When should a rapper just stop rapping and stick to business? I'm talking about a successful artist who doesnt really need to make new music anymore. I feel like they eventually try to hard to be in a young mans game and look like an idiot.
NEVER...
If you rapping about real life for real people, how can you ever run out of things to talk about...
1) Trayvon Martin's case...
2) The disproportionate rates of black male incarceration...
3) The crime rate in Chicago and similar cities...
4) The changes happening in hip hop from the time you got introduced to it, until now...
5) The life experiences and f+ckery you witnessed while touring..
There are a million and one things to rap about...
I think older rappers need to focus more on their lyricism from a poetic,story telling, satirical and more advanced perspective...And the music should have better composition and arrangements...It should be instrumented in a way that a band can play it in a rock concert, and have you eating white hipster money even after you are dead...
They shouldn't be putting random punchlines together, and calling it lyricism...They really need to focus on the art form itself, and take like 6 months to 1 year to make complete albums with great music and lyrics...
There are 7 Billion people in the world, if you can get even 1000 loyal fans to buy your album for $10, that's an easy $10000...Most of it profit, because if you been in the game, then you should have a mini studio all set-up and ready to go...
If you do a few tours, and merchandise, you might make another $10000...Plus you never know if one of your tracks may end up a popular jingle on a commercial or movie/tv-show soundtrack...
Think about this...
Iggy Pop (British Rocker) makes millions of dollars every year on royalties for his song "Lust For Life"...
If you love the art, then you lose NOTHING by doing it, and doing it with passion and dedication...