The rap game is fickle and fair weathered, careers are short lived. In my estimation you have about 3 years to be the hottest rapper before the Hip Hop audience gets tired of you. When people still have an interest in you beyond that you start to reach an almost iconic status. Why do some rappers keep their relevance for many years while some just have their moment and disappear? There are many factors and I'll discuss them with a few examples.
When Snoop Dogg Jumped ship to No Limit records it was a big risk. He was leaving behind platinum territory(although dangerous) and a producer who helped make him a household name. This could've meant the end of his career but he took the chaos and turned it into something positive. His last album on No Limit was titled "Tha Last Meal". It was his way of saying that is was the last time people would eat off his success. As he moved on in his career he gained more and more freedom. After getting a buzz from a freestyle he did with Big Daddy Kane and a single with Original Flavors Jay-Z still couldn't get a deal. Instead of quitting and going back to dealing he started his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records with Dame Dash.
Trends in music change every 3-5 years(Styles, beats, artists, etc.) Jay and Snoop embraced the changes and used them to their advantage. When production start to evolve around 2000(moving away from sampling) Producers Swizz Beatz, The Neptunes, and Timbaland exemplified that evolution. There's a story I heard about Kool G. Rap traveling all the way to Virginia to the Neptunes studio. Legend has it that Pharrel(member of the Neptunes) played him a beat he said would make him hot and would be a big hit. When G. Rap heard the beat he criticized it and went home. In 1998 Queens, NY rapper(and member of the duo CNN) Noreaga released the song "Superthug"(produced by the Neptunes) and it became a breakout hit. He then surpassed it with his song "Nothin"(also produced by the Neptunes) in 2002. Snoop teamed up with The Neptunes and released one of his biggest hits "Beautiful" and then made an even bigger hit "Drop it like its hot" two years later. Jay-Z rhymed over beats from Timbaland, The Neptunes, and Swizz beatz and then spearheaded the sample resurgence with his 2001 album "The Blueprint". Using then unknowns Just Blaze and Kanye West to reintroduce the "vintage" sound.
Basically what I'm saying is that the reason they survived the times is by taking control of their careers and keeping their sound current. Some may call this selling out but I call it smart.
Those are just my thoughts on it but.....I'm tired of typing. Peace
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