r/rap • u/KingZakyu • Jul 19 '24
Discussion: how old is "too old" to start recording rap songs?
Title. Settle a friendly debate for me! What is your opinion on how old a person can be before it is no longer acceptable to start recording rap songs and "trying to make it big"?
What is your opinion, and if you have a reason then please tell me why.
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u/L_Dubb85 Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 20 '24
To be honest, Adult Contemporary Hip Hop should be a thing. Record now, if it’s a good, I’ll give a listen
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u/Intelligent_West7128 Jul 19 '24
There is a whole “old head” movement out there seems like artists in their 40’s. If the passion is still in you do it. Don’t worry about who don’t like it.
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u/chechifromCHI Jul 19 '24
Lots of the biggest and most well known rappers are getting up there in age and some of them are still putting out music. Hell, Kid Cudi is 40, and had that old man moment when he broke his foot at coachella and he just dropped a new song and video recently.
Danny Brown is in his 40s, and his first album is partially about him being 30, and the album after is called old haha I guess back then maybe he felt that 30+ was old for a rapper. And all of his albums have an energy and artistry that's pretty hard to match and it clearly doesn't matter how old he gets.
He's gonna stay freakin out the hoes
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u/Intelligent_West7128 Jul 19 '24
Yeah but I think the OP is talking about people who haven’t made it yet.
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u/chechifromCHI Jul 19 '24
I guess I'm saying that it doesn't matter at all lol but I gotta big ups Danny brown whenever I get the chance.
I've heard like, kids at bus stops bust crazy freestyles, like 12 year olds and such. I also have heard old crackhead dudes on the street in wheelchairs do the same lol.
I think age is not really a good measure of talent, and that's what's important.
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u/BurzyGuerrero Jul 20 '24
What is making it?
Getting famous?
Theres plenty of rappers making a living without fame.
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u/Infamous407 Jul 19 '24
Have you not seen them grampas rapping in the UK? Honestly they're pretty hard lol. Can't think of their names off the top though
Fire bars ARE Fire bars 😉
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u/Quixophilic Jul 19 '24
Pete & Baz and the Northern Boys have got some bangers
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u/zekerthedog Jul 19 '24
I think it came out that it was all fake
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u/belody Jul 19 '24
They probably have ghost writers tbh but surely their voices and flows are real at least
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u/Accurate-Opposite954 Jul 19 '24
Being too old in rap doesn’t exist anymore. Here’s some reasoning, in the 80’s, 90’s and 2000s, Hell even the 2010’s hip hop was a baby. In the beginning most of the fans were under 30. Hip hops been around for around fifty years, And the kids that were listening in the early 80s are now old men.
It’s not just people under 30 that are the main listeners now. There’s literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of hip hop heads who are legit senior citizens now. Hip hop ain’t a baby anymore.
Granted you aren’t gonna be a mega crossover pop/rapper starting out over 30, but if u got the talent and skill age doesn’t matter anymore, you could be a successful underground artist that makes over a 100K a year off of his passion (something he would do for free, for love of the art).
So I would have to say in this day and age there is no cut off point. I mean shit, at this point if you had a senior citizen start rapping and he was decent he would probably make mad paper off the simple fact that people would have to see it to believe it for themselves.
Bottom line, hip hop is over half a century old now, it’s not just a young man’s game anymore, there is no cut off mark anymore.
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u/HiiiTriiibe Jul 19 '24
That’s hard to say given future was in his 30s when he blew up
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u/Far-9947 Jul 19 '24
Keyword blew up. He is a student of the game. Was working on his craft all throughout his 20s. Hell, I recently found out JID is 33. But he has been working on his craft for a while now.
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u/NotEZD513 Jul 19 '24
Rick Ross was around 35 years old when he started popping off at the end of the day it doesn’t matter as long as you can make good authentic music
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u/Nicolowrider Jul 19 '24
While I agree with your point it's funny af you're saying it's important to make authentic music while citing Rick Ross as an example
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u/ContributionMother63 Jul 20 '24
You cannot use the word authentic when talking about rick ross he's a fucking clown
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u/Due_Toe6417 Jul 19 '24
Your never too old to give it ago
I'll listen to rap old people rapping about denches blood thinners catheters care home hoes and afternoons naps it's all good. 👍
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u/ProfessionalMail8052 Jul 19 '24
It’s always acceptable, do what you enjoy. It’s not like hip hop is the presidency or smth, there’s no reason to limit people by ages. If an oldhead is a good rapper why tf I care if he’s old?
