What should retired rappers do with their lives?

[ManBearPig]

do tours or just get a 9-5 i guess

but if their jail records is too fukked up then i dont know

 

[KritNC]

End Them

 

[Shogun]

until

then

or

or

 

[Jerz-2]

You think 50 gives a fukk that he aint relevant anymore?

....oh, he gives a fukk, all right. In fact, it still kills him that he's NOT.

Anyway...here's the real problem with this whole "retiring rappers" shyt....why do rappers have to have an "age limit"? Why is it that rap is the only genre where some fans feel that you have to QUIT once you reach a certain age? That's fukking stupid.

For one, just because an older artist isn't in the Top 40 album or singles chart listings anymore doesn't mean they can't still EAT off the culture. There's touring, appearances, etc. Ask Big Daddy Kane or Doug E. Fresh how much money they made this year off touring on that "old school" tour (the money was so good, even Salt 'N Pepa got back together to do some shows).

Latifah and Ice-T and (to an extent) LL don't really drop albums anymore....but they've iconicized (for lack of a better word) themselves so effectively through their other ventures and their versatility that they never NEED to make rap records again...but never ONCE did any of them ever compromise their hip-hop sensibilities. So just because they don't have Billboard hits right now that doesn't mean that they're not still rappers. So since LL is on CSI Los Angeles or whatever the fukk show that nikka is on, he's not a rapper anymore? Will Smith ain't a rapper anymore? MC Lyte does commercial voice-overs for just about every product you can imagine, AND she's performing at a show here in Philly next month (along with most of the other artists I named above)....y'all think SHE ain't eatin' off rap still? What the fukk should she "retire" for? Why, because she doesn't have a song in rotation on Hot 97? If one of them got in trouble, when the media reported it on the news do you think they would say "actor James Todd Smith", for example? Hell no, they'd be like "rapper LL Cool J" or "rapper Ice-T" or even "rapper Queen Latifah"....they are associated with rap by the dues that were paid and the doors that were opened.....so how are they not still rappers? And why should they retire?

That's the flaw in that logic. These young stupids think that just because an established, previously-successful artist ain't on the today's CHARTS that they are "washed up", that rappers should retire the minute they stop being amongst the top album sellers. That's silly, short-sighted and ignorant.

And if you make enough money, you should have invested in something else to sustain you after rap. It's not about the level of success, it's about how smart that artist was with their money. There are former HUGE artists who are relatively broke, meanwhile you got cats like them two dudes from Tag Team (who made "Whoop, There It Is") who are CAKING off the investments they made as a result of that one hit song (dude with the dreads is a millionaire off of a security company he started).

So it all comes down to the individual, and if they're smart enough not to blow their money.

But yeah....nikkas need to stop doin' that shyt, tryinta put age limits on shyt. It totally stagnates the culture. You see Mick Jaggar and the Rolling Stones are STILL touring and them fools are all in their damn 70s. As long as you can do a good show, fukk an age (Doug E. Fresh's live show >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any young rap idiot in the Billboard Top 40 today, and it's not even debateable)

 

[El_Mero_Mero]

just came back to this, props on the knowledge dropped.

 

[TEKBEATZ]

....oh, he gives a fukk, all right. In fact, it still kills him that he's NOT.

Anyway...here's the real problem with this whole "retiring rappers" shyt....why do rappers have to have an "age limit"? Why is it that rap is the only genre where some fans feel that you have to QUIT once you reach a certain age? That's fukking stupid.

For one, just because an older artist isn't in the Top 40 album or singles chart listings anymore doesn't mean they can't still EAT off the culture. There's touring, appearances, etc. Ask Big Daddy Kane or Doug E. Fresh how much money they made this year off touring on that "old school" tour (the money was so good, even Salt 'N Pepa got back together to do some shows).

Latifah and Ice-T and (to an extent) LL don't really drop albums anymore....but they've iconicized (for lack of a better word) themselves so effectively through their other ventures and their versatility that they never NEED to make rap records again...but never ONCE did any of them ever compromise their hip-hop sensibilities. So just because they don't have Billboard hits right now that doesn't mean that they're not still rappers. So since LL is on CSI Los Angeles or whatever the fukk show that nikka is on, he's not a rapper anymore? Will Smith ain't a rapper anymore? MC Lyte does commercial voice-overs for just about every product you can imagine, AND she's performing at a show here in Philly next month (along with most of the other artists I named above)....y'all think SHE ain't eatin' off rap still? What the fukk should she "retire" for? Why, because she doesn't have a song in rotation on Hot 97? If one of them got in trouble, when the media reported it on the news do you think they would say "actor James Todd Smith", for example? Hell no, they'd be like "rapper LL Cool J" or "rapper Ice-T" or even "rapper Queen Latifah"....they are associated with rap by the dues that were paid and the doors that were opened.....so how are they not still rappers? And why should they retire?

That's the flaw in that logic. These young stupids think that just because an established, previously-successful artist ain't on the today's CHARTS that they are "washed up", that rappers should retire the minute they stop being amongst the top album sellers. That's silly, short-sighted and ignorant.

And if you make enough money, you should have invested in something else to sustain you after rap. It's not about the level of success, it's about how smart that artist was with their money. There are former HUGE artists who are relatively broke, meanwhile you got cats like them two dudes from Tag Team (who made "Whoop, There It Is") who are CAKING off the investments they made as a result of that one hit song (dude with the dreads is a millionaire off of a security company he started).

So it all comes down to the individual, and if they're smart enough not to blow their money.

But yeah....nikkas need to stop doin' that shyt, tryinta put age limits on shyt. It totally stagnates the culture. You see Mick Jaggar and the Rolling Stones are STILL touring and them fools are all in their damn 70s. As long as you can do a good show, fukk an age (Doug E. Fresh's live show >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any young rap idiot in the Billboard Top 40 today, and it's not even debateable)

 

[newworldafro]

Exactly. Plenty of lucrative hustles out there assuming these rappers actually saved their money instead of blowing it on frivolous things.

Exactly.

I don't know. Hopefully, the you would see the light and have had saved up several million....and do some good investments. Or go back to school, get a degree and partner up with some folks in that particular field.

 

[Danie84]

Give tutorials to these up-and-coming rappers.

Like play background at their studio sessions. Give tips on how to rock a crowd, etc.

That's what I love about rock, their pioneers are revered forever.

on how Hip-Hop treats their legends.

 

[Cagematic]

The question is when is we as listeners gonna move on. I hope older rappers keep making music for older people. If I was in my 40s I wouldn't want to listen to most of the cats that's on top right now. I'm gonna listen to songs I can relate to.

 

[mortuus est]

Anyone know what happend to Jeru The Damaja?

 

[OD-MELA]

Sean Price Opens A Rap Clinic | The Smoking Section

hmmm

 

[kingstl]

Go overseas, cake up as much as possible

then comeback and open a lounge, store, barber shop, or towing and storage company, pawn shop, etc

 

[El_Mero_Mero]

If they went the storage company route, then they'd probably do the reality TV show route too.