have to be paid and respect given as well as earned

The genre is not the issue, its the content..i think Hip Hop is always considered a “young mans” game, because most of the popular artists are talking about Young man exploits. For the fans, its cool, but what happens when we turn 30 and are married and have kids? Hitting clubs or hanging with the fellas is no longer important, you’re on to some damn responsibilities in life..Making car notes, Mortgage payments, food and energy..We ain’t at the crib no more having all those things taken care of anymore, so our focus is different..therefore, I can’t be sitting here listening to a 17yo talking about running to Footlocker to buy some new sneakers!.so Then we move to artists that are talking about things that we can relate too, including some hip hop artists who have grown along with us…on another note, nothing worse than seeing some of these old fools on Youtube, talking about how gangster they are, and they still begging for a record deal, which undoubtedly is going to put them in debt until they recoup..check that, IF they recoup!!!

I think hiphop, despite who’s rappin, today is garbage, even the old cats glorify being drug dealers and killing people in their music which is a gr8 part of what is wrong in our communities.

But if the vets in the game want the rookies to show respect they r going to have to stop dissing them for the sake of justifying their movement. If they really want hip hop to change they would talk to these kats in studios and work with them to make things better rather than putting it on wax for the sake of selling records, and killing kats’ egoes.

As trashy as hip hop is today, could all the lash from the vets be b/c they’re afraid their fans will move on with the times forcing them to retire?

I agree shoot4damoon, I mean its like we are getting older and most artist today are younger, so its like we are in another genre. But, hey, I love all hip-hop, age doesnt have anything to do with what music one should like or not.

you need the older rappers because they younger guys just come out sounding the same. rap would be straight garbage if it wasn’t for the older rapper sticking around just a tad bit longer and kept giving us good music. how you 15 years old talking about you were a king pin and you were driving benzes and all those other lies that are told..

I grow up on Hip-Hop, since the late 70′s. I’m not feeling most of the crapp playing today. But i understand rap game; it has and always will be a young man sport.

No matter how old one is if they got it they got it…Hip-Hop is still apart of our culture and the older artists are necessary. The young cats today are pure garbage for the most part…i’m glad Jay Z came out with D.O.A. because its the truth. The new artist need to to find more to talk about…

Its depends on the subject matter if the beasty boys can do it still. Why not rock the mic at 40?

Mick Jagger is still rocken shows. Paul of the Beatles still doing it. We need some grown hip-hop too.

it’s not a young man’s sport.Real game comes from men who have pave the way and paid dues. Young kats have no style and concept to Hip/Hop.No thrist for political views and what’s real in the streets.They are like watered down liquor.You all ask for your money back once you buy their album.That’s why the bootleg game is so strong because people don’t want to pay for them young sucker MC’s.

No such thing as a young man’s game because this is not a sport where your body eventually breaks down from the wear and tear. What is hip hop is expression and just maybe needs our old heads to take it to another level and back to the grassroot, the streets because that’s where it’s all began up in the bronx. Let take it back to the essence and we old heads didn’t build hip hop just for the young, it’s unversal for all young and old alike. So all the OG’S of hip hop need to keep on rockin’tha mic and don’t let nobody dictate when you decides to put down the mic and which should be when casket drop in the earth is when y’all put the mic down!

When I think of Hip-Hop, I think of the older cats. Nowadays these younger rappers or whatever they call themselves arent rapping about anything important. Most of them wear skinny jeans, come on…I thought that was a girl trend.!!!

AGE DO NOT PLAY A ROLE IN THE RAP GAME ITS HOW YOU FLOW WITH YOUR RAP IF YOUR RAP IS WEAK YOUR JUST A WEAK ASS RAPPER ITS NOT UP TO THE YOUNG OR THE OLD TO PASS JUDGEMENT IF YOU STILL HAVE THE HEART FOR IT JUST DO IT YOU DON’T HEAR WHITE PEOPLE YELLING HE OR SHE IS TO OLD FOR ROCK AND ROLL THEY JUST DO THE DAMN THING SO STOP BEING THAT OLD HOUSE NIGGA AND STOP BEING A HATER YOU WOULDN’T WANT PEOPLE TO HATE ON YOUR PARENTS FOR BEING OLD OR RETIRER BECAUSE THATS WHAT YOU WANT THEY KNOW WHEN ITS TIME TO GIVE IT UP JUST LIKE THE RAPPERS.

HIPHOP IS TIMELESS.8 TO 80 BLIND CRIPPLE OR CRAZY!

ill listen to rapper that is over 40 years old….. long as he talken bout GROWN FOLKS STUFF, and not the same ol’ ballin up in the club lol (teenager stuff)

rappers in general need to upgrade the CONTENT in the music!!!

these young rappers r dog sh1t.all of them rap about the same sh1t.if 1 rapper makes a fire rap about love and it blows up ,they all start rapper about love..lol….fu5k a hit ,make a good record.

Some may say rap is a young mans sport. I’ll just say it is a true mans sport. There aren’t many up to the challenge lyrically these days. Don’t forget the ladies like MC Lyte and Lateffa and the three jewish white guys from NY (Beastie Boys). I had Krush Groove on a TDK tape in 1982 from a house party. Jay-Z is old school and none of the young guns can deal with him.

The idea that hip-hop is a young man’s game doesn’t really make sense if you think about it because unlike sports you actually improve (or should improve) over time. I will agree that “DANCE HOP” (i.e. Soulja Boy, making up dances, etc.) is a young man’s game because that HIP-POP genre is designed for fans under 21. However Hip-Hop as we know it (without the dancing and skinny jeans) is a craft at which a true MC will improve, much like you gain knowledge through your experiences in life.

Its hard to stay in hip hop as u get older. hip hop loves artist in their prime, plus the education and attention span of the forces that drive hip hop aint that high. There is no traditional mentor situation like other types of music. The closer u are to street level the easier. Kinda the blessing is the curse.

most of these young cats have to insult the old school rappers to get their name out there.if there was no publicity about the controversy,who would even know who these cats are.last time I heard joe budden’s name they were talking about how bad his record flopped.most of these cookie-cutter so called rappers,are just mad because they know 10 years from now aint but 2 or 3 people going to be able to pick they sorry ass out of a lineup.

I still keep AZ wu tang Nas and common music blasting out of my speakers.

Yeah it a youth genre type of music, so old school artist are really limited in what they can contribute to the music unfortunately. rock and roll matured maybe hip-hop will too. It would be nice if hip hop could have artist like the beatles and the stones, but I kind of doubt it.

Well i believe that Hip Hop within itself is suffering a great depression. Now days it doesn’t take much to be a rapper. All you need is a beat and someone to talk on it and a silly dance. There you have a hit. There’s no more lyrical vibe. If it’s not about selling drugs, running up in your house, kidnap your wife and kids, where the cash at!!!! then you only making music for a very small percentage of people which isn’t even enough to be heard. Hip Hip is now for all the immature Not grown men.

One Question..Whoever listens to an artist and really take the time out to wonder about the persons age? Well,I’ve never done it and don’t care to.As long as that MC’s spittin fire and the beat’s in the red,I’m good.Hip Hop isn’t some game like hop-scotch, it’s a music form.Who has any right to put an age limit to a music form? Willie Nelson is still doing his thing,Rolling Stones are doing their thing..still.If Stevie Wonder came into any town to do a show,it’s a full house in attendance.Substance is what I check for and not the date of birth of an MC,LOL!!! .The God Rakim feels that it’s the right time to bring it back home and I trust that he’s gonna do just that.I’m not in the mood for dancing all the time.The world is struggling as I type this.It’s time for some intelligent thought to come back to the front….If there’s a an artist who’s 70yrs.old and dope then I’m checkin for him…Peace.

bestrongblac wrote: No such thing as a young man’s game because this is not a sport where your body eventually breaks down from the wear and tear. What is hip hop is expression and just maybe needs our old heads to take it to another level and back to the grassroot, the streets because that’s where it’s all began up in the bronx. Let take it back to the essence and we old heads didn’t build hip hop just for the young, it’s unversal for all young and old alike. So all the OG’S of hip hop need to keep on rockin’tha mic and don’t let nobody dictate when you decides to put down the mic and which should be when casket drop in the earth is when y’all put the mic down!
*** Erik Powery is dead writes: I CONCUR!!!