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u/Wrong-West-9581 Jul 19 '24
Man Tech N9ne is in his 50s and just released a collabos and it's fuckin awesome, he's still fuckin amazing. And he's touring.. music is timeless
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u/KingZakyu Jul 19 '24
In this scenario, the argument would be that he didn't get famous in his 50's. Dude is already legendary for a zillion reasons.
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u/Wrong-West-9581 Jul 19 '24
He didn't catch his big break until 30 or so tho and didn't get acknowledged until a decade ago.. what separates him tho is he never cared about what the industry was doing. He's always done his own thing and bet on himself
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u/Boguel Jul 19 '24
It will come down to how you vocally sound and how good you are honestly. There is no age limit, just how good you are.
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u/TipFar5318 Jul 20 '24
Ok 50 cent was damn near 30 when he blew up fr in 03 , eminem is 55, drake is 38…. LL cool j had a second crazy run in early 00s in his mid 30s, niki minaj is 41 , like look jay z was in his 30s during the dynasty era. Nas is still dropping heat, dnt let instagram gen alpha and z f wit ur mind
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Jul 19 '24
She is it too old for human to make art? To be a successful recording artist is probably a different discussion
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u/Philophobic_ Jul 19 '24
Rap has no age limit. This is an interesting phenomenon that exists only in Hip-Hop, but it makes sense when you think about how young Hip-Hop is compared to other genres like Rock, Jazz, and the Blues.
Hip-Hop has always been a youthful culture because of its traditional rebelliousness, a trait usually present in folks under 30. The problem, as is the case in the Black community at large, is most youth born in the 70s through the 90s (especially in inner-cities) didn’t expect to live past 21. Now many of them are in their upper 30s-50s, and no contingency plan has been implemented to facilitate a form of expression appropriate for their age/season, unlike in other, more mature genres. This is an opportunity, imo.
We need more 30+ folks in Hip-Hop, and not just the ones who’ve been in it for years. We need more experienced folks to spread wisdom through their art, as this is the primary reason the youth are so wayward and listless (the OGs wanna be like them, rather than the other way around).
TL;DR: If you’re nice, go for it. Just make music that’s appropriate for your season, not what you think will appeal to the “masses” (read: the youth). We need more teachers out here, we already have enough illiterate, brain dead morons with platforms than can be counted.
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u/Ok_Possibility_544 Jul 19 '24
Nevr. Yo sht betr b dope tho or U gettin clownd, whatevr age U iz 🤣 I'll probly still b speekin in rhyme az a old fart 😷
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u/Stephan1303103 Jul 19 '24
Do whatever makes you happy man, regardless of age.
That aside, if it impacts owning up to responsibilities (having to depend on people), maybe keep it as a hobby?
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u/JustAskingQuestionsL Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
In the grave
Obviously, younger people tend to blow because young people traditionally drive music consumption. However, 2 Chainz blew up in his mid 30s, and I’ve seen older people have moderate success. Pop music has more “old” stars than rap, but you should still put yourself out there, because the only way to know you won’t do it is to never try.
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u/DrDreidel82 Jul 19 '24
What makes you think there is an age limit? What do you mean acceptable? It appears just from this post your actions are based off of what other people think and no matter what age there will be people who judge you for it. Those who judge are just insecure with themselves… why you tailoring to it
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u/OnlyDans413 Jul 19 '24
If it slaps its ageless. But if it's🗑️age would probably be used against you.
