Rap Blog: E-40 continues to age like fine wine

thefader.com:

Andre 3000’s recent pivot to wordless New Age jams has sparked discussion amongst rap fans and rappers alike about aging in hip-hop, and the value of older perspectives in an industry that’s all too often perceived as a young person’s game.

In a GQ profile ahead of his instrumental record New Blue Sun, Andre explained that rapping has increasingly felt “inauthentic” as he approaches 50 — a statement that a range of middle-aged rappers, from Open Mike Eagle to Lil Wayne, expressed disappointment about.

Andre’s feelings are completely valid in regards to his own career; if you have no motivation to write, there’s no point in saying something just for the sake of saying something.

But when applied as a standard to rapping at large, it reinforces the limiting perception that rapping is a fundamentally childish thing, a phase to grow out of, rather than a valid form of lyrical expression.