IM TIRED OF PEOPLE SAYING THAT HIP HOP IS DEAD OR ITS DYING. LIKE, PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THAT HIP HOP HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS..SO REGARDLESS HIP HOP IS GONNA B HIP HOP. BUT THE WAY WE PORTRAY IT IS GONNA B DIFFERENT BECAUSE NO DISRESPECT TO THE OLDER GENERATIONS…HIP HOP IS VERY MUCH SO GEARED TO OUR GENERATION..THE YOUNGER PEOPLE WE ARE THE ONES MORE LIKELY TO BUY THEIR CDS AND WEAR THEIR CLOTHES WE THE ONES THAT ARE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY OUR ENTERTAINERS…DONT GET ME WRONG..IM FROM NY SO KRS SLICK RICK BIG AND PAC WILL ALWAYS B N MY CD COLLECTION BUT WEN WE GO TO THE CLUB WE DONT WANT TO HEAR DOA…I FEEL LIKE YEAH ITS TAKING AWAY FROM HIP HOP.BUT HIP HOP TAKES ON MANY FORMS AND FOR JAY Z TO SAY THAT AUTOTUNES AND SKINNY JEANS IS NOT EXECRABLE PUSHES OUR CREATIVITY BACK…AND N NO WAY SHOULD OUR RIGHT TO EXPRESS OURSELVES BE LIMITED….P.S. IM 19 BY THE WAY..

Hip Hop will always be hip hop its off spring of course acc**ulates what is necessary to adapt young men have grown up on hip hop now its there way.

hmmm never to old for hiphop

There is a difference between RAP and Hip-hop. The lyrcists are hip hop and yes if they are doing their thing they should always be in the game. I agree thanks for the rakim’s and the jay-z’s and nas and the rest I could go on and on, but now with the younger generation its rap not hip hop, some alright some not but I guess everyone’s trying to get theirs.

Yoooooo… that suit Jay got in is smoooooooth as a bytch!!
So far as older rappers…WE NEED EM, IF THEY STOP MAKIN MUSIC, THE ESSENCE OF HIP HOP WILL BE GONE FOREVER.These new cats arent concerned with bein unique, and their word plat n flows are nonexistant!

THE TRUTH IS AS U AGE U START TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS, DOING DIFFERENT THINGS AND PUTTING VALUES IN DIFFERENT THINGS.THE THING THAT EVERYONE SEEM TO BE FORGETTING IS THAT U CAN NOT GET THE MAJORITY OF THE HIP HOP FANS WHICH ARE CHILDREN, TEENS, AND 20 YEAR OLDS TO THINK, TALK, ACT AND VALUE THINGS LIKE A 40 YEAR OLD. THE SAME WAY MAJORITY OF OUR PARENTS WHEN WE WAS GROWING UP COULDNT GET US TO THINGS ABOUT THINGS THE SAY WAY THEY DID. IT TOOK TIME FOR US TO GROW INTO THAT. HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD PER SE. ITS CHANGING FROM WHAT THE OLDER GENERATION IS USED TO.BECAUSE OF THIS DIFFERENCE IN LIVING “YOUNG” FANS WOULD NOT APPRECIATE “OLD” RAPPERS AS MUCH AS “OLD” FANS DO.DO U ANY OF U EXPECT UR TEENAGE CHILD OR NEPHEW TO SIT UP AND HOLD MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS WITH 40 YEAR OLDS. THEN WHY U EXPECT THEM TO FALL HEAD OVER HEELS OVER “OLD” MUSIC

I’m kinda torn because Im old enough to remember EPMD, Wu Tang, Young LL,Pac and Big etc. but still a couple of years removed from 30, But its funny because I definetly feel old when I play naughty by nature or young snoop in my car. Hip Hop definetly needs its elders…at least until we can find suitable heirs to carry on the tradition. I dont think Hip hop will die because there’s still a need for it. I dont understand what is on the mind of these young dudes…I guess its an immaturity but I dont remember anyone ever disses their elders from the 90′s generation.

The Game is almost 30. I know the nicca older than me and Im 27. Its a shame that niccas will sell their souls just to sell some records…and what man talks about another mans wife..callin her an NBA Groupie…Jay should ether that nicca.

i love hip hop cause of it’s expression hip hop it got power like weapon it’s like whats mighter the pen or the sword or like who’s stronger the devil or the lord the rapping the acting breaking the balling the singing the dancing the real yes yalling the gangsta the thug the hustler the clubs it’s all hip hop that’s why it’s all love. to hip hop i like to give thanks if it wasn’t 4 you no money in the bank no trucks no dubs no money in the clubs if it wasn’t 4 you i be probably sticking up i thank hip hop 4 coming on my block setting up shop and running nunn stop to hbk kkc 107point five and 92point threefor giving me a chance to come threw the doe 4 taking me to places that i never heard before it’s not just the music it’s the life it’s the culture damm it feels good when other folks know you and you hear different style’s from the east and west and the dirty south that what it’s all about coming together hoping it stay and thanking hip hop 4 making another way. your boy EL WON FROM CHICAGO HIT ME UP 01elwon@att.net

In my opinion, old skool will forever crush these so-call hip hop artist. Today’s hip hop is all about 1 hit sing then you dissappear. There is no meaning, no story, just a catch phrase. So for the rappers over 40, please come back. HOLLA!

“The way Hip-Hop is going in twenty years it’ll be acceptable for dudes to rock glitter and baby hair and I really want a 50 year-old T.I. to lay his pimp hand down on the first dude to remake Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss.””

MOTHERF**KIN’ CHURCH!!!!!

well im glad rakim finaly is coming with another cd and it sounds good so far and there is alot of unreleased music on his page also so peeps check it out http://www.myspace.com/rakim

I got no issues with guys who manage to stay relevant over the years to keep doing it ( jay z, LL cool j, ghostface,redman ) its different from those over 40 dudes we haven t heard from in 10 years or so ( CL smooth,dana dne ) trying to get back in. Also they shouldn’t take shots at the younger artist ( ice t v.s souljah boy) cuz it makes them seem like cranky ol farts.

Every rapper mentioned is TO OLD TO STILL BE A JESTER! they get no respect!!

alot of these young rappers feel as if the older guys cant cut it any more so they feel they need to stay away….but I put money on it some of the older cats still got that edge…hip hop is supposed to have new faces u had ur turn im next old man lol

99.999% of these younger cats have no talent whatsoever. Thems the facts. They can’t spit it! That’s why I gravitate to the few who can. I find myself listening to the older stuff because their s**t is less watered down.

Yo, that’s the god on some real conscious stuff, the way things used to be. Unfortunately the youth are more concerned with bling and what I have, when they have very little and are “renting bling” and don’t realize that longevity is the key to survival. Longevity only comes with massaging the minds of your listeners/fans. KRS One, Rakim, Q-tip, and a lot of older rappers have done that and that’s why their music is listened to even when it doesn’t seem relevant to what the fan wants to hear from the MC. I’m an older cat and I can’t even listen to the stuff that the radio has on it. I’d rather listen to WU, Killah Priest, Eric B. and Rakim, and the old school stuff that I can at least bob my head and think with. That’s without saying this mf’s an idiot and has no clue.

