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40 Over 40
Who’s Having the Best Rap Career After 40?
These 40 MCs prove relevance is a state of mind
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
Back in 2006, The Game made clear hip-hop’s sentiment regarding the aging MC. “You 38 and you still rappin’? Ugh!” the then-26-year-old lyricist scoffed on “It’s Okay (One Blood),” in a barely veiled shot at a still-dominant Jay-Z (who turned 37 that year). Around the same time, Cam’ron piled on, age-shaming Hov via his own Max B-featured diss record, “You Gotta Love It.” Those moving toward middle age were seen as fossils, washed-up legacy acts whose only possible fate was being surpassed by younger, hungrier competitors. Save for a few revered forebears still spittin’, the 40-year-old rapper was about as rare as the 40-year-old virgin, only without the big screen Judd Apatow treatment.
Hip-hop has since grown the hell up, and so have several of its greatest talents, many of whom are defying the laws of gravity and attrition in what’s been deemed a young person’s sport. These artists are stretching their primes well into the twilight zone, still sharpening their spears and in some cases delivering the best music of their careers — all while sizing up fresh-faced counterparts. Sure, this…
