Hip Hop Is Finally A Country For Old Men
At 44 Years Old The Genre’s OGs Continue To Thrive
In the music business, a lot of it is about youth. All of the artists who have moments and go on to be legends started reasonably young. If they’re lucky, they end up becoming legacy acts. Every genre of music has its legacy acts: Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, The Police, Elton John, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Sade, etc. And Hip Hop, which was said to be a fad when it debuted, has stood the test of time. Compared to other genres, Hip Hop is the youngest. And the young genre used to be a young man’s game, but as of today, Hip Hop is a country for old men.
Nowadays, the most relevant artists that have had a hold on Hip Hop culture are not in their 20s. Sure famous young artists dominate the radio and charts. But the rappers in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are the top dogs. It didn’t use to be like this. Rap was always said to be a young man’s game.
Part of the reason is that Hip Hop was formed in 1973 by DJ Kool Herc. When The Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979, Hip Hop was introduced to a mainstream audience. By the 1980s, we had Run DMC, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, NWA, and many others contributing to the genre.
When I was growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, rappers like Jay-Z, Nas…
