Age as a factor - Should rappers in their late 40s still be taken seriously?

  • Thread starter Thread starter WatchWhatHappens1204
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You can make it if you try.....Escape from The Middle Class... Coming Soon....
 
Everybody on here has tried... some harder than others but a lot have tried.

Bow Wow's Dad used to rap... he taught Bow Wow how to rap... he got real with himself...
 
biggrome said:
Well, if you look at it from that standpoint... 29 is young.

It just seems that now-a-days people want the ARTIST to be young. I don't think age matters as much in any of the the music biz related jobs.

It's looking like producers are going to have to be younger because people will see them as being able to stay in touch longer with a young crowd. I only say that from a "getting signed" perspective. Most producers are "work for hire" types and your music stands on it's own one song at a time. You can make 10 flops and stumble upon a banger or you can make consistent bangers and sell 'em all individually.

As the internet progresses though, A 40 year old emcee may be able to find his market on his own... he just can't try to cater to the Soulja Boy crowd... so since he's not on a label, he's not at the mercy of the Soulja Boy crowd. He might have to cater to the women on lipstickalley.com or something... basically, track down hubs for people that can relate to him and his music.

Ehh... let him rap but just don't expect to steal J. Cole, Drake and Curren$y fans...
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Rome you been killing it all the way thru. This is currently similar to the path I'm on. On the real tip, I work unofficially as a duo with one o my boys from birth (blood-related), and lyrically we both kill it, but rapping hasn't even been a strong passion to us since we were both teenagers (hmmm, wonder why, and go figure)... right now, trying to break into the business side of music, the both of us are starting to only see rapping, recording and performing songs as a marketing ploy (hint #2), something to break ice, draw attention, and expand the network locally... it's good to be creative, but there's a grey area between business and sales and everything similar where even rapping and performing feel like you're selling a part of your soul... if you've ever worked in retail, you understand the feeling I'm talking about...

... Where it's starts becoming less "this is me", and more "I'm doing this because ____".

One thing that's funny is that I have to continually push aside the Soulja Boys, Drakes, Nickis, Wizzes, Curren$ies, etc. and think more about the guys like Wayne, that grew up into it and only really started blowing up in the last several years, West, that made a killing off of production even before breaking into rap, the 90s guys that all started in their mid-late 20s, guys like Clipse, etc., that pushed age aside themselves and had that work ethic for music... plus a business mind for it that never hurt their careers.
 
WatchWhatHappens1204 said:
I'm gettin the feeling that Seattle is a whole different world lol... starting to seem like ALMOST everyplace east of California is the same thing...

To add, that might have been the most refreshing thing I've heard about a club in the last 5 years, lmao...

Sad that I'm only 27 and I look at my own kind like ugh sometimes... even sadder watching kids grow up today, my 10 year old nephew complains about reading... actually he whines about having to do anything other than play video games...

But coming back full circle, guess when it comes to it, that's what the kids wanna hear, or DON'T wanna see... but to be fair, I think dude needed alotta work with his flow and delivery... about the only thing he had going for him was his passion and the fact that somehow he's holding boards, studio equipment, programs, speakers, etc., and some hella stories... but my family and some peoples in NY, I might as well check him out next time I see moms or somethin.
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I was 27 4 years ago working with 10 year old kids in Cali...my impression is different. I asked one girl who was the greatest MC of all time...she thought about it and said Tupac (she was born in 1998). Another once asked if I knew Kurtis Blow and I said I met him once. Another was obsessed with the year 1992. I also had to supervise the boys changing while swimmimg and it was like a party. I remember when I was their age and every kid showered in their swim trunks even at overnight camp.

Kids are gonna accept whatever pop culture feeds them. But they got the internet for the few that want to Google Tupac or watch old hip-hop or wrestling videos on YouTube.

I was in elementary school in the '80s. I remember electro based songs in '83-86 about spaceships and Smurfs and Inspector Gadget melodies with a beat. Around '86 came digital samples with boom bap beats and MCs rhyming about rhyming. I didn't totally feel it. I wasn't impressed with MCs rhyming words I didn't know.

In the 7th grade I was in a a battle. I got the crowd in it (Boys say Tyree D. girls say You got me loving this baby) and did a 130 bpm-ish Hammer-style verse. The other guy did a long verse with lots of wordplay. I won.

As for the topic; think about Ted Williams; the homeless man with a golden voice. Imagine if he spit a verse instead. But also he did have experience; he is not an old man that decided to be an announcer recently. But now I also see there is a place for older brothas and a place for people that only wanna be heard and not seen.
 
