No (Rap) Country For Old Men?

Welcome to 50th issue of Backseat Freestyle (clap for me!). This is my weekly hip-hop newsletter I send out every Friday(ish) focusing on one big thing that happened over the past seven days. I also include links (15-25 of them) to what I’ve been listening to, reading and watching. You can check out the archive, here, and read more about me, here. If you’re already a BF subscriber, thank you for your continued support. If you’re arriving to this issue by way of a forward, LinkedIn or social media, please subscribe below. And please share this newsletter with your circle so that they can enjoy it, too; personal referrals are my most solid path to long-term growth. With that said, let’s get into it….

Front Seat

This is what’s driving hip-hop this week….

WHENEVER I MAKE MY YEAR-END LISTS or compile my Hip-Hop Awards Season posts, I notice my choices for best songs come from the young set while my picks for best albums tend to be made up of older MCs. That’s been the case for a long time now and it’s something I wanted to write about but missed the mark after Andre 3000 made his comments about why he no longer raps. “Sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don't have anything to talk about in that way,” he told Rolling Stone. “I'm 48 years old. And not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, but in a way it does. And things that happen in my life, like, what are you talking about?” I honor Andre’s feelings, even if I disagree with the notion. I had something to say. Method Man, however, gave me another window with his age gap remarks after he performed at Summer Jam. Debate ensued, which is fine. But folks looked at these things as problems when, in fact, they were signs of growth.

Back Seat

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED to hip-hop when it turned 50 last summer: it grayed! Now, I might as well be saying that with a grain of salt (pun intended) because I know there’s rap vets who are seniors. But when it comes to the culture, we tend to treat rappers as if they exist in a vacuum, immune to the world’s orbit and they don’t age out of participation as much as we disappear them—then, we quickly downcast our attention toward the next, younger star. 

Since August, however, NORE hasn’t been the only one giving our hip-hop heroes flowers. 

In 2023, for instance, I oversaw The Breakfast Club’s partnership with BET. Envy and Charlamange interviewed enough legends from various regions and age groups during our run that I was able to compile five Hip-Hop 50 episodes for the network to program during Thanksgiving week, featuring Fab 5 Freddy, LL Cool J, Yo-Yo, Ice Cube, Master P, Juicy J and Method Man, among others. (There were more tenured acts they interviewed too, but I had a deadline…). You saw similar things happening across the landscape: Rakim/Big Daddy Kane/Kool G Rap/Craig G performing together at Lincoln Center with J. Period, pop-up events at the Trap Museum down in the A, a 2Pac exhibit in Los Angeles, etc. 

Outside of LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells banner, though, and a handful of throwback radio stations across the country, platforms solely dedicated to OGs are limited. 

So, for Hip-Hop 50, there was a lot of traffic between the pioneering acts, the legends and the new guard appearing in all the usual places. 

None, however, made for more gridlock than Summer Jam earlier this month. Perhaps you already heard the comment made by Mef, a day after he and Redman performed at Hot 97’s annual festivities, when he declared the generation gap to be too wide and vowed to never return. 

He later clarified what he meant, but the intent seemed clear to me from the jump (and made without malice): it is what it is. Shit, when Wu appeared at Summer Jam in 2013 and I was in attendance, I thought that was a strained match between audience and booking. Add 11 more years to the equation and you’re talking about a gap that notches you a stand-up double if you drive a liner through it.

Naturally, debate ensued. On one hand, you had those who remember Summer Jam for the institutional force it once was, when radio was dominant and the performers represented the zeitgeist of rap as well as a heavy dose of what was in rotation, of which Method Man and Redman are neither these days. On the other hand, you had those who think young fans are unappreciative of hip-hop history and as Hot 97’s power fades nationally, the station should flex its local bonafides by propping up regional stars, who, in 2024, are more likely to be pushing 50 (cue the annual LOX appearance). 

Now, two wrongs may not make a right, but two half-truths make for an easier compromise. And I believe that’s why you saw online all-stars such as 310babii and 41 and the vets under the auspices of a Mister Cee tribute sandwiching the likes of Doja Cat, Gunna and Sexyy Red. 

It was a valiant effort. Method Man, though, rather not. And, look, just two years ago, the Wu and Nas tore stages down across the country (along with Busta Rhymes) as a part of their own tour that was catnip for their audiences. 

