Jay-Z's 54th Birthday is Today and it Got Me Thinking About Rap Growing Older

Shawn Carter, or as he is also known, Jay-Z, turns 54 years old today. Hip-Hop was considered by many to turn 50 this year. A lot of rappers who once were young and edgy to the degree that parents protested them now are grandfathers who hang out with Martha Stewart (Snoop Dogg), popular mainstream movie or television stars (Ludacris, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Ice-T and more), or releasing instrumental albums dedicated to playing the flute and other woodwinds (Andre 3000, who outright has said he doesn't know what a 40-something man might rap about). 

There are plenty of young(er) rappers out there who are immensely talented, without a doubt. We've got Kendrick Lamar amazing listeners still. Drake is hugely popular too. That said, you see a stark generational divide in Hip-Hop between the new young folks rapping about the go-to subjects of partying and sex versus older rappers who either have quit for other passions or seem past their prime (Eminem belongs on a metaphorical rap Mount Rushmore but his newer stuff has been lacking). Dr. Dre is about a billionaire thanks to headphones. Uncle Luke of the 2 Live Crew maybe once was as nasty as he wanted to be, but now he's a high school football coach--and actually quite a good one! Rap isn't just young folks anymore, it has older talent too and arguably is a genre in a bit of a aged-up/midlife crisis.

Rap can be about drinking, smoking weed, having sex, and being a troublemaker. Rap can be about politics, life's struggles, religion, and being true to oneself. For a long time outside of some gimmick rappers, however, I don't think rap ever really thought about dealing with the subject of getting old. The idea was to live fast and die young, and that tragically did happen with a number of Hip-Hop stars. That said, Lil Kim arguably paved the road for today's raunchy lady rappers who proudly will discuss sexual subjects, but she's now almost 50 and while older folks surely have sex, she's dealing with other aspects of life like (unfortunately) trouble with the IRS. 

Rappers are getting older and so are their fans. Can someone in their 30s relate to Sexyy Red as much as the younger folks or do we need the older rappers to touch on subjects relating to us being older? I'm not saying Andre 3000 should finally release a rap album with a track about getting a prostate exam, but just as rap has covered a wide range of subjects, why not touch upon what it is like being middle-aged? Jay-Z once rapped about selling drugs to get by, now he can rap about being a parent. He's grown and parts of rap have grown too. There will always be space for the younger rappers and the subjects the teens/20-somethings want covered. Let's give some space to the older folks too.

I Suspect the Song, "Sweetest Pie," is Not Actually About Pie

You know I find the evolution of dirty lyrics fascinating. I did a report in high school about controversial music and the efforts to censor lyrics judged, "Explicit," due to swearing, sexual content, or being political in a way that rubbed folks the wrong way (e.g. the song, "Fuck Tha Police," to give an example). A few years ago I wrote about how it was interesting to see the evolution of raunchy lyrics from 2 Live Crew to rappers such as City Girls. Little did I suspect that we would get a song like, "WAP," which is literally about females getting super aroused to the point where a, "Bucket and a mop," is needed to wipe up all the wetness of the genitals. A song like, "Me So Horny," is now incredibly tame compared to, "WAP," or even a new song that at first, I thought was about baked goods but quickly realized was definitely not.

"Sweetest Pie," at first blush seems to be about a really sweet treat that Dua Lipa is presenting to a gentleman when she begins singing the song. Certain lyrics make it clear that this pie is not a literal one, however, and by the time Megan Thee Stallion starts rapping any idea this pie is innocent is thrown out the window. The musical scholar in me just finds all this fascinating to think how outraged people were at the simple statement by some gents that they were horny and how tame that is compared to these ladies going in-depth about having some pie that obviously is a stand-in for the Vulva. Here's the music video which is not really safe for work at all, just so you know:

It continues to also be interesting as we see more women proudly proclaiming their sexuality and swatting away at any haters who dare to slut-shame them. Decades ago it just seemed to be the guys who rapped dirty lyrics (with the exception of notable trailblazer ladies, because we need to give credit where credit is due), but now men and women spit bars that can make listeners both nod their heads along and blush a bit. Whether it is Too Short with, "Freaky Tales," or Cardi B and Megan thee Stallion with, "WAP," or now Dua Lipa and Mega Thee Stallion with, "Sweetest Pie," dirty lyrics keep evolving.

Oh, and I'm aware I'm pretty much just talking about pop and rap. I don't know rock or country as well so I can't comment about those with nearly as much knowledge. I'd more than welcome comments about dirty lyrics and how they've changed in rock and country should anyone have some insight.

2 Live Crew and City Girls Both Rap Raunchy and Face Similar Criticisms

If you remember the 1980's and 1990's or have at least read about them you probably are aware of 2 Live Crew. They were a rap group that often had lyrics about enjoying sex and how they were always horny. Their 1989 album, "As Nasty as They Want to Be," resulted in all kinds of legal fiascoes and Governmental debate when it was accused of being obscene and the group became outspoken pioneers about freedom of speech, with group member Luther Campbell spending the years after as an activist for numerous causes afterwards. In retrospect it all is kind of funny as now in 2019 we have a group such as City Girls with their own raunchy raps outraging critics. The more things change the more they stay the same.

I have no problem with sexy music and enjoy it when it is done well--just as I like, "Clean," songs done with skill. I also have zero issues with groups like City Girls being two ladies (Yung Miami and JT) outspoken about their sexuality--if a man can sing and rap about loving sex so can a woman. It just makes me giggle a little to think how in 1989 people were up in arms over, "I'm like a dog in heat, a freak without warning/I have an appetite for sex, 'cause me so horny," and now everyone continues to be mad at sex-lyrics with City Girls going, "Move it, baby, lick it, baby (do it)/Suck up on that clit until that pussy got a hickey, baby." Just as 2 Live Crew incurred some wrath I bet if City Girls were spitting these verses 30 years ago it probably would've made Tipper Gore (of the Parent's Music Resource Center) go mad with rage to the same degree.

City Girls

One irony in this would be how much of the same forces that were so outraged at 2 Live Crew are mad at City Girls, yes, but now they are using different phrasing in an attempt to achieve the same goal of trying to shame the artists/cause outrage. With 2 Live Crew the refrain was, "How dare they objectify women and expose our children to this unmoral garbage?" and with City Girls it is, "How dare they present their sexuality so loosely and expose our children to this unmoral garbage?" When 2 Live Crew was saying how much they liked sex they were debasing women, when City Girls  are eager to say how they like sex, they are bad examples for women (who are supposed to be pure and virginal)--basically, no matter who is doing the rapping it is all about a weird patriarchy where women should never be expected to enjoy sex unless it is in a heterosexual marriage.

With the art-form of music sometimes there is content for all ages and other times the lyrics can be decidedly adult. It is up the musician making the tunes how clean or raunchy they want to sound, and even if vivid dirty-talk upsets some critics prone to, "Moral panic," both 2 Live Crew and City Girls have the right to discuss their love of sex over fun beats regardless of if they're men or women. After all, if you really don't like the song you are quite capable of changing the radio dial/pressing next on Spotify.