I’m with GrownAzzaNukka some of the rappers listed remain to be relevant and year after year are still in demand.

Other rappers mentioned are more in the background producing, making their money and expertise work for them.

As for the remaining rappers that come back every so often trying to make a come back, give it up. You had your time in the spotlight and made your contribution to the hip-hop world, time to pass the baton!

Even though Im only 27. I was been an old school hip fan, from run-dmc to LL Cool J, to ice cube, and luda. Some of the new school guys are ok. But rap need to be allowed to grow up and evole. Peace!

me personally feel like respect is do. cause if it was not for the 40 something crew there would be no hip hop so the young need to respect when its do n im with the writer on this one… Rakim is like the Micheal of hip hop thats real talent as for the rest they paved the way now you youngsters walk it… so bow down to greatness

Most young rappers are terrible and pretty ignorant. Much of the rap music of substance (ie, almost anything other than selling dope, disrespecting women, being in jail, killing people), is done by older rappers. And that is terribly unfortunate. But I do hope that Soulja Boy’s and Lil Wayne’s get their acts together. If not, I hope they just go away.

I rather listen to the older ones, I don’t remember all this crime and sex being throw around the way it is in the rapping. This is why these children are crazy and no more respect for their parents. They are looking up to the rapper and the new music now. They relate to the young rappers. We did not look up to our rappers in our days like this where we disrespect our parents and elders. The old ones need to come back and tell how to act

Hiphop is a dying breed. Most of these young breeds are are one and done with an album. Many of them are disrespectful to the game and to those who came before them. The talent isn’t there anymore…truth be told!

LL cool jay is my man he can rap until he is 100

It’s not really about the age but it’s easy to point to the age factor when an artist doesn’t have it anymore. I bet if Jay-Z dropped a monster hit single or album people won’t be talking about his age.

True those who came before these “youngins” are to be respected for without their input in it all they wouldn’t have the opportunity. A majority of these artists aren’t making new albums. Half the time their just featured in other songs. When you have a talent and you’re still able to contribute by all means put it out there whether you’re young or old. Some can’t do that at all based on their situation.

The way Hip-Hop is going in twenty years rappers gonna wear saggy spandex & greet each other with a tongue kiss while still consider themselves straight.

I KNOW I LOVE SOME JAY-Z…IT DONT MATTER HOW OLD HE GETS…HE STILL THE BEST RAPPER IVE HEARD…F**K THESE RAPPERS TODAY…THEY DONT RAP ABOUT S**T THESE DAYS…I JUST STOP LISTEN TO THIS NEW SCHOOL RAP…ILL TAKE THE OLD SKOOL ANY DAY…OVER THE NEW SKOOL…AND THIS IS COMIN FROM A FEMALE THTS ONLY 27…

all these fools did’nt think they would be at it this late in their lives im sure,but if what they talk about is relevant then it should’nt be a problem.what will they talk about when they truely get old,i told this skank to back that thang up to my wheel chair and wait until i get my teeth out so i could lick her up and down like a filthy clown.yeah rite!!!

This article is on point…much props Jerry

I guess Jerry has a good point. The only compliant I have is that some of the “old timers” are using space that could be used by ” up-and-coming” artist.

I ain’t mad for anyone being addicted to the game but let some other fiends get high.

The on;y 40 year old rapper that I want to hear next is Mystikal. He’s my favorite rapper and I hope that he comes back strong; he will be 40 when he gets out next year.

the point of hip hop is to never grow up. they all wanna be 25 for life. they just miss their daddy’s. the old school rappers need to step off.

I wish people stop trying to put a age cap on rap. Rap is part of Hip Hop and as long as it’s hip hop, it, or you can never be played out, seriously.. Unfortunately for a lot of rappers today, because of people like myself along with a army of rappers out there, we were born into hip hop so we will always be “HIP” to the rap world. Most of the old school rappers like Jay-Z, Kool G Rap, Nas, AZ, Ghostface, Jadakiss, Eminem just to name a few and countless other old school rappers can still duff out these rappers on the mic today! You can’t put age on us because it’s something we live and that makes us automatically, and pardon the old school term “Down By Law” LOL!! I feel that as long as your HOT, age means nothing! Jay-Z is living proof of my theory. In my eyes, he’s probably the Hottest rapper of all time because mostly all these rappers mimic him to a certain degree. I can even hear it in Drake’s delivery! Niggas need to get it right, Hip Hop is what we live, not something we do…..

And one last point one on new school rappers today, I’m tired of hearing new artists or people say that the old school rappers are taking up space!! LOL! How stupid is that? When LL Cool J or Biggie or whoever came out back in the day, they never complained about older rappers before them being there still doing their thing, we respected them and we did our thing! Some rappers clashed like LL Cool j and Kool Moe Dee and whoever was the hotter artist just prevailed that’s all. It’s about how hot you are, that’s all. No-one can control what the people decide to listen to so if you come out and you’re hot, you’re hot and if you’re not, you’re not!! Old school rappers have nothing to do with that!! If that was the case, then Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, Drake, T.I, Young Jeezy or whoever is out today, would’nt even exist or be as as big as they are!! SO, STOP COMPLAINING and let old school do what they do and new school do what they do!! It’s all hip hop and whatever or whoever is hot, that’s what it is…..

If you good you & if you not you not! What does age have to do with it! These up & coming young rappers are not saying nothing & quite frankly, half of them suck and what they are putting out is not at all hip hop!!!

DB Don,

I had to laugh when I read this,

“The way Hip-Hop is going in twenty years rappers gonna wear saggy spandex & greet each other with a tongue kiss while still consider themselves straight.”

If I see one more male with sagging skinny jeans, I am going to scream. They look like they are emos. That look is NOT hot. Heck, I am a woman and I don’t own a pair of skinny jeans. I am thick, so the name doesn’t appeal to me. Give me boot cut jeans any day.

I doubt many in hip hop know what relevance is…it is no substance in hip hop. How many ways can one rap about Bentleys, rims, sex, drinking and drugging. What the glorify is FOOLISHNESS. Oh and not to mention SWAG, is their an artist who isn’t using this word in their raps? NO ORIGINALITY, this is moreso why no one will sell as many albums as Michael Jackson. No one is original, Michael created his own path, one they would not be able to travel had it not been for MJ. Heck, there videos wouldn’t even be played on MTV today if it weren’t for MJ. Now that is “gangster.” Had to do it, sorry.

Here is the question? How old are the record company execs and the owners of the distribution companies? If they are not too old, then let the older rappers get their money.

Such a lack of respect for elders but then many grew up without fathers so why would they respect older rappers. This is why hip hop has been so “successful” for too many the rappers were who the kids looked up to because there were no fathers in the home to look up to.

I am not surprised.

jay-z the rza too short and e40
still killin the game alotta the other niggas r kinda before my time so yeh they needa chill it but rakim killed that “the watcher” but i mean so long as u spittin there’s no age limit.. now too short been in the game 20+ and be on the same real s**t and he sells i grew up on short and i’ll end on him look at uGk them old niggas kill it but it dont matter if the birdman was 18 that nigga never could nor never will be a good rapper he just sux he ruins every song he’s featured on i swear

it really doesnt matter how old you are. if you love what you do, then y stop? old or young, music is music. hip hop(although i love it) is probably the only genre of music where people are complaining about age.

