Samantha Greaves of Examiner reports:

Last month, West coast rapper The Game was taped on stage slinging a barrage of insults at Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z; one of which being a diss directed at Jay's age stating that Jay is an "old a*s ni—-". Jim Jones also was caught on video, slandering Jay-Z for still remaining in Hip-Hop when he is slowly approaching his 40th birthday.

In a video for HipHopStan.com, DMC sets the record straight about the supposed age limit in Hip-Hop. The rapper says that Hip-Hop is more than music, it's a culture and just because someone matures with the genre does not mean they need to stop putting out music. He goes on to use examples about Pop and Rock & Roll artists that are still touring and performing and they are easing up to their 60th+ birthdays. Why should we limit Hip-Hop artists from continuing in their careers while other artists from other genres are not thinking about their age? DMC takes it a step further and states that successful Hip-Hop artists are degrading the Hip-Hop culture

DMC is dead wrong. There is an age limit to hiphop, and the same goes for rock. Both forms are at root about youth and the empowerment of youth (this is not true for jazz or classical music). LL Kool J, for example, is just too old to be making new raps or even taking seriously the raps he wrote when he was basically a boy ("I need love"). There is a time to make hiphop and there is a time to retire and do other things. Also, touring is very different from recording. One is about something you have already done; the other is about making something new. The old hiphop artist should be about the former and not the latter. There are, of course, exceptions (Sonic Youth, for a rock example); but most hiphop artists must come to terms with (be realistic about) the age limits of hiphop.