Young Man's Game

Music has always been looked at as one of the most timeless expressions of art. The combination of nostalgia and In the modern era, musicians have earned the iconic status that was formerly reserved entrepreneur tycoons and revolutionaries. The difference with musicians is that a majority of the time this legendary prestige is only gained after investing decades and decades of work into the craft; for most genres. Then it hit me. While aging in other genres of music is celebrated, maturing in the hip hop culture is viewed as a weakness.

I initially questioned this after being reminded on Twitter that today is Ether Day, I mean Jay-Z's birthday. At 43, Hov is without a doubt the one of the most successful rappers in history, and even in his forties is still one of the most popular and influential emcee's. While Jay-Z has found the formula to stay relevant, it has been a secret that has remained elusive for most other rappers.

The root of this problem stems from the genre itself, where some of the strongest features also leads to lack of longevity. Hip hop is the most personal form of music in the world. In contrast to other music, rap albums have become audible autobiographies. Especially in the internet age, fans do not want the music as much as they want to know the story behind the music. What happens much too often is that once a rapper becomes successful, the things they use to rap about become unbelievable. Atlanta star T.I. is a prime example. It's easy to authenticate dope boy rhymes when you're fresh out the trap. It's not so easy to believe when you have been a millionaire for the past decade with a reality show. It becomes hard to believe that the same person driving the newest Bentley on BET is still in the hood serving fiends on the block. And just like that, fan appeal and interest declines.

While realness and authenticity has always been a reason for fans to abandon an emcee, the current state of the genre can also be to blame. With artists' work being so easily and readily available, the value that music once had is non-existant. In this mixtape generation, the strategy has gone from innovation to imitation. Whereas artists before tried to distinguish themselves from others by always being fresh, the artists of today have developed the habit of hoping from trend to trend, which results in the music being forgetful rather than timeless.

While the hip hop fans marvel at '90s artists like Jay-Z and Nas for still being relevant, the genre has to find some way to restore the value back into the music. As I write this Fleetwood Mac is preparing to do a world tour while celebrating six decades of work, Wayne Newton is still doing weekly shows in Las Vegas, and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler is hosting American Idol while a majority of rappers from five years ago don't even have a record deal. Hip Hop is the music of the moment, but if there is not a way to truly innovate the culture, then it may not be the music of the future.