A lot of new school rappers have no lyrical skills to the point where I can rap better than half them dudes!! LOL!! Think about it, what new school rapper you know can rap better than any of the top old school rappers? Long Live The Rappers from the 80′s and 90′s!! These new dudes need to fall back and follow the original tradition of Hip Hop. Once they do, they will last forever like the so-called old school rappers. I know rap will come back around to the way it’s supposed to be so patience is a virtue. “We Got Next”

TO ALL THE YOUNG RAPPERS,”IGNORANCE IS BLISS”

50 cent is a perfect example of hip hop rappers these days he come out hard and destroyed ja rule which gave him a little fame. now he can’t even find a good single to save his life. same thing with these young azz rappers they all doing the same thing one good song then bad mouthing those that pave the way for them, now whats gonna happen when theirs absolutely nothing more to say about those guys. Nas said it best hip hop is dead, soulja boy is perfect example. I mean seriously how long of a career can these new cats have.

What people fail to realize is that times change and people come and go. Its not the younger generations fault that they don’t know about or follow in the footsteps of these legends of rap. Especially if they’re from a different region. Because if you noticed only one “40/40″ rapper mentioned was from the south and only three from the west. Ever heard of Scarface, Mystikal, Willie D., Bushwick Bill, Twista, Ice Cube. But I guess they don’t matter because they’re not from NYC. Its also a big contradiction to say a rapper ain’t s**t because he’s only doing it for money. Two of the greatest rappers ever would always mention that their love for money ruled over anything. “Imma tell you like a nigga told me, cash rule everything around me.” Biggie and Pac loved money more than anything and yall know it. It all boils down to regions. I’m from New Orleans and all these rappers mentioned on this list, I’ve heard of. But, I’m sure whoever wrote this article couldn’t name 5 ol skool rappers from the south. Its also a contradiction for a rapper to say, “Record sales don’t make you a good artist.” When they say the fans are the ones who made them. Well, the fans are buying these records so therefore….. Its all about passing the torch. A long time ago people told rappers like KRS-1 and Kool G. Rap that hip-hop is not real music. Years later we’re saying the same s**t to these younger artist. Ponder on that for a minute……

AGE DON’T MATTER IF YOU LOVE MAKING RECORDS, THAT WHAT COUNTS, AND TO NELLY, HIP HOP IS NOT JUST FORE THE YOUNG PEOPLE, IF YOU WAS ON YOUR GAME, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT SUGARHILL GANG, WAS FAR FROM YOUNG( AS YOU CALL IT) WHEN RAPPERS DELITE CAME OUT, SO CICK DAT S**T TO THE CURB……

Old rappas need to step off? STFU ni99a if it wasn’t for old rappa’s these youngins wouldn’t even have come up wit a concept to deliver poetry over instrumentals. Tha last poets(the originakl rappa’s) came out in the 60′s and they’re still doing spoken word concerts. The art form has no age limit ni99a. U step off clown!

All these dumb a55 ni99az who say old rappa’s need 2 stop need to quit promoting hate. When they old they betta pray to god some one is buying there albums. I’m 29 and I rap and I’m not ever going to quit. F**k these clown a55 youngins ! Rap if your young or old do what u do. What ni99as need to stop doing is dressin like homo’s wearin thight a55 pants and kissin other ni99az. Nas Rakim jay-z method man cool j the pharcyde a tribe called quest (just to name drop a few) are individuals to me that made rap great. F**k whoe ever got something to say bout old rappa’s. All this clownery and player hatin. Get money ni99a ! stop hatin on how some people decide to get they sh*T. 5-inifinite.

Age dont mean nothin wen u makin music. Its jus more younger dudes in da game. Da problem wit hip-hop is there is no dedication n hardwork. Its bout money now. These niggas now days sell a good 100,000 records by luck n think dey doin sumthin plz. We look these old rappers n say dey too old 2 rap besides y we hatin on da old rappers cuz dey doin betta den most of these new rappers will eva dream of. These new rappers have no creativity. All these new rappers talk bout is how much money dey got, how much swag dey got, how dey b in da hood, makin up dances, bittin styles i mean dey sound da same. I wonder how dey get a record deal. If its dat easy den i should get me a record deal. I admit it these young dudes moviate me 2 get in da game cuz dey so weak. I dont even rap dat much but i think i should start rappin. These young dudes aint got no lyrics but dey got dances. Make it worst im young myself but i love music tho n i hate hearin wack ass music. All i got is wen u make a record, dont sound like nobody else jus be yoself n da rest will fall in place

ITS FAIR GAIN 4 EVERYBODY…IF U FEEL U STILL GOT IT DO IT F**K WHAT ANOTHER NI66A THINK ..IF U CAN DO IT BETTER THEN OLD GUYS THEN DO IT..STOP TALKIN..

HIP HOP AS A RAPPER IS NOTHING BUT SAYING YOUR VIEW ON THINGS…YOUR OPINION ….YOUR STYLE….

THE INDUSTRY BE TRING 2 PUSH THAT BULLS**T…THINKIN RAPPERS SHOULD BE YOUNG SO THEY CAN KEEP IT DUMMY ..SO THEY CAN CONTROL IT BETTER..UR YOUNG AND DUMB AND FULL OF C** OK COME ON AND WE WILL SIGN U …LOL…IF UR OLD ..U MIGHT WAKE UP AND TEACH KNOWLEDGE…THEY DONT WANT THAT..AND THE FACT THAT U KNO 2 MUCH….YOUNG GUYS GET IN THERE THINKIN I JUST WANNA BE THE MAN…AND MAKE GANGSTA AND PIMPIN SONGS..ON THE WHOLE ALBUM…LOL

I love hip hop so much that age does not play a factor in my way of thinking of a rapper’s music. I use to rap myself so I can understand why Jay-z and other older dudes still do it. It’s becuz it feels good to do it and to do it good. Besides, why should any of them get out of the game if they still got a fan base. Jay is still going platinum everytime he drop.

HIP HOP IS FOR EVERYBODY…IF YOU LISTEN TO THE MUSIC THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE FOR EVERY ASPECT OF A HUMAN BEING YOU CAN THINK OF…YOU GOT JAY & T.I.FOR THE GROWN UPS…CAT’S LIKE WAYNE & JEEZY FOR THE MID TO LATE 20′S CROWD..SOULJAH BOY FOR THE KIDS AND CAT’S LIKE GUCCI AND JUICE FOR THE ILLITERATE TRAPPERS WHO THINK SELLING DRUGS IS A WAY OUT THE HOOD…IT’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY IN THIS GENRE

It’s real magic going down. myspace.com/djsupersport

Beyond your grasp

I found the age limit of Hip Hop. When I found myself praciting the “Superman” before going out just to join the crowd. Hip Hop has gone “Green”, Samples of music of song that are still in rotations. I understand the dollar but what happend to the talent??? Where are the tours at? I mean that money these artist are throwing around comes from me buying up the recycle music they call a song anyway!

The “older” generation of hip-hop are the ones who create it. How could they ever be irrelevant?

Music is still a young person’s business, record companies promote the younger kids because they tend to sell more albums. I personally love the plus 30+ artist out there doing it because they make music thats real, relevant and thoughtful.

I WISH JAY-Z WOULD SHUT HIS OLD ASS DOWN!!!!! THE NEW SONG HE GOT OUT NOW HE SOUND LIKE AN OLD ASS MAN TALKING BOUT WHY YO CLOTHS SO COLORFUL

F**K JAY Z OPION ON S**T
THAT F****T SOLD ROC-A-WEAR 2 SUM F**KING GERMANS

HES ON THAT OLD MAN S**T!!

SLICK RICK AND E-40 AND ICE CUBE CAN ALL WAYS COME BACK

yo the 18th Letter is the TRUTH!!!

