You can never be too old to model, but according to millennial emcee Young Thug, you can definitely be too old to rap. “I don’t want to be 50 years old and rapping, man. I’m pretty sure nobody wants to do that. I’m pretty sure Jay Z don’t wanna rap right now,” the 23-year-old rapper told GQ.
The Atlanta native rose to prominence after signing with middle-aged (read: 34-year-old) rapper and known ice cream enthusiast Gucci Mane’s Brick Squad label in 2013, but gained major recognition last year after a string of smash features including TI’s “About the Money,” and Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle.”
Despite the fact that Young Thug is but an infant compared to HOV’s 21 years perched squarely at the top of the rap game, the “Stoner” spitter argued that age is something more than a number, and that he won’t be buying Jay’s joints any time soon: “If you’re 30, 40 years old, you’re not getting listened to by minors. Like, Jay Z has some of the sickest lyrics ever, but I would never buy his CD, just because of my age and because of his age. By the time I turn that old, I ain’t gonna be doing what he’s doing.”
Elsewhere in music, “elderly” people seem to be killing it, even among a fresh-eared demographic. Kanye and Rihanna just teamed up with 72-year-old (that’s about 138 in rap years) Paul McCartney for “FourFiveSeconds” and with her forthcoming memoir Girl in a Band hitting shelves later this month, former Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon continues to inspire young women everywhere to shred their faces off.
What do you think? Is rap only for the young?