Hip-Hop Culture Really Did Change the Way Black Folks Age
21st-century middle-age Black folks century look, talk, and approach life differently than the generation that raised them.
When Clifford “Method Man” Smith emerged into the rap world back in 1993 as one-ninth of the Wu-Tang Clan, he rocked a glass eye, oversized denim and Timberlands, and celebrated his grimy aesthetic as it was par for the course for rappers who came up in the “keep it real” era of early 90s hip-hop to look like the streets that made them. He had no interest whatsoever in being considered a “sex symbol,” and even when he filmed for his most “lady-friendly” record, the ‘All I Need’ remix video with Mary J. Blige, he postured about rough-neckishly atop a project building while professing his love for his “shorty” amidst a presumably cold, dark and drab backdrop.
These days, Method Man is a 51-year-old actor, emcee, and fitness aficionado. He hasn’t rocked a fake glass eye in decades, and can often be seen walking red carpet events in tailor-made suits with a neatly groomed beard and curly, faded half-fro. 2022 Meth has been lauded as a sex symbol by many who may not have ever been diehard Wu-Tang fanatics, and that is largely based on the consensus that he looks considerably younger than his actual age. But beyond his appearance, Method Man swaggers about with mature energy that very much gives off “I’m forever hip hop.” He still actively emcees and will occasionally release freestyles showcasing his lyrical dexterity and nimble flow. Meth is not an “old head” trying to be young, he is an embodiment of the culture that raised him — a product of a generation that has rewritten the rules on what middle-aged Blackness looks, feels and moves like.
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