The older generation made Hip Hop. Without them the younger generation wouldn’t have anything to do with their time because Hip Hop would be unknown to them. Most of the younger generation grew up listening to the older rappers. Some of the older rappers can come back and shut these young ones down because their techniques are sharp. Alot of rappers this day and age are sloppy as hell.

The younger generation has all but destroyed Hip Hop. I really dont rotate anything made aftr 1996. Sad but true. I hate to say it, but Hip Hop has aged like its founders. I wouldnt even really calls today’s rap music Hip Hop. More like Hip Not. Sit your little @sses down and see how the grown folks do.

I sit and watch old movies about hip hop like beat street , and then I watch movies like breakin, and see the traditional white man take a so called trend and morph it into his own culture for money.. then he allows us to participate in it after it has been used up, changed and abused. thus rap is an abomination of the true hip hop connection. they called us rappers because we rap to you (talk). But the average listener will not here the moroal of the converwsation only to sensationalize the ignorance and over look the obvious intent. to spread the message to study poetry and join us in this revolution called hip hop and not to take it for granted for it is a blessing and a sign from God. You see rap on television more than anythin these days, but hip hop is not televised. Hip hop makes you smarter and wiser and keeps you alive, it heals and generated knew generations. It is a Culture.. but, Rap makes you a follower. A sell out, commit genocide, voluntarily programs you to give up your rights that we so hard fought to obtain. Rap blocks out the spiritual movement that was birthed in the early sixties and was passed to us 70,s babies. the 80′s babies were in a time of Monolpoly and take over by the media. First censorship was an issue, now sex sells. If you ask me, rappers are idiots, converts.. those who believe in hip hop and promote what it stands for stands for, will be considered as prophets.. so many false prophets I see

Why do people always think sh*t is suppose to just revolve around them??You are young for the moment, hopefully you will get a chance to get some age on ya in the mean time there are things that have been experienced that you didnt get to yet there are lessons that you havent learned yet there are things new that you can teach too but dont think for a bit that its all about you!!!! There are music lovers in every age group and we gravitate to what moves us, dont hate, celebrate!!

what wrong with balance? maybe if eberyone was making money it wouldn/t be an issuse. but as long as the older rappers are making songs they taking away from the younger ones. most paople stick to what they know.

here’s the problem with young rappers, they don’t have careers. rap is like workin at mc donalds to them; make a lil money and be out. it’s different for older rappers because they consider themselves artist, away of expressing themselevs. young rappers ain’t on that, they just want some attention. i mean honestly, why should we even respect them. shouldn’t be called rap. should be called “disco” they careers have the same life span as disco.

I posted this before but I’ll say it again-Hip-hop and Rap are not the same. Hip-hop is about the lyrics and the beat as well. The ol school r the inventers,thanks for the Rakims, the jay-zs and the Nas, pete-rock and others from back in the day. The sound now is Rap basically about anything, But I guess everybody is trying to get paid, more power to them if they can on some of the bulls**t they are making nowadays.

I’m going to say it but i might get peoples feathers ruffled but i feel that the rap game should be for the young cats, perfect example …the average rapper if he is going to be in the game start at 18 and do his thing until about 35yrs of age … bow out gracefully i mean the ole school rappers usually do tours only which is cool, because the new generation is not going to buy arappers record who performed backed in the 80′s unless he is a hardcore fan. I mean ain’t nothing sexy about a 50 or 60 yr ole man holding his johnson talking how bad he is ….real talk The rap game is a youngs man sport these cats who still got he gift of rapping who are over 40 bow out…tour only… you had your day let the young guys get there shine i mean really?

Right off the at, this article states a fallacy: hip-hop is the ONLY genre of music that does two things: marginalizes females rappers, AND got ol’ a$$ dudes still trying to wear the clothes and the attitude of their younger counterparts. Don’t get me wrong; do what you do. The thing is, when a female artist (of any genre) reaches a certain age, she is shelved or discarded, despite her level of talent. Don’t see why it should be different in hip-hop. I just think hip-hop artists belong in the under 40 crowd. The audience on the other hand, is free to enjoy it at any age. I think the time comes when the artist needs to hang up the mic, and maybe go into the production/business end full-time, either in the studio, at the label. They should be working ot unearth new talent with fresh ideas, or it gets stale which hip-hop has been doing lately..Out with the old, in with the new…Hip-hop artists…

and one more thing, why is everything down to making money, are people that stupid that the only thing they can say is “make money”? sound like a prostitute to me. you know what, if money means that much to you should just be a prostitute. they have they have the same mentality. get money by any means.

Now why should the older rappers have to retire, that don’t make any sense. you don’t seen in any other forum of entertainment besides sports they telling the older people to get out. no how many young singers can honestly keep a tune with Whitney or Stephanie MIlls which most of the ppl reading this never heard of. if it weren’t for some of us older ppl, half of the young uns would’nt be able to read. work let alone b making the money they make, dont’4get us older ppl died so the young dumb ones could have a better life. don’t 4get where u come from. only in hip hop and mostly in the ignorant black community this is like this. like allowing a white person to call u n****r. dumb asses, got ppl on tv such as Pat Buchann talking nonesense and we worried about better older rappers getting hated on well i’ll take an older more creative rapper any day than the young ones who go by what was done already.

THIS SITUATION GOES ON IN ALL AREAS.GUY THAT ARE TEENS TO 25 OR SO ARE CONSIDERED “YOUNG” THAT AGE GROUP DON’T HAVE THE SINCE TO RESPECT THE ONES THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR THEM.RAP MUSIC BEGAN 45 YEARS OR SO AGO. THE GUYS THAT ARE LATE 30 TO MID 40 CREATED RAP MUSIC THERE WOULDN’T BE ANY OF THE “WACK ASS” HIP POP RAPPERS OUT IF THE REAL FOUNDATION WAS NOT BUILT FROM THE ORIGINAL RAP ARTIST.

Seventy-five percent of Hip Hop consumers are teenage white boys. Does Hip Hop need to grow up? I don’t know, but rappers tend to act like oversized children in and out of the spotlight. I think it is time for rappers to grow up.

[...] Peep our “Hip-Hop Needs To Grow Up” piece by clicking here! [...]

HIP HOP DEFINITELY NEEDS TO GROW UP!! You should not be talking about the same things you did when you were in your twenties when you are in your thirties. Your supposed to evolve. And that’s what makes it not cool to be a rapper at 35 talking about being a thug and living a street lifestyle. You should be transitioning into a better phase of life. And your style and subject matter needs to reflect that growth. That’s what older emcees need to realize. I don’t want to hear Icecube talking about f**k the police at 35! Rappers need to learn to respect the craft and believe they are artists and not just say it. Jazz artists can do it forever age is not an issue. That’s my two cents….Think jazz baby evolve and grow.

Lets face it!! Hip-Hop, Rap, whatever you wanna call it, was at its best in the 90′s. It didn’t matter the age of the artist it was about the skill level. The guys on this list brought it on a regular basis. And despite their current ages, WE STILL NEED THEM DESPERATELY!!!!

I don’t look at age I look at skill and content.

And to be honest having successful older artist gives younger artist something to aspire too.

After all I can’t see these younger artist content with making Booty Doo music.

