Five Old-School Rappers And Their New-School Spirit Animals

Two things we know for sure: Music is cyclical, and intergenerational hip-hop arguments are eternal. At the intersection of these two points is the search for the “next [insert old-school artist here].”

Fans are constantly wondering “Who is the next Tupac?” or “Who is the next Rakim?” While we know better than to jump into the heated discussion surrounding those two icons in particular, we have compiled a list of old-school icons and their new-school counterparts.

Ghostface Killah / Action Bronson

Not that Ghostface would be too happy with the comparison nowadays, but there is no denying that Action Bronson is carrying the torch for the hard-nosed, lyrically dense style of rapping that Ghostface helped make famous.

The Wu-Tang Clan member has said that he’s confused Action Bronson songs for his own, and Bronson responded to the suggestion that he sounded like Ghostface by calling the rapper a “legend” and “one of the best rappers alive.”

Andre 3000 / Raury

It might be difficult to think of Andre 3000 as “old school,” but a quick look at Google will show you that Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is old enough to buy itself a drink.

Andre 3000 began to morph into his singularly weird, Bootsy Collins of hip-hop persona shortly thereafter. And until very recently, the ‘Kast-loving world was left with a Three Thou-shaped hole in their hearts.

That’s where Raury comes in. The young fellow ATLien shares Andre’s penchant for outlandish fashions and genre bending, as well as his tendency to sing as often as he raps.

For what it’s worth, Andre told Life and Times that he agrees with the comparisons.

“There’s a fair comparison with Raury. I think Raury is stepping out and pushing it though. That’s fair considering he’s not a straight and narrow kind of artist and going for his own thing.”

Nas / Your Old Droog

There’s something to be said for an artist who reminds fans of another artist so much that they think they might actually be the same person. Your Old Droog was initially a fairly anonymous rapper, and fans took that lack of information and ran with it.

Theories circulated that Your Old Droog was a pseudonym for the Illmatic rapper before Droog revealed himself as a 25-year-old Ukrainian-American, though his actual birth name is still hard to come by. It’s easy to see why the conspiracy theory existed; Droog deals in the sort of boom-bap, evocative imagery, and wordplay that used to come along with every Nas release.

Vanilla Ice / Macklemore

Not every “new X” designation is entirely positive.

Vanilla Ice came on the scene at a time when hip-hop wasn’t yet the dominant cultural force that it is today and brought it to previously unheard of commercial heights. Accusations of cynical cultural appropriation soon followed, as Ice was showered with awards and commercial success at the expense of black artists who many thought were more deserving.

Unfortunately, not much has changed. Macklemore’s ascendance and awards show recognition has been well-documented. The outrage over his win over Kendrick Lamar at the Grammys was so strong that Macklemore admitted that he believed Kendrick should have won in a widely criticized screenshot.

The two don’t have much in common beyond the fact that they both brought up discussions of bias toward white artists, by both consumers and awards committees. Watch their two mega-hits below.

LL Cool J / Drake

It might be hard to figure for folks who only know LL Cool J from NCIS or “Mama Said Knock You Out,” but James is (arguably) the first mainstream rapper to make it okay to talk about feelings on wax. His hit song “I Need Love” was an absolute game-changer at a time when rap had yet to move beyond the hard-hitting street sounds of the Golden Age.

Hip-hop fell back in love with the street-tough persona again in the 2000s, until a baby lotion soft rapper and former child star began rapping in a language that millennial teenagers innately understood. Most rap fans had never been shot at, but they knew what it was like to call up an ex after drinking too much.

Drake rode the embrace of heart-on-sleeve youngsters to become one of the biggest presences in the rap game today. But he couldn’t have gone all-in on his emotions if LL hadn’t knocked down the door (or “wall”) of his empty bedroom.

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