Snoop Dogg believes it is time veteran rappers are lauded in the same regard as their rock and roll peers.
The Long Beach, California, native has three decades in the music industry under his belt, several timeless records, and is regarded as one of the godfathers of West Coast rap music. Now, at the age of 50, Snoop has joined forces with fellow hip-hop icons Ice Cube, 51, E-40, 53, and Too Short, 54, to form the group Mount Westmore. Each of the rappers has catalogs that span decades, showing the evolving nature of hip-hop and proving rappers can remain relevant even past the perceived prime of their youth.
When asked if there should be an age limit to rapping now that the once new genre has hip-hop veterans that are 50+, the West Coast reppin’ artist made it clear that he will continue making music no matter how old he is.
“I don’t see why because they don’t limit the Rolling Stones, they don’t limit those other groups that do it outside of our genre and we should be respected to the point that that conversation shouldn’t exist anymore,” the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper told Rolling Stone “Music Now” podcast.
Seemingly talking to hip hop fans, Snoop added, “Don’t put no time limit on how old we are or what we are, because we don’t look at the rockers and say, ‘Man, he got white hair now when he used to have black hair, and it’s all gray now.’”
He continued, “We love their music, we love them, we respect them, we come support them, we sing their music — diehard fans.” He added that when it comes to rappers the playing field should be no different in how the industry celebrates longevity. “We should get that same love in hip-hop because we created something that’s gonna last forever, and it’s generational.”
At the end of October, rappers LL Cool J and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter were both inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — a feat that was celebrated by music lovers across the board, considering the milestone forever etches artists as musical icons.
But when it comes to acknowledging rappers, the only institution that exists is a project still in its infancy called the Hip Hop Hall of Fame and Museum, which is expected to open sometime in 2023 in New York.
“You got rappers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” said Snoop. To date the only other rap acts inducted into the RHOF are Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, N.W.A. and Tupac Shakur.
“You ain’t got no m—f—n’ rock and rollers in the Rap Hall of Fame. So slow it down a little bit, and start putting some respect on our name and give us the respect for who we are,” he added, suggesting that rappers should be given the same courtesy to allow the Rap Hall of Fame reach the same level of prestige as the Rock Hall of Fame.
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