The MAJOR difference between hip hop artists today and the 40 Hip Hoppers is I doubt the new generation of rappers will have staying power and relevancy of a rapper such as Jay-Z. On top of the that ol skool rappers songs have staying power…I doubt if anyone will be playing Souljah Boy’s songs 10 years from now….The ONLY current rappers I see who may have staying power song wise 10 years from now is Lil Wayne, T.I., & maybe PLIES..Yet T.I. & Lil Wayne been in the game for quite awhile and have earned their stripes…One of the main reasons the current crop of young rappers will be here-gone-tomorrow is their lyrics…Most either sound the same, say the same similar lyrics, or lying about status, money, and women…That gets old..Yet, 10 years from now I can play a 2PAC, SNOOP DOGG, or a JAY-Z song and it will still be fresh, tight, bangin, or keepin’ it 100…

I’ve been saying this forever! This “young guys” are even half the MCs that the older guys are! So with that said! I just think it’s a hate thing. Jay said it best “I’m a multi-millionaire so how is it that I’m still the hardest nigga here?!”. If these clowns focused more on their craft and not their “swag” then maybe they wouldn’t suck so badly! You can’t move fwd without understanding the past!!!

yo i have a friend that i argue this point with on a regular… im 41 and my take on it is hip hop is a young man’s game… dont get me wrong i love and respect the guys that paved the way but i think at some point in your career you should hang up the mic if you no longer have the swagg to match whats going on and being done… also i feel the older guys should instead of still trying to shine should try and open a door or two to keep the lines of respect and communication open for the next generation instead of trying to steal there shine… for instance there is no reason for LLCOOLJ to still be making records… he has nothing appealing to say and the younger kids who actually buy records as well as listen to them dont and pretty much cant relate to his material… they have even more respect and even longer longeviaty… theres is no reason for most of those guys to not still be active in the game but on another level like making sure the torch is being passed and carried the right way so that the music will last and will withstand the test of time you feel me… if i wasnt for the older guys there wouldnt be rap music… we get that but im trying to figure out how a guy that launched his career in 1985 have anything to say to kids like my 25 year old son that was born on year earlier… I went a step further he told me dad he dont have anything against llcoolj just dont relate his an old man he was came out when u was a teenager lol… they’d rather listen to guys they can relate too sorry thats just the nature of the game!!!!!

Well I dont know what the fuss is about. Hip Hop started with all of these MC’s most of them started out young appealing to the younger crowd. ( Thats how they make profit)Now they are upset cause hip hop has made a turn and its not on THEIR level anymore. Just like these old MC’s ( when they were young) they go by what the youth wants. The youth soaks up everything. BTW
I didnt like that song by Jay_Z called 30 is the new 20. I was like r u serious??? Are we going through a mid life crisis?? Black cards good credit and such?? You supposed to have that s**t in your 30′s even earlier than that if you can!! I honestly think he may be going through a mid life crisis…. his wife is 13+ years younger…lol

http://www.TEACHBLACKHISTORY.com

this hiphop situation is garbage….period

I totally agree that age ain’t nothing but a number. Musicians are musicians.

Just because you turn 30 doesn’t mean you retire to the old age home.

S**t, I’m over 30 and still the hottest thing in the club. I was laughing when the author mentioned BB King’s. I just went and turned that out and most of these brothers can’t even frickin dance.

And the crap coming out now is barely good enough to dance to.

Like I say in one of my “over-30″ raps “the big buckas gettin at it til the chair rolls”

When I can’t wind no more I’ll stay home.

They just don’t make real Hip-Hop music like they use to, and it’s sad (for real).

I agree, the quality of music as a whole has plummeted. I still say 90′s Rap/R&B were at an all time high. I feel like since the 90′s music has really been dumbed down. Like soulja boys turn my swag on???? lol he pretty much mumbles through the entire song. Artists now adays make music to make money not because they are a passionate about what they do.

It was Soooo refreshing ta read this article.. If Jay z put out Good music til he was 50 I’d buy it, Good Music is Good music, and there’s not really any new artist putting that out.. Though there are artist that should be getting more play, LUPE is THE FUTURE… I’m really hoping Jay z rips the Game just ta prove a message, respect ya elders, and Legends..

ay good music is good music , wether you are 12 , or a 40 year old , hip hop lives

age aint nothing but a number, if u 40 and can still rap go head we want to hear your hits!!

[...] Hip-Hop Needs To Grow Up TAGS: blueprint 3, Jay-Z, pharoh martin [...]

I’ve been in this industry since ’92 and I’m 23 now……I read most of these comments and 97% of these people couldn’t tell me what Hip Hop is so let me explain it 2 u….Hip Hop is a culture consisting of these elements…..rap whic is the music of hip hop…..dj’ing,….graffiti the art of hip hop and break dancing the moves of the streets….hip hop and rap isn’t the same thing….rap is apart of hip hop “Hip” is the knowledge of the streets and “Hop” is the movement of the streets….so with that being said….99% of these youngins couldn’t even explain what they were doing and what hip hip really is and a huge problem with that is….no appreciation of the streets, no sense of history, no respect of the history and not actually being 4rm the streets….these kids don’t grow up up hard, have hard lives and don’t actually grow up in the projects on run down hoods that myself and the artist have come from and you could hear the pain, hurt and struggle from our elder statesmen….in these youngins voices, you can tell they had it good and these youngins project a lifestyle that makes it seem glamourous for the other kids out there that can relate or can’t actually live that life but wants 2….we grew up on Rakim, Pac, Bone Thugs, Run DMC, Kool Moe Dee, Slick Rick, Dana Dane, Heltah Skeltah and the Boot Camp Clik and countless other Emcees who were creative, lyrically enclined and pretty much musically outta this world and these youngins aren’t old enough or appreciate them enough 2 study the history and grow as an artist…need I remind you that Nas was 15 when he dropped Illmatic….he was young but why was he so lyrical and why did he have such adult subject matter and wisdom at such a young age….because he knew where he had come from, had skill, experience and history of his craft….age can have somewhat of an effect but skill, experience and wisdom tells the real story…..respect the old heads who came before you and please youngins……be better artists and not puppets because 99% of Hip Flop music sucks….Bone Thugs, Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone (KRS-One), Rakim, Nas, Slick Rick and etc. will forever be remembered, Lil Wayne, Plies, T.I., Jeezy and etc. won’t even be remembered in 10yrs….so enjoy your fame and money….you won’t have it long…..Now ima spit something…..F**k a youngin/ stuntin and frontin like they hard body/ fill you up with shotgun shells and leave you hard body/ don’t try me/ you’ll be layin in I.C. with an I.V./ cryin right before your heart stops and you D.I.E./B***h Bastards/ this is ThugLine/ Eternal Thugz 4eva/ u better show respect/ or you can easily catch this sliver beretta/im fed up with da bubble gum and da lollipop raps/ I drop deadly bars that make your mouth snap like dat dude 4rm Saw/ I set traps and make you sqiemish/ fiendishly plottin and plannin to erase you 4rm da planet/ with your auto tunes and skinny jeans/ I’ll obliterate your team/ if u ever disrespect me I’ll add 7 to the .350/ you can add that up and you can watch it go buck!/ if u youngins don’t wanna die/ u need to step your game the f**k up/

One thing I can say is that all these emcees listed can definitely rap circles around the younguns that are out now. I think the problem is a lot of the older rappers with power arent co-signing the young rappers that can actually rhyme and has the potential to pass the torch to that next new talented artist… but instead chose to rock with a mediocre young rap artist with only an image and can’t even spit a bar. This results in an influx of numerous non talented young artist that thinks “wackness” is the new “dopeness” which in turn assumes they are more talented then their elder lyrical greats. A lot of these young artist don’t respect the craft which is rhyme skills, wordplay and flow.

I’ve said this on many previous postings and will continue to say it. People need to STOP feeling apologetic or ashamed of their age, what race they are, what they look like… ESPECIALLY those in the Entertainment industry. I know it’s society that provokes a lot of that pressure… but truth be told, WE ALL are going to grow old some day, at least those blessed to outlive their youth days of youth. EVERYBODY gets old INCLUDING these little snotty nose MC’s talking this smack and disrespecting their elder MC’s. No one stays one age forever… And like the other posters said, if you got good music to offer, just do the damn thing. Do it in spite of the discouragement and heckling. When you get a little older in the game like Jay Z, LL, or whatever, chances are you might have to work a little harder to make your voice heard while reaffirming the talent that made you hot back in the day. That same talent that has you still going strong.