And Masters of Ceremony, the Rock the Bell Cruise and others are all there as options for the greybeards and blue haired. As Jon Caramanica said on the New York Times Popcast Deluxe and my brother Bonsu Thompson simultaneously said in our group text: this is a sign of growth. We incorrectly treat it as a strain only when we ignore the expansion of new subgenres within the overall culture. 

So, yes, there’s a country for old (rap) men. And women. Moreover and more importantly, as Killer Mike demonstrated last year with his Grammy sweep, there’s also a space where you can continue to add to the conversation. And prior to that, Nas also proved this to be true with his twin trilogies in collaboration with Hit-Boy. And Common (with assistance from Pete Rock) is currently showing out at age 52. 

Although Andre 3000 disagrees and Eminem (with his new single) is regressing in his approach, I find satisfaction in that my favorite albums are often from older MCs—while my favorite songs are usually courtesy of young rappers. Perspective can work both ways; and in the case of the vets and in opposition of 3 Stack and Slim, turning inward allots for a long runway of material. I don’t think this is a gap that needs to be bridged as long as we can comfortably cross it in each direction. 

Trunk (Music)

Music, news, reads, podcasts and videos that I’m checking for this week.

The new Cardi B album is heavily anticipated, but I’m just fine enjoying the appointment listening that her feature spots have become, including her spin on the GloRilla remix of “Wanna Be” along with Megan Thee Stallion. [Listen]

I think Roddy Ricch might be without peer when it comes to melancholy, remorseful odes (save for Polo G); here, he pops out again with “Survivors Remorse.” [Listen]

Speaking of Polo G, he does his thing on “Angels in the Sky.”  [Listen]

Central Cee and Lil Baby connect for a Trans-Atlantic ballerfest in “Band4Band” that makes me want to hear more from these two together. [Listen]

Smino is floating  with his playboy shit on “Poleynesian.”  [Listen]

After rumors swirled that Revolt TV would fold into Essence’s portfolio after a sale to Richelieu Denis, instead the former shares owned by Diddy will be distributed to its employees. [Info]

Appointments: My peoples Latrice Burnette was named EVP and Head of Music at United Masters and the ever respected Chris Atlas has been tapped to serve as president of Fat Beats.  [Info] [Info]

One of my former homes, MTV Networks nee Viacom nee Paramount has been in decline for some time and this essay goes long on the slow death of the business. [Read]

Speaking of death (groan!), an interesting examination by Justin Charity on Eminen’s latest caper: his alleged killing off of his Slim Shady character.  [Read]

Larry Jackson sat down with Joe Budden for a wide-ranging conversation that featured a lot said in between non-answers and digressions. [Listen] 

Ladies is pimps too, like Jay said. Latto taps Flo Milli and Megan for the “Sunday Service” remix video. They had fun; a lot of it. [Watch]

“Wise Up” is bucket-hat material but Common and Pete Rock’s follow up, Dreamin’, is backyard music. The pair teamed with Vevo for a live performance. I interviewed both of them for a narrative piece that Vevo will be releasing soon.  [Watch]

Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound keep things simple for their reunion with Lady of Rage and RBX for the Preemo-produced “Who Da Hardest?” I like it (except for those hats. Ha.). [Watch] 

Lots of speaking of’s today, but…speaking of reunions, the Pimp $quad Click has been slowly creeping to this moment with a few members here and there on various freestyles, but T.I. joined the proceedings with Young Dro, Kuntry King and Mac Boney to bring the oomph to the gritty “RICO.” [Watch]

There’s nothing more gangster than being a survivor and Freeway is living proof. On his team-up with Jake One, “Ringin,” featuring Jadakiss, he snarls with the tenacity of someone who’s seen a lot of shit, for better and worse. One of my favorite tracks of the year and a compelling visual to boot.  [Watch]

I slept on this record when it first dropped, but caught up quickly and the video for Duke Deuce’s “Sweet Tea” is what outside looks like for people who are really outside. [Watch]

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by me, Jayson Rodriguez, independently for Smarty Art. If you have any comments, feedback or questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]. If you would like to discuss sponsoring an issue of the newsletter, contact: [email protected] and check out the rates, here. And follow me elsewhere:

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Podcast: I recorded a demo and once I get the main thing (this newsletter) back on a regular schedule, I’m gonna go back to flirting with an audio companion.