As a relatively young genre, hip hop’s elder statesmen (and women) are relatively young themselves; certainly young enough to not compromise their creativity or the extent to which they remain prolific. Yet in contrast to other genres, they are resigned to no longer being deemed relevant by the most recent generation of hip hop fans and generally celebrated in a historic rather than current context.
The Rolling Stones, U2 and Madonna are just a few artists from rock and pop that continue to be as relevant as they are creative and credible. They sell out world tours and consistently find themselves in the Forbes and Sunday Times rich lists for musicians. Yet within mainstream hip hop, and specifically with regard to rappers, an artist’s relevance often appears to dwindle with age.
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Hip hop has long been associated with youth culture. From an accessible form of expression to the parties where hip hop was birthed by DJ Kool Herc, hip hop and youth culture have often been considered inextricable. Yet as the musical genre gets older, so do its fans. Nonetheless, hip hop within the mainstream refuses to relinquish its youthful demeanour and rappers have largely followed suit.
Given the mainstream success of hip hop, it would be assumed that this would equate longevity in the careers of artists from within the genre. Yet rappers appear to experience a shelf life that commonly correlates with their age. Fans and the expectations within the scene itself appear to dictate this. Furthermore, many rappers themselves contribute to this oddity by often remaining in denial about their age via their image, persona and lyrical content.
If art imitates life, hip hop in the mainstream can often be considered an exception to the rule. From the video girls to the suggested opulent lifestyles depicted in lyrics and numerous music videos, many mainstream rappers are portraying an image that in many cases is a nothing more than an audio and on-screen persona. Similarly, the lyrics and image of a rapper in his or her 30s depicting the lifestyle and espousing the attitude and perspective of someone in their teens, presents just as much of a fallacy. In their refusal to reflect their maturity in their music and accompanying image, rappers are just as guilty in this charade.
Understandably, rappers seek to remain relevant and that can mean adapting for newer and younger audiences. Nonetheless, in alienating existing and mature fans and risking a lack of relevance with potential younger fans, it’s a high risk strategy if that reinvention goes too far and isn’t deemed organic.
There are notable exceptions of rappers within the mainstream who have managed to retain credibility while straddling mainstream relevance with mature sensibilities. Beyond his lyrical prowess, Jay-Z’s success into his early 40s has arguably been contributed to by the organic reflection of his own maturity in his content and image. Jay-Z was also one of the first artists to usher in a more mature sartorial style than had previously been seen in hip hop, boldly pronouncing “I don’t wear jerseys I’m 30 plus” on ‘What More Can I Say’ from The Black Album. Similarly, and of the same era, Nas has also achieved a similar success and longevity in remaining both credible and relevant without pandering to mainstream desires for what could be considered formulaic and superficial music.
Fans of hip hop have also been at fault. Compared to other genres, fans of mainstream hip hop are notoriously fickle. Where artists of other genres can experience a significant hiatus between projects, sometimes waiting several years between albums while their fans patiently await new music, few rappers are afforded that luxury within the mainstream. The biggest hip hop artist of the day can sell millions of albums and be a household name. But wait too long to release their subsequent project and many of those fans will cease to be interested. The need to remain relevant with the latest sound or fad therefore becomes even more pressing. While an artist like Dr Dre can wait over a decade between projects without any apparent loss of interest, not to mention being one of the older figures in mainstream hip hop, he remains one of very few artists that can achieve this due to his iconic status. Furthermore, it could be argued that his relevance is attained via his primary role as a producer.
Outside of the mainstream, many hip hop fans remain less capricious. Many so-called ‘old-school’ rappers, who rather than compromise their content and artistic integrity by youthfully reinventing themselves, have indeed experienced success outside of the mainstream. While they may no longer be visible in the pop charts, they can be assured of performing shows across the world and a fan base that celebrates their contribution to the culture.
Unlike other genres, younger hip hop fans appear less interested in artists of yesteryear. Rather than denoting classic music by artists of legendary status, the label ‘old school’ has become synonymous with irrelevance for many younger fans in the mainstream. It is therefore little wonder that so many rappers resist a mature persona in their quest to stay relevant to younger audiences.
Hip hop is still a relatively young genre. Yet it needs to evolve and mature with its fans while continuing to cater for new, younger audiences. Like other genres, there is no reason why hip hop cannot offer something for everyone within the mainstream rather than deciding rappers lose their relevance once they reach an age wrongly deemed too old to be credible. More established and older artists need not reject their maturity or comprise their integrity to remain relevant; artists such as Jay-Z and Nas have shown that credibility and relevance to a broad audience of all ages and within the mainstream isn’t exclusive to younger artists.
Just as hip hop culture should embrace its maturity, so should rappers and their fans. Moreover, if artists of other genres can continue to be relevant as they and their audiences mature, there is no reason hip hop should be any different.