A rapper like Chingy wasn't even around for up to 4 years. He blew up with his "Right Thurr" single in 2003, and then believed he could do it on his own, and ditched Ludacris and his Disturbing The Peace label...by 2006 no one really believed he was once as hot as he was in 2003. And he is not the only example...there are a lot of other rappers that have come and gone. As much as i like MIMS, he is also in that category. He was hot with his This Is Why I'm Hot single in 2007, but by 2010, he wasn't on anybody's top 10 or top 50 list of hot rappers.
The rap game is just like any other industry...to be successful in life and stay successful, there are some rules to follow. Number one is to be creative. Nothings kills creativity like competition. I'm sure you are wondering if i typed that well. But, it is true.Nothing kills creativity like competition. When you feel you have to compete with someone to be the best, then you would unconsciously be trying to make a better version of what people already consider success. In essence, you would be copying without knowing it. That can get you a hot song...or make you hot for a year, but it would never keep you in the game. You have to have confidence in yourself and believe that the world would appreciate your own form of creativity. That is, you have to do the the best of your ability. Like him or not, lil wayne did his thing for over a decade before the world noticed him, and he is now reaping his fruits. It was like he waited till the table turned and the part with all the food got to him.
If you look at rappers that have been in the game for more than 15 years, you know that they have this above quality. think of any rapper in the game right now that has been here since the mid 90s and you would notice he is someone that is comfortable in his skin...Busta Rhymes dropped his debut album in 1996, he is still around...Jay-Z dropped his debut in 1996, and he is still doing his thing...Raekwon dropped his debut in 1995, and he is still dropping albums that are critically acclaimed till this day...Nas dropped his debut in 1994, and he is still considered the best...Jadakiss and his L.O.X crew dropped their debut in 1998,and they are still respected, and being called to feature on songs every now and then. And, you can think of any other rapper in the game right now that has longevity, and check my claims.
Apart from being original and being creative, you also have to change with the time but still be yourself. Even someone like Nas who is praised for staying true to hip hop has never stayed the same. You can't compare his style/flow on Illmatic (94), with his 1999 albums. He said it himself- "i kept changing on the world since barbecue"...in case you don't understand that reference, the first song he had a verse on was the Main Source's 1991 Live at The Barbecue track. Nas doesn't have time for gimmicks, but it doesn't mean he doesn't switch up his flow, or change subject on every album. He always has something new to talk about in a different way not to bore you, but he always remains Nas.
The same way you might see Jay-Z doing songs with a Drake or a Kid Cudi, but he still stays true to his roots and what his fans fell in love with him for. Busta Rhymes might do a song with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne, but he is not trying to sound like Wayne...No! He is showing them why he is who he is, and killing them on the track. And the problem a lot of the rappers that have been getting in the game since the mid 00s is that they have little belief in themselves. They look up to an old rapper, and fashion their style to his, and hope to blow to stardom that way. Some of them do blow up, but don't stay too long on the scene.
The last secret to longevity in the rap game is to build a team...build a team around you of other capable rappers, before or after you blow up. It gives you a longer life in the game. I think Jay-Z is the master at this...but Cash Money have taken this to another level right now. I think they own 2012. They have built a team so strong that other teams like Rick Ross's MMG are aligning with them. They have Drake, Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Nicki Minaj, Mystikal, Bow Wow, T-Pain, Cory Guns...But, to go back to Jay-Z being a master at this. Just go down his memory lane. He came in the game off the popularity he got from having a track with Foxy Brown in 1996, and also having tracks and affiliations with Biggie. These two rappers were pretty hot at the time. And after Jay got his own fame to a level in 1998, he started building a team of rappers...Memphis Bleek, beanie Sigel, Amil, Young Gunz, Freeway...and the every other rapper that was ever signed to the Roca Fella team.
When rap started changing in the mid 00s, he reduced his association with the rappers that didn't want to change with time, and rappers that didn't understand his financial vision. And he started building a new team. Today, he has a new team, but the most prominent partner he has right now is Kanye West. Ofcos, a lot of people will disagree with me, but Kanye is the major reason why Jay can still sell as much as he does in this new era. And if you listen well to the Watch The Throne album, you would have to agree with me that Kanye out-performed Jay on most of the tracks on the album. I am not saying Jay can't make it without Kanye. Jay-Z will always be Jay-Z, Kanye is just a very helpful team member for him right now.
I see some of this new rappers building along this lines, but most of them are still in the box. I think you can use the principles i have mentioned in this post and march it against any rapper i didn't mention and see how it goes. I think the only rapper that didn't work with a team and has had longevity would have to be Nas. Of cos he had a team when he started off. But for the last 12 years or so, he has been on his own. But he is very original and creative. So, he might stay longer in the game than the rappers just getting in right now.
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