On Avoiding a Midlife Crisis While Black in America.
I have been reflecting a lot on what it means to grow into middle age in a land where crisis exists perpetually.
I take about an hour's commute to work each day and that transit time gives me many opportunities to check out new music. The Apple Music Listen Now tab is my primary source for discovering new releases, as its suggestions align with artists that are either in previously curated playlists or genre-specific to what its users listen to most frequently. A few days ago, I came across the title of Houston rap legend, Slim Thug’s new album Midlife Crisis, and thought to myself “The title sounds interesting, and I got time, let me give this a listen.” Though not a superfan, I’ve always had an appreciation for Slim Thug dating back to his days as a standout with Houston’s Swisha House record label, and knowing that he and I are roughly the same age, I was curious to hear what he identified as a midlife crisis as a veteran rapper in his 40s.
The album started in pretty typical Slim Thug fashion as he rapped about his independent grind, the material things he has acquired, being a ‘bawse,’ ridin’ slabs (cars), and status as a certified Texas hip hop icon. About a third way into the album, Thug gets into the meat of the album’s title and lets go of some of his bravado on songs like “Life Sucks,” “Stuck,” and “Head Up.” The midpoint of the album finds him being introspective about the trials and tribulations of not having everything all together, going through hardships, losing position after climbing up the ladder, and seeing the dynamic of relationships he thought were once solid, change.
Slim rounded the album out on a slightly more ballin’ note, but it was the center of the album, the content for which it was named, that resonated with me the most. After all, I have never known anything about living as a millionaire or being a rap star, but I do know what it is to be a midlife creative/artist and a Black man in America on a life journey where the objects in the windshield and the rearview are pretty much equidistant.
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