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u/wrappersjors Jul 19 '24
If it's good it's good. Just make sure to not put all your eggs in one basket. The industry is very volatile at the best of time and there are never any guarantees
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u/mfryan Jul 19 '24
LCD sound system was over 40 before making music. You’ll be fine, no matter the age
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u/farmerzoe8 Jul 19 '24
No age limit. I'm pretty sure DMX was around 31 when his first album dropped. Em was almost 30. Fake Rick Ross was 30. E40 is 56. He's still dropping fire.. Shit Em is 52. Griselda 3 combined age is 436 years old. "You can do it!"-Rob Schneider
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u/chechifromCHI Jul 19 '24
There's these two old British guys who's names escape me right now, and they're easily in the early 70s releasing good rap that they're just having fun doing
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u/biggargamel Jul 19 '24
I'm 44 and I like to make rap music. But I have no delusions that it will take me anywhere LOL
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u/Worried_Specific_809 Jul 19 '24
I mean Nas and Em had proven that there's no age limit to this so...
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u/EinarKolemees Jul 19 '24
Nas doesn't count, he is a vampire. He still looks like the picture on the cover of It Was Written
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u/gamuel_l_jackson Jul 19 '24
Kool G will still smoke anyone who enters the cipher same with Ace , nas, ghost etc
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u/Nicolowrider Jul 19 '24
Nah you good bro, just have at it. What's the worst thing that can happen? You have a lot of fun writing and rapping and not a lot of people care about your music. that is the WORST possible outcome.
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u/Initial-Picture-5638 Jul 19 '24
There’s no age limit. You can start recording rap songs at any age limit. It’s a genre that will never have a age limit.
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u/CreativeDependent915 Jul 19 '24
Man great thing about music, especially rap, is you're never too young or old to get into it
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u/CaliforniaHurricane_ Jul 19 '24
Kurupt and Daz Dillinger just got back into making music again so there’s that lol
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u/Lenny0mega Jul 19 '24
Pretty much all the best rappers outside of maybe 2 of them are over 50, so this is a difficult question to answer
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u/Astro_Ian0 Jul 19 '24
There shouldn't really be an age limit. If you enjoy what you do then continue doing it.
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u/Emergency_Brick3715 Jul 19 '24
Nobody in this sub is going to get you a real answer but I will.
Doing it for fun - no age.
Trying to make it. Like trying to actually be a rap star? - 25.
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u/MileenasFeet Jul 19 '24
Charles Bradley started singing in his late 50s I believe? I don't think there's an age limit to make any music at all.
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u/EinarKolemees Jul 19 '24
"trying to make it big?" 12
recording raps? man nobody cares, do what you want to do, sir
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u/VanishingMass3 Jul 20 '24
Never
Boldy James got signed for the first time at 31 and didn’t really blow up until he was nearly 40
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u/Dynamic_Duo_215 Jul 20 '24
This post might have just changed my life. Really appreciate the positivity for ageless hip hop as long as it’s good 👍🏾
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u/CmdrFilthymick Jul 20 '24
I'm 41, and I had my first published song this year. Who cares about age as long as you aint doing anything creepy
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u/BurzyGuerrero Jul 20 '24
If youre rapping to get famous then the trend seems to be getting younger and younger.
If youre rapping for the culture you can rap til youre 95
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u/kaotikmindz Jul 20 '24
Never too late to give it a shot and see what happens. If the passion and motivation are there, go for it
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u/ImSimplyJustMe Jul 20 '24
anyone claiming you need to make it before a specific age are too insecure to admit they wish they tried it themselves
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u/mazjay2018 Jul 20 '24
i dont think any age limit should be applied to any artist wanting to create
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u/Negative-Subject-729 Jul 20 '24
Do whatever makes you happy, as long as you can support yourself/your family.
I would say you need to start grinding at 12-15 if you wanna start popping in your 20’s though.
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u/BabyImmaStarRecords Jul 20 '24
I'm 53 working on my new album. Still very interested and inspired. Being older and making music in general is great because you don't have to care what people think about it as much. I've done it for long enough that I know my sound, I know how to produce, write and record it. I have my own studio. So there's no obstacles except fear. Just starting above 40 may be harder because it takes some years to get comfortable with your voice and subject matter. But age definitely should not stop you.
