Is 30 the new 30?

by SCOTT C

Call me naive, but I just never considered that I’d be in the position that I’m in now. I’m a guy who grew up in the thick of hip hop culture, and in my teens, there were only a few people I knew over 30 who were still directly connected to the scene, loving every minute of it. Most people had taken on the stance that you couldn’t let your pants hang low all your life, and at some point you had to set aside all the hip hop shit and grow up. This often meant getting a “real job,” or at least cutting your involvement in the club, party, MC, DJ, graffiti or b-boy department to a minimum.

I would have to say that the great thing about the hip hop generation I grew up with is that it involved people making that transition by creating “real jobs” for themselves. Jobs that could solidify a love for music, art, performance or the business of it all, allowing us to stay involved in the very thing that had inspired us and given us energy all those years. Sometimes I come up against people who make me feel like I’m an idiot for not taking a job at a pharmaceutical company, or worse, my parents, who always seem to know when Costco is hiring.

REMEMBER THESE? J-Zone

But then I meet dynamic, enthusiastic people who have yet to be soured by the clutches of the industry and the eternal struggle between personal integrity and good ol’ dough. If someone tries to tell you that shit just isn’t the same, they’re probably at that age. But don’t hate, there’s a lot to be learned from what came before, like many often choose to forget. This week, a friend put me on to a blog post from New York-based MC/producer J-Zone (www.myspace.com/jzoneoldmaid), who recently turned 30, and decided to run down a list of things that only us “grown folks” can understand. Here’s a few from his list of 26.

You know yo ass is gettin old if...

#2. ALL the food in your high school cafeteria had trans fat and there were NO healthy alternatives.

#6. You remember buying a bootleg cassette tape for the first time and being mad that there were no liner notes.

#8. You had a crush on somebody from Head of the Class.

#9. You remember the Internet was supposed to be a fad. Better yet, your school computers were only for typing/data.

#13. Your mom was nervous about you seeing Juice, Menace II Society and Boyz N the Hood in the movie theatre.

#23. You blew on your video game cartridges when the game wouldn’t load.

#25. You snatched the Volkswagen/Mercedes Benz emblems off the hoods of the cars and rocked ’em on a necklace or sold ’em.

#26. You woke up one day and realized... “I’m a grown-ass man, what the fuck am I wearing an XXXL shirt for?”, then proceeded to put all your clothes in a bag and dump ’em in the Goodwill bin.

A mansion, yacht and health insurance... fathead@videotron.ca

MIRROR ARCHIVES » Mar 15-Mar 21: INSIDE - COVER | ARCHIVES INDEX | CURRENT ISSUE