AllRespect.com // Jay-Z Says He Plans To Age Gracefully In The Rap Game

Posted on 2010-06-11 03:00:12
Artist/band(s): Jay-Z [FB]

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1641254/20100610/jay_z.jhtml

At the ripe age of 40, Hov tells Rolling Stone he enjoys the challenge of competing with younger artists.By Jayson Rodriguez

Jay-Z on the cover of <i>Rolling Stone</i>Photo: Wenner Media

Is Jay-Z taking a page out of Diddy's playbook?

The Bad Boy Records mogul has long told fans and detractors alike that he wouldn't stop. Now, it seems like the legendary Brooklyn wordsmith is also keen on keeping his run going as long as he can. After threatening to retire several times, Jay recently told Rolling Stone that he's bent on aging gracefully as a rapper while still maintaining his spot on top of the rankings.

The problem other rappers have had as they get older, Jay told the magazine, is that they haven't adjusted to younger audiences in a believable way.

"One of the reasons I wanted to make Blueprint 3 was because of the challenge," Jay told the magazine in a cover story out this week. "We've seen people like LL [Cool J] have longevity, and we respect the heritage of what he's done, but it's not like, right now, he's competing on the same level as Lil Wayne. So for me to still be able to compete at that level at my age, that's rarefied air. It's never been done. I think the problem with people, as they start to mature, they say, 'Rap is a young man's game,' and they keep trying to make young songs. But you don't know the slang — it changes every day. You can visit the topic, but these young kids live it every day, and you're just visiting. So you're trying to be something you're not, and the audience doesn't buy into that. And people wonder why. 'I made a great Southern bounce song!' You're from New York, and you're 70! Why are you bouncing?"

After scoring 11 #1 albums, the rapper admitted that he's only told about 10 stories in his career. He's been retelling the same narratives with varying details and elements. But on his next project, Jay-Z told MTV News last year, he plans to experiment more and revealed the collection may veer off so much it won't debut at the top of the charts.

In the interview, Hov also talked about how he and Beyoncé avoid intersecting creatively. Although, he said, B has the potential to join the executive ranks with her musical savvy.

"We pretty much stay out of each other's business," he said. "Sometimes on creative stuff, one of us will ask, 'Do you think this is cool?' She's a magnificent A&R, if she ever decides to do that, for things like pitch. So I defer to her on those sort of questions. But overall, we pretty much like the same things. "

Are you interested in Jay-Z doing an experimental album? Let us know in the comments!

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