Rap Artists Over 40

Back in the 80s, when rap was young and just becoming very popular, many thought it would not last, as is often said when a new style of music makes the scene. It will just be a flash in the pan was the forecast, or in the case of warring rappers, they would all kill each other and rap would die, too. Yes, there were some casualties along the way -- most notably, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Small -- but, here we are two decades later and many rappers have endured, are still healthy, have become very wealthy and are over the Big 4-0. You might consider many of these artists the fathers of rap. Some even have grandchildren.

Most of the members of the highly successful rap group, Public Enemy are ove 40. Frontman, Chuck D, just hit 50 this year and is still going strong in the music business. Additionally, he has been lecturing at colleges for some 20 years. Chuck D is married to Gaye Theresa Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Flava Flav is 51 years old. Several years ago, Flav was the unlikely star of the VH-1 reality show, "Flavor of Love," where women vied for his affections for two seasons. Flav did pick a winner for each season, but he didn't really have a love affair with either. Flav, it seems, was already having a child with a gal named Liz. Their baby boy, Karma, was born in January 2007. Flava Flav has six other children and two grandchildren.

Terminator X (Norman Rogers) will turn 44 years old on November 5, 2010. According to a March 1998 interview in "Vibe," Norman was seriously injured in a 1994 motorcycle accident that shattered his left leg. He eventually moved away from the music scene and took up ostrich farming in Vance County, North Carolina. Norman said many people were astonished at his decision to raise African black ostriches on a 15-acre farm. He heard that Queen Latifah said: "What up with Terminator X? What's he smokin'?"

Chuck D, on the other hand, thought it was great: "There's a million things to do on this planet," he said, "I don't understand when folks pigeonhole people and then act like whatever goes outside of that realm is shocking." So you may not know that one ostrich egg can feed 13 people, but Terminator X does.

Kool Moe Dee, one of the first rappers to win a Grammy, is now 48 years old. Kool Moe Dee, known as old-school, first began in the 1970s with L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee. Their group was known as The Treacherous Three (Spoonie left in the late 70s). Kool Moe Dee had a long running feud with LL Cool J, believing LL had copied his style without giving proper credit.

Speaking of LL Cool J, he is 43, married and the father of four children. LL Cool J is one of the rappers who, like Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jay-Z, became a successful entrepreneur, venturing into many other areas such as acting, writing and creating clothing lines.

Many 40 and over rappers have successfully transitioned to acting careers, both on TV and in film. Ice-T has played Odafin Tutuola on the popular cop drama, "Law and Order: SVU" for many seasons. Ice Cube has appeared in numerous films for over 20 years, like "Boyz in the Hood, "Barber Shop" and more recently "Lottery Ticket." Queen Latifah has also appeared on television and in movies and as a spokeswoman for L'Oreal cosmetics.

Sources:
Vibe: My Ostrich Weighs a Ton, (March 1998)
Wikipedia: Kool Moe Dee, Chuck D, Flava Flav, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Ice T
LL Cool J Bio on Def Jam Website