And these dudes aren’t “old”. So what they’re in their late 30′s, early or mid 40′s… Why is it that when the artist is alive these ages are “old”, but when the artist passes, these ages are considered young?

Celebrity or common everyday folk, just be grateful for who you are, be your best at what you do and apologize for NOTHING! As you can see, it’s the confidence these rappers have that keeps them around for as long as they have been. And this don’t go for only the male hip hop artists, but for the female ones too, like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and etc.

Yes, Hip Hop DOES need to “grow up”… and the rappers who made Hip Hop what it is today from the late 70′s to now should be allowed to “grow up” too.

shyt ill listen to jay z until hes 50 b4 i give rappers like gucci mane plies or soulja boy any play. lmao.. leave hip hop 2 the the veterans lil young niggaz!

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR THIS ARTICLE! IT NEEDED TO BE SAID. WHAT IDIOT DOESN’T WANT LONGEVITY? WHO THE HELL WANTS THE SHORTEST CAREER POSSIBLE? WHEN DID IT BECOME COOL TOO FADE FAST? AS A FEMALE IT’S EVEN WORSE. WOMAN ARE CONSIDERED OLD BEFORE MEN. SO WHEN SHOULD THEY DROP OUT OF THE GAME? 25???!!! IT’S RIDICULOUS TOO THE POINT THAT MANY OF MY FRIENDS STOPPED LISTENING TO RAP IN OUR LATE 20′S!!! ARE WE OLD????!!! MANY OF US ARE FALLING BACK TO R&B AND THE OLD SCHOOL RAPPERS THAT WE ADORED. LIL WAYNES OF THE WORLD NEED TO WISE UP BECAUSE YOUR FANS WILL EVENTUALLY OUTGROW U AND U WONT BE ABLE TO SELL AN ALBUM AT A YARD SALE. THE MAJORITY OF TOP RAPPERS OUT NOW ARE GAAAAARBAGE COMPARED TO WHAT I GREW UP LISTENING TOO. WHY ARE WE SOOO SELF DESTRUCTIVE? BLACK CULTURE TEACHES RESPECT FOR YOUR ELDERS. WE ARE LOOSING OUR WAY, AND IT SHOWS IN THE MUSIC. MICHEAL JACKSON’S DEATH HIGHLIGHTED THIS WHEN A HIP-HOP JUNKIE FRIEND OF MINE STATED “WHEN’S THE LAST TIME MICHEAL JACKSON HAD A SONG OUT?” WTF!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS??? I SAID “HE IS A LEGEND, WHO CARES ABOUT THAT? HE WAS, STILL, AND WILL ALWAYS BE A RELEVANT ARTIST WHO HAPPENED TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST INFLUENCES ON HIP-HOP!!!!” YUNG ONES BEWARE…(WHICH FEELS SILLY BECAUSE I’M ONLY 31!!!!) BUT TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN.

Wow…. Fantastic article and a lot of great comments that have followed…. I am strictly oldskool but still have time for the new stuff!!! But it is not just Hip Hop that is affected by the new generation of dis and dismiss… this is being felt accross the board and in all walks of life it is just a reflection of how selfish people have become!!!! We talk about how much money has gone into war in Afghanistan (check DA TRIBE NO WAR) war makes alot of the same selfish people rich when it could have stamped out poverty in the US… Back in the day it was just a dream to actually have all the riches you would try to portray in the low budget MTV videos but now thats all changed!!! Rather than seeing them livin large I wanna see the give back I dont want to hear about the bentley you drive but rather the same amount you gave to a local charity…. I don’t know if you got secret millionaire in the US but in the UK the show is poppin’ and gives people who don’t know a stark reality of what things are really like and these millionaires go in undercover and help out in these communities and touch soo many people with reletively small amounts… I want to see Hip Hop be less about the bling flaunting the blood diamonds… I want to see this money back in the communities… C’mon People!!! The system is already cold… it is down to people to make things better…. I come from an era when Chuck D and everyone else were sportin’ African badges necklaces and even then I wanted to see them producing good givebacks with their record sales but now I more than ever before we need people to be more humble… more giving and show respect for those who came before them!……..

THE REASON Y YOUNG BLEEDS IS HATIN SO HARD ON THE OLE SKOOL IS BECUZ THEY KNO GOOD N WELL THEY COULD NEVA NEVA EVA… SPITT LIKE THEM DUDES R THE CHICS FROM BAK N THE DAY… THEY KAN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT R EVEN GET ON THEY LEVEL… BAK N THE DAY ARTIST TOLD REAL STORIES, N HAD BLACK PRIDE N RAPPED ABOUT HARD KNOCKS N GAVE U LESSONS…. NOW WAT KAN I LEARN HOW TO DO AGAIN IF I GO PIK SUMTHN UP ?? LET’S SEE UMM . HOW TO DO THE SUPERMAN.. THA HO, AND SHAKE MY LAFFY TAFFY.. LEARN ABOUT DOPE MEASUREMENTS,, ALL WHITE BRICKS..LOL , GET HIGH, N HAVE SEX WIT ERY N ANYBODY….O N THEY LIKE IT RAW THESE DAYS… THEY DON’T GIVA FKK.. O N LAST BUT NOT LEAST.. HOW BLCK WOMEN ARE HO’S N B***HS.. N GOLD DIGGERS.. BUT NOT THE WHITE CHICS THO.. THEY GODDESSES N PRIZES.. FA EXAMPLE MY FRIEND KANYE… LOL WHOA IS ME…WHOA IS ME.. DUDE KAN GET A GORGERIFFIC WOMAN… BLACK, LATIN, WATEVA.. BUT U CHOOSE A GOIN BALD STRIPPER, PORN STAR.. THAT FLIRT, FREAK N FKK ERYBODY N YA FACE… N HE CHERISHES THE GROUND SHE WALKS ON….BUT STEP ON THE BLAK WOMAN THAT WAS THERE FOR HIM B4 HE WAS WHO HE IS NOW.. WOW.. THANKS BLACK AMERICA FOR GLORIFYING EVERY OTHA RACE BUT UR OWN….. WHEN YA’LL GONE B PROUD OF WAT YA’LL R N NOT ASHAMED. YA MOMS IS PROLLY BLACK, YA SISTERS R, N NO MATTER WAT U LOOK LIKE I KNO YA GRANDMOMS IS TOO SO WAT….. THAS HOW U FEEL BOUT THE WOMEN THAT RAISED U?????

AGE IS A NUMBA…BUT DO U HAVE SOMETHING GOOD 2 SAY IS THE QUESTION

First of all i’m 39, about to be 40 in 4 months, and i can say this:hip-hop is the music that most people in their late 30′s and early 40′s were brought up on! Hip-hop started around the late 70′s-early 80′s, so that means that if an artist who happened to have started his career in that time frame happens to be 40 then no he is not too old!(duh)! think people! hip hop music hasn’t even been around for 40 years yet so how can a 40 year old be too old? Run-DMC are only in their mid 40′s and they stopped rappin in the 90′s,but because they started when hip-hop began is why they ain’t rappin anymore, but Jay-z, and Busta, and all them didn’t start til their mid to late 20′s that’s why they still in the game!

