Hip-hop is frequently considered a young man’s sport. When you’re younger, you’re beaming with fresh, new ideas and the energy to act on all of them. The further you age, the more you might settle into routine.
The curiosity and dedication leave a little bit, and it almost becomes obligatory. Nowadays, this idea is hard to tell. Older rappers like Nas, Raekwon, and Clipse are operating like it’s still their prime. Still, that’s not reflective of everyone.
Not every rapper from the 90s is still going strong today
So how come there’s such a gap in quality? Well, according to Da Chef, it’s just a natural transition that happens with age. In a 2015 interview with The Quietus, he said that it’s very easy to run out of steam the older you get.
“It’s all about dedication,” Raekwon stressed. “Sometimes you can make a substantial amount of money and automatically think that you’ve made it, that you did everything you wanted to do. Some people just stop. I think there are a lot of dudes out there that are runnin’ out of gas. Some of my favorites, even ones I look up to… I haven’t been fully impressed with their dynamics of makin’ a body of work that makes sense to me.”
So why did the Wu-Tang legend keep going in 2015? What keeps him still inspired today? Ultimately, it’s just a matter of having something to say. Rapping isn’t obligatory for him— frankly, he could stop at any time. But because he still feels a surge of inspiration, he still finds himself in the studio.
Raekwon Admits A Lot of Older Rappers Aren’t Making The Greatest Albums
“I’m not doing this just because it takes care of me. I think I do it because I love the energy that comes when I get on the mic,” Raekwon said. “It keeps me creative, and I love to hear what the fans want, what they love or hate about it. When you devote yourself to being an artist, you have to stay on your craft and always try to get better and better. The better you get, the more your legacy shines. I always just try to go hard, man. If you don’t want to do it for real, don’t do it at all.”
That’s not to say that Raekwon is on 100% of the time. But by surrounding himself with good people, he told the publication, the process becomes a lot easier.
Creative droughts can impact even the most proficient of rappers
“There will be days where I’m off, where I’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” he said. “You gotta have a schedule, you gotta have a team that’s passionate about seeing you do the things you say you wanna do.”
“When it comes to delivering this, it takes a lot of work, and I can’t do that on my own,” Raekwon stressed. “I can only give you my energy, you can only give me your opinion, but at the end of the day, we’ve both got to work together. So it’s all about having a strong team that really believes in your vision and helps you facilitate that.”
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