How Will Smith and LL Cool J Work Through Being Older Rappers

Though hip-hop is 52 years old now, its fans are still getting used to the idea of an Old Rapper. There was a time when, if you hadn’t gotten your big break by 30, people expected you to wrap it up and clock in at UPS. But today, you don’t have to look far to find examples of elder stars. Golden-age pioneers like Big Daddy Kane (56) and Missy Elliott (53) have settled into the nostalgia circuit, while millennial icons like 50 Cent (49), Nelly (50), and Bow Wow (38) are starting to join them. Wu-Tang Clan, arguably the most recognizable rap entity this side of Tupac, is gearing up for their official farewell tour. De La Soul’s victory in their decades-long fight for control over their early catalog has led to new relevance for the trio—especially following the death of member Dave “Plug 3/Dove” Jolicoeur—in ways both positive and negative. Cali weed rap emissaries Cypress Hill just released a live concert film of their recent Simpsons-inspired greatest-hits collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra. Old-school rap has finally reached the pedestal that classic rock has had a death grip on for years.          

As lucrative as nostalgia can be, though, not all elder rappers are consigning themselves to that gilded cage. Will Smith and LL Cool J, two larger-than-life titans of mainstream rap in their late 50s, have returned after years-long absences with new albums in recent months. Based on a True Story and The Force, respectively, deal with not just the concept of being an Old Rapper but the pressures that come with reentering the spotlight and adapting to a world far removed from the one that molded them.