As the celebs of hip-hop's golden age approach their golden years, some are faced with the query of whether old blood could make latest music

It's all the time awkward telling people what I do for a living. I'm a rapper. I also work as a professor of hip-hop.

I work on the interface between artistic creation and academic research. I write music as part of a bigger effort Challenge outdated ideas about learning, teaching and expertise.

But I assume that the awkwardness in talking about work is said to stereotypes of hip-hop culture. Among manyOne of those assumptions is that hip-hop is simply made for and by young people.

It's no surprise that ageism exists in and around hip-hop culture; within the USA, Ageism is in every single place. But I’d argue that ageism is especially pronounced in hip-hop because the primary generation of rappers are only reaching their golden years.

New rap categories

In August 2024, music producer ninth Wonder proposed a brand new “Adult Contemporary” category for rap music. A month earlier, Common, 52, and producer Pete Rock, 54, released “The Auditorium, Vol. 1.”

In response to ninth Wonder, the legendary hip-hop artist Q-Tip warned on the social platform X that hip-hop fans is perhaps turned off by a category with “adult” within the name. He suggested “traditional hip-hop” as an alternative, arguing that the music should all be released in “one pot” in order that it doesn't turn off younger listeners.

Whether it's adult contemporary or traditional hip-hop, several hip-hop legends have recently released latest music that would fit into this category. In July 2024, legendary lyricist Rakim, who’s 56 years old, posted, “GOD'S NETWORK (REB7RTH)“, his first album in 15 years. Two months later, 54-year-old MC Lyte released “1 of 1“, her ninth studio album, and 56-year-old LL Cool J released “The power“, his 14th studio album and his first in 11 years.

Growing pains

Since hip-hop emerged as a cultural force greater than 50 years ago, rap has continued to be classified as music by and for young people.

And it's true that within the early days of hip-hop, teenagers were on the forefront of the young movement.

A 1973 Back to highschool party Organized by a 15-year-old girl from the Bronx named Cindy Campbell, it is usually considered the birth of hip-hop. Grand Wizard Theodore was just 12 years old when he invented scratching records in 1977. The hip-hop careers of artists reminiscent of Roxanne Shanté, Run-DMC and Ice Cube all began of their teens.

Being closely intertwined with the perception of youth culture is just not necessarily a superb thing. It can force critics to take the music and its performers less seriously.

Regardless of their age, rappers could be dismissed or treated as childish or immature.

Let's call it growing pains: Unlike classical or country music, 50 years is a small blip in music history. And for essentially the most part, critics viewed hip-hop as a passing fad. At the time it was considered an emerging subculture.

It's only one Category on the Grammys since 1989and only recently has it been recognized as a business and cultural force with global reach.

These days, equating hip-hop with youth culture limits it to an area it has long since outgrown.

Imposter syndrome is on the rise

Still, as some rappers grow old, they could change into uncomfortable participating in a form that could be so easily dismissed.

In 2015, filmmaker Paul Iannacchino Jr. released a documentary“Adult Rappers,” about working-class rap artists.

All of the people interviewed for the film rap professionally, but should not famous. They are mostly men. Most of them admit that they avoid the query of what they do for a living. One unshakable realization is embarrassment at her age.

Even famous rappers should not proof against this sense. Before his Switch to instrumental flute musicAndré 3000, considered one of the best rappers of all time, complained about becoming the old rapper who still makes music past his prime.

“I remember when I was about 25, I said, 'I don't want to be a 40-year-old rapper'” he told the New York Times in 2014. “I’m 39 now and I still stand by it. I’m such a fan that I don’t want to infiltrate it with old blood.”

André 3000 has been a gifted poet for a long time and stays so. If he thinks like that, I can imagine that many other artists of a certain age feel like they now not belong to the culture.

Or the culture now not belongs to them.

Forever young?

Despite the undeniable fact that the audience has aged with the artists, it will possibly still feel like there’s pressure to remain connected to youth culture in order that they don't make music that does that Quote from André 3000 from more moderen timesIt lacks “fresh ingredients”.

This could encourage some aging artists to try to take care of a youthful glow that resonates with young audiences. Think of it as a popular culture version of Oscar Wilde's novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

In the novel, a person sells his soul for the youth. Instead of aging physically, a painting of him as an alternative ages and takes on the physical signs of his transgressions and joys.

It's still easy to assume hip-hop in a framework that bears all of the hallmarks of youthful desires, insurrection and sins: youthful vitality, sparkling beauty and powerful hedonism.

The expectations lead the audience to imagine that each one artists have similar youthful goals and concerns. You also can get artists to perform as in the event that they were young and write in regards to the concerns that they had growing up, no matter their respective ages. Those hip-hop artists who can't or won't pretend to be “forever young” are expected to “evolve” into moguls, actors, podcasters, or reality TV personalities.

Of course, these assumptions ultimately only limit the chances of artists of all ages.

Rappers, regardless of what level of fame you observe them at, famous or not famous, proceed to create while bearing in mind the inevitability of age. Nas, whose debut album “Illmatic“was released in 1994 and had a stellar run of albums within the 2020s.

Jay-Z's “4:44“showcased the rapper's changing sensibilities that appear to have evolved with age.

North Carolina duo Little Brother's entire catalog demonstrates an awareness of the absurdity of eschewing maturity – and that's something I particularly want to focus on on their 2019 album: “May the Lord watch.”

Even aspiring rappers prefer it Conway the machine And Seventy-eight years old seem capable of juggle aspiring careers without giving in to youth-obsessed pretenses.

Creating latest, cleverly named music categories to bypass aging prejudices is unlikely to unravel the issue. In hip-hop, as in so many American industries, ageism is just not going away.

For this reason, my dedication to being an adult rapper will likely proceed to make for awkward introductions.

But I’d somewhat have this conversation than pretend to be someone I'm not.