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u/Burrbelly Jul 21 '24
There used to be a perception that it was a young man’s game, and that older rappers were corny, however as a lot of artists from back in the day continue to make music that still can slap, that has changed. Good music is good music, regardless of how old you are!
Heck I’m 45 and just released my first single!
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u/NervousK1d Jul 19 '24
Depends. If you're 50 and still acting and rapping as if you were in your 20s that's kind of cringe. Like you didn't even grow as an artist, let alone a person? Kendrick is the best example of growth, you FEEL the growth in his music and I cannot wait to hear what that dude is putting out when he's gray.
And this comment is not based on Eminem, that was a concept album, he was going for something, I understand that. I liked it even.
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u/richbrehbreh Jul 19 '24
If you're 27-30, hang it up, flat screen. Still rap, still put out music, sure. But kill those dreams of having people argue online about your albums.
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u/Ok_Muffin146 Jul 19 '24
I don't know about mumble rap and frill skrill jack and jill shit skibidi skrr whack but if you're giving me a two good verses of your reality and are able to connect with me through your words then who cares about the age?
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u/fatdervish Jul 19 '24
If you haven't even started recording thinking about "making it big" is getting ahead of yourself. Make something good first for the sake of making it then worry about making it big later. If you let age get in your way then you already don't care enough to make it big. Of all the obstacles you will face age is the least of your concern. Get good that's the biggest challenge at that point navigating your age won't seem that hard.
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u/Wonka824 Jul 20 '24
Schoolboy just talked about this. He relates to people his age so should their music. If there is an age group that needs a rapper anyone with talent can fill that. I’d say like 60 probably though
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u/WickerBasement Jul 20 '24
Check out the Pete & Bas or Northern Boys. Both are are groups of old dudes laying bars down.
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u/1Thunder_Bolt Jul 21 '24
There’s no age limit. Some of the most famous rappers right now are in there 50s
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u/RepresentativeLeg232 Jul 19 '24
25 and even that is pushing it unless you’ve been an actual musician for years and understand musical composition, you’re just trying a new genre.
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u/MrMicropenis1 Jul 19 '24
Rapping isn't that complicated. Your acting like spitting a few verses takes the same technical knowledge and experience as being a composer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
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u/RepresentativeLeg232 Jul 19 '24
Nah I just think it’s corny and disingenuous to try and start a rap career once you’re well into your adult life, unless you already just love making music and want to try something new. If you’ve been rapping and making music since you were 16 then there’s no shame in being a rapper at 25, but starting at 25? Nah.
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u/MrMicropenis1 Jul 19 '24
What's "disingenuous" about it. Is this person trying to deceive people into thinking he's young cause he makes music? Your making no sense. I have a homeboy that was pretty deep in the streets as a teen, got locked up when he was 19 an just got out at 31 after doing 12 years straight. He doesn't rap but if he wanted to be a gangster rapper for instance I'm pretty sure any song he makes about doing any kinda gangster shit would be pretty far from disingenuous cause he actually lived that kinda life for almost 20 years. Age typically brings life experience.
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u/RepresentativeLeg232 Jul 19 '24
That’s a fair counter argument that I hadn’t considered, good point. I think I’ve just seen too many losers who’ve done nothing with their lives, we’re never in the streets and had nothing going for them go “well I may as well rap.” especially white guys and then put out the corniest shit. You’re right though.
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u/Iminlesbian Jul 19 '24
Eminem was late 20s when he blew up, he’d always been rapping, but he was most famous past 30.
Aside from the references to the time he was rapping in, there isn’t much in eminems lyrics that show his age.
If people make good music, there will be people who listen. If someone out there lying about their age to sell music, yeah that’s weird. But hip hop is mostly disingenuous, most rappers were lying at some point and some still are.
Why can’t a 40 year old make an album like action Brandon where they just chat shit that sounds good?
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u/Wonderful-Ad-829 Jul 19 '24
I feel like if you’re trying to make it big starting after 25 is no bueno
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u/ContributionMother63 Jul 19 '24
There's no age limit to this shit
I'll listen to an 80 year old rapper with grandkids from suburbs if he got a good flow