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Rome pretty much said it. If I jumped on a mic right now I might just have to hit the gym or gain 50 more lbs. just to be either sexy or Rick Ross-ish. People forget Ross came in officially at 30. He had a verse on a Trick Daddy (I think) song. The one Ross was rapping with a Laker looking jersey on back in 96-ish. Then popped back up as the drug lord OG with an experienced voice/flow/and presence.
 
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Noyzi said:
Rome pretty much said it.
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People act like I have to lie. I will say that only 10% of people that read what I post get what I post.

My typing accuracy in around 85% and I mesh tenses together and ish.

... why would a person have 27000 posts... because they stick to one website... the website that they know a little bit about.

When I post Bigg Rome is for the kids, it's not meant to be offensive. It's really for the kids, lol... the FP members that are in their teens and ish.
 
I also had to supervise the boys changing while swimmimg and it was like a party.
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Could be a fun experience maybe even see some local money it surely can't hurt if hes good and serious but I wouldn't wait forever for him
 
I think the travelin is the difficulty in it. In my mind, I always put alot on my plate, but I'm thinking I can work it around a family visit anyway. New York is home, so...

Tyree I see you with that post too, real talk. People tend to forget while growing up that history always repeats itself, that the differences we go thru in our times occur in every generation... People felt the same about the inception of vinyl, Atrac (I used to think it was 8-track), cassettes AND CDs that they do about the internet now... Hip Hop in the 80s was looked down upon when it was first being created, and then the early 90s awareness rap, and then gangsta rap took the stripes... hell, this is like the most that Hip Hop has ever been accepted in society lol...

On that note, what I'm thinking? "If you can't beat em, join em..." Damn them capitalist types are SMART...
 
WatchWhatHappens1204 said:
I think the travelin is the difficulty in it. In my mind, I always put alot on my plate, but I'm thinking I can work it around a family visit anyway. New York is home, so...

Tyree I see you with that post too, real talk. People tend to forget while growing up that history always repeats itself, that the differences we go thru in our times occur in every generation... People felt the same about the inception of vinyl, Atrac (I used to think it was 8-track), cassettes AND CDs that they do about the internet now... Hip Hop in the 80s was looked down upon when it was first being created, and then the early 90s awareness rap, and then gangsta rap took the stripes... hell, this is like the most that Hip Hop has ever been accepted in society lol...

On that note, what I'm thinking? "If you can't beat em, join em..." Damn them capitalist types are SMART...
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Nah.... I don't see me saying shit like "man that Soulja Boy or Lil Wayne song is a classic" in 20 years.
 
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And that's the difference with this generation.
 
Drethe5th - that was an excellent post, and really summed it up for me reading this thread. If you're in it for business purposes, you have to analyze it on a business level. If you're in it for artistic purposes, then 70 isn't too old if you "feel it." There's always the question of whether we do it for "us" (art) or do it for "them" (business). I realize there's overlap, but if you aren't interested in this guy for artistic purposes, and can't figure that he'll be successful, it may not be worth the time.

The other option is to scale your involvement - do some distance collabo or something really low key - see what he can do with your beats, or promo one show for him and see how it does (as long as it doesn't kill your image). But, you are essentially playing the the role of an A&R here - signing him to your own "label" in terms of promotion, management, production, etc. Once you make the decision (as it sounds like you have) about business versus art, then you have some analysis to do.

I realize I've avoided the talk about age altogether, and the question at the end of the day is who is going to show up for shows, buy his music, T-shirts, etc. While age itself isn't an automatic rule out, it may hurt him in the "brand" category - how are potential consumers of his brand going to respond to him - how can they relate to him or his message. Age isn't a rule out, but it sure would make me look a lot more at his brand, or his potential to be branded, and see what there is to sell.

Finally, I do think that truly exceptional, undeniable talent can make up for some branding/marketing issues - look at Susan Boyle, for example. People do like to "find talent" in hidden, unlikely places - we like the underdog in American society, so that might be something to capitalize on - for example, look at the guy with the "golden voice" from Columbus - the homeless guy on Youtube who has been flown around the country because he was "discovered" - he's old, has a very odd look, is very quirky, etc. - BUT, people love him because he got discovered as a very unlikely candidate for success. People like those stories.

All of it boils down to what Drethe5th said - if you can rework the numbers in that formula to take advantage of other variables, you might be able to make it work.
 
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