T.I. Plots Rap Retirement, “I’m Not Going To Be The 40 Year-Old Rapper”

Written By S. Samuel

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. recently discussed his run in rap and when he would likely put down the microphone for good.

TI
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Despite being good friends with 40 year-old rap mogul Jay-Z, the 29 year-old rapper said he will not follow in his footsteps.

“I’m not going to be the 40-year-old rapper. I would not,” Tip told CNN in a recent interview. “That’s Jay. He’s doing it very well. Hats off, but I just don’t see that for me.” Tip, who will release his new album King Uncaged on August 17, prefers to take the path of another super-successful rapper. “If I had the option to [be] Jay-Z [or] Will Smith, I think I’d go with Will,” he revealed. “I’m a Jay-Z fan. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Jay and his legacy. But I feel like Will, he gets to spend more time with his family. He gets to be home more and actually raise his kids. I feel like he has more of a home life…and the money don’t hurt. Twenty million dollars a flick ain’t bad.” (Rap-Up)

Last fall, Lil Wayne said he did not envision himself rapping beyond his mid-30’s.

“I always said I ain’t wanna do this no more after 35, I ain’t wanna do it no more,” Wayne revealed in an interview withradio personality Tim Westwood. “So any time before 30 and 35, I might give it up. [But now] I gotta work as hard as I can so I ain’t gotta look back. [When I retire, I’ll] do something else, I’m gonna retire from this and probably jump into some ownership of some sports team or you know, I’m very heavy into sports. Any sport. [I’d want ownership] of the team. It doesn’t matter, it could be basketball, it could be baseball, of course it wouldn’t be baseball, there’s too much money to own that, but it could be basketball or football, it wouldn’t matter. I could buy into a baseball team with someone.” (“Tim Westwood TV”)

In a recent interview. Jay talked about still being able to compete with young artists like Lil Wayne despite being over 40.

“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?” (MTV)

Last year, Jay-Z chopped it up about nearing 40 and still wanting to have a long-run in hip-hop.

“I hear it all the time — ‘Yo, he should let the young guys, the new generation of guys come in,'” Jay explained in an interview. “But you don’t become the front-runner in music because someone lets you. You have to claim your shoes…If you grow up listening to hip-hop, you love hip-hop and that’s the end of it. But if you’re a 30 year-old rapper still trying to make music like you’re 15, then you’re making it narrow. At my age, I can’t relate to a 15 year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group — it has to all be based on true emotions. The more diversity and the more mature we make hip-hop, the bigger the net you cast.” (Reuters)

Check out Lil Wayne speaking on rap retirement down below:

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Written by S. Samuel

Steven Samuel is the co-founder of SOHH.com.

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