Look it has nothing to do with age for true hip hop fans. All thats important is the messege thats getting across to the viewers that want to hear it

daaaaaaaamn… them niggaz older then Hip Hop LMAO….

http://www.HipHopAvenue.net

HUMM IMA SAY ONE THING…. Y R ALLLLLL THE OLDER RAPPERS BETTA THAN ALL THE NEW ONES PUT TOGETHA.. AS FAR AS RHYMING AND REASONING.. SUM YOUNG DUDES GOT SUM FLOW,,, BUT NOT TO MAN I CAN COUNT THEM ON ONE HAND.. NOW THERE ARE ALOTTA UNDISCOVERED TALENTED INDIVIDUALS. BUT YALL TO BUSY ON THE JUICE MAN, GUCCI MAN, N LIL WAYYYNNEE…Y IS JAY-Z OLDER N HIS MUSIC IS ALWAYZ HOTTER THAN ALL THESE NEW PEOPLE.. NAS,,,?? Y IS NAS OLDER AND ALL HIS MUSIC IS HOTTER THAN THE OLD PEOPLE.. FIEND,, FROM NO LIMIT RECORDS,, HELLA TALENTED,,,,,, JADAKISS N D BLOCK, 8-BALL & MJG, OLDER, HELLA TALENTED.. SNOOP, UGK, SCARFACE, MYSTICAL, OUTKAST,COMMON,BIG MIKE, JUST A FEW….. N IM SURE I FORGOT ALOT OF EM.. ALL OLDER N HELLLLAAAA TALENTED…. AND I DARE SUMONE TO CHALLENGE ME BOUT STATEMENTS…..IM NOT TRYNA B FUNNI ACTN… BUT ITS JUST REAL N THAS ALL I KAN SAY……

first of all, im 35, and i aint old(at least not till richard stop workin 4 me). tha reason why these nu catz suck so hard iz cuz they seem to hav forgoten who tha hell gave then their game in tha first place. hip hop is the only genre i kno where itz wrong to accnoledge the pioneers. why is that? anything that these nu catz r “rappin”(in quotes, cuz they really 2 buzy trynna make up stupid ass dances) makes no sense to me. i’ve been listenin to hip hop since my pops bought tha sugar hill gang way back when. hell, most of these cats might get beat in a battle by rappin duke!!!!!!!!!!(check ur history yungin). oh wait, they dont battle no mo, not good 4 business. if it aint bout how to get ur car painted, or haviin plenty money, it aint sellin 4 these cats. no one uses their heads any more to say somethin worthwhile. what happened to the storyteller?

i miss the days when hiphop had vitamins n minerals n not just alot of sugar and fluff…..

if dudes wanna be gangsta-rappers, rap about how it feels being paranoid about gettin stuck up or the police watchin you all the time….rap bout how bad it hurt gettin shot, rap bout how being locked up affects you and ya family, dont just do the make-believe nino brown n scarface s**t…..

hell rap about FATHERHOOD….

its a bunch of topics that people aint even touching on, and I KNOW IT NOT because brothers aint creative, but we needa step outside the box…..UPGRADE !!!

80s and early 90s rap still had SOUL in it….now its just a 1/2 dead frankenstein gettin pimped by Dracula ya digggggg

I personally dont care if your 22 or 52 if you got something positive and uplifting to say than I will be your album. Everything I am hearing on the radio is garbage…hot beats but lyrical garbage. Rap now is all about materialism and ignorance. I got a little excited with Lupe Fiasco and Kanye…but then Kanye started getting too WIERD for my taste. So I keep my money in my pocket as I refuse to endorse the dumb s**t I am hearing. KRS 1, Rahkim, MC Lyte, Kool G Rap, Chuck D, Chubb Rock….Real HIP HOP, HIP HOP, HIP, HOP

I’m 24 and I feel like the music I grew up listening to is better than the music im supposed to be clubbin to. I feel old now bcus skinny jeans are gay and niggas cant rap. I know real gangstas and aint none of them wearin skinny jeans or rappin, they in jail and aint gettin out.

Hell nowadays music is so bad that my 14 year old granddaughter has resulted to listening to the music from the 70s and 80s. You know what that mean.

the only thing these new cats can do is ryme a few words together and make up a dance wit it…and who goes crazy over it, kidz born after 1990, very large generation. and joe budden hasnt achieved, and never will, a quarter of what melly mel or meth has accomplished. he only holds 1 single hit and that was back in 2003, mixtape work is not even helpin him!

A lot of rappers of today can’t rap that’s why after one album you don’t hear from them again.joe buddens is done meth sounds better than he has years on blackout2.

Hiphop needs the older rappers like jadakiss’nas,jayz and others because they don’t use wack autotune boring,they the only ones besides fabolous who is young and can flow and it makes sense lil wayne don’t he only talkes about 4play wit women that’s not hip hop.

These young artists confuse the hell out of me. I find their music distasteful, and full of immaturity. The crazy thing is that a lot of these rappers are getting uglier by the decade, yet girls are passin out listening to them spit rhymes! I find myself stuck in time on what music I listen to, because I can’t hardly listen to anything that was put out past the year 2000. Either the artists now days have gotten dumber, or the music is just getting worse as time passes. I think it’s both scenarios!

Hip Hop has been around for a long time. I am 56 years old and into it, hip hop emerged in my era, I loved Curtis Blow, LL Cool J and all the rest. But, the newer artist are so self obsorbed into what they got and how many ho’s they lay and so on and so on.

Where is the message in the music where is the love, peace and respect. Hip hop changed a lot some for the best and some for the worst and yes hip hop needs to grow up and cut out all that tripping, dis-respecting each other and women and grow up because time is not going to stand still for them hip-hoppers do grow old.

I remember when rappers in tha game was talkin and livin that real street sh!t that tha Hustlas on tha block could nod their heads to. Im talkin bout that sh!t you listen to while you choppin and baggin. Now you got these clowns commin out wit anything, and tha sad part is that the radio got tha garbage in heavy rotation. Hip Hop used ta be tha voice 4 thorough street niggas but now all I hear are a bunch of clown ass suckas doin funny dances.

[...] now that, thanks to Jerry Barrow and the good folks over at The Urban Daily, it can no longer be denied that poor Wayne is spiraling [...]

[...] a firm stance on a topic I like to hear what others think. A few weeks ago I wrote an essay about why hip-hop needs to grow up, essentially defending the 40-year-old rappers right to exist. However, when I had to chance to sit [...]

The J-Z Effect

The O effect is true and real…creates lackluster or zeal
But the J-Z version…has gangster appeal…straight ill…fated
Big it up or degrade it…like Oprah…Jay is, loved and hated
We might not like it…but the truth needs to be stated
Influenced by the greatest…rapper alive
As Forbes describes…a pen-less scribe
Spittin’ history…with brevity…lyrically…fine tuned
Don’t hate cause he manually lowered the boom
Had a moment of silence
That filled the room with doom…gloom…celebrity close ups and zooms
Yeah, the industry was sick to death
When the Hovah…laid auto tune to rest
It was dead on his arrival
When the master…flipped his audible bible…on
And blessed the track…only Mike coulda followed that act
And we know he ain’t coming back
But his legacy is in tact…can we say that about hip-hop and rap
I’m over this 40 years in the wildness crap
I hear a voice clearly calling his people back…from assisted suicide
That’s what happens when Dr. Carter and Kevorkian collide
It was a sacrificial kill…the Lord’s, will
To leave nothing and nobody behind
But pure and unadulterated rhyme
Free from the pain
Like a savior, he rescued hip-hop from the crying game
Rappers ain’t suppose to sang…the art form was being defamed
I ain’t Jay…so I won’t be pulling no cards and calling no names
I’m gonna pull my skirt down and advise you to pull your pants up
Is time for hip-hop to grow up!

I’m a Hip-hop grown-up,
Mommy Dearest

[...] OPINION: Hip-Hop Needs To Grow Up [...]