Who Cares? Loaded Lux vs Calicoe (aka Maturity vs Age)

There’s a moment in hip hop history that perfectly outlined the social disconnect occurring in our existence between our young and old. September 9th 2012, an upload on YouTube showcased a rap battle from The Ultimate Rap Leagues’ “Summer Madness 2” event between a current famed battle rapper, Calicoe ,and a battle rap legend, Loaded Lux. The venue where it was held had an overwhelming turnout in the thousands…chanting, clapping, cheering, and occasional booing here and there. There were four more rap battles that took place at this event but the battle aforementioned had the makings of a Shakespearean play. Here lies the age old tug of war between old and young playing out right before thousands who, themselves, were a mix of old and young. General census agreed that the winner of this bout had to outperform or outsmart their opponent to earn the win. The young current battle rap star, Calicoe, possesses the ability to outperform his challengers with witty punch lines, awesome flow, cadence, and enough aggression to make 2pac jealous (no diss…just illustrating a point). The mature, outdated, rap legend, Loaded Lux, has footage of rap bouts dated back in the early 2000’s. How would Lux fair in this new arena where the venue is now attended by thousands vs a handful of homies on a sardine cramped corner on a NY winter night? Would he be able to engage with the young attendees that night without choking? Questions like these were tatted on the thoughts of everyone curious to see if Lux could match wits with one of the more active figures in all of battle rap.

Can an old “hustler” operate in the 21st century without taking drags out of his oxygen mask? Could an O.G., triple O.G. park his long Cadillac in a compact parking space? Can an old man function in a young man society? If I can bother you for one more question…am I referring to battle rap or real life? My favorite expression goes, “I’m old enough to know better but young enough to not give a fuck!” Many youth would voice their ills similar to each other, stating that they exist without proper mentoring, guidance, education, nutrition, or decent shelter. Looking for opportunities to excel in a cruel climate are slim to none. Many of their older male counterparts had migrated to our overpopulated prisons and cemeteries. This, in the end, left our boys to link up with other lost boys to form a federation of unforgiving hopefuls to fend for themselves. Calicoe’s first round of the bout addressed issues of incrimination, questioning loyalty amongst other peers and, of course, killing the competition with an array of guns. He definitely appealed to the young federation who had mirrored his situations at one point in their lives. Now for the old man, Lux. He began with a well-seasoned rhyme scheme that startled the crowd to the point where he too, had startled himself. Due to a memory lapse, Lux had to forfeit that round.

Old men had the same issues growing up as our young. People forget that our men were once without proper mentoring, guidance, education, nutrition, or decent shelter. Their federation is no different from the youth of today. Job security, wealth and love in the families were deflating out of this bubble we called “the land of opportunity!” They had to witness vicious acts that occurred daily in mass urban cities across America in the 1960’s and 70’s. Without anyone to help formulate a plan, they had formed together to fend for themselves, just like our youth today. Lux was once a young man who possessed the mental capacity as, you guessed it, a young man! Viewing previous battles of his, he rapped about a hustler’s life, living the dream by devising a scheme to get mad C.R.E.A.M., and trivial topics that us hoodstars can relate to. So what is the difference between Calicoe and Lux? Their second round framed the two being very aggressive, imaginative, creative, and cleaver. However, the one with the experience and education would take this round and the next.
We were all young at one point in our lives. We gradually became an older version of ourselves. But, do we mature when we reach an old age? Experience and education are key parts into achieving maturity. Some
had experienced an event that left them with a difficult task to take on. To better the welfare of their families. Would it matter how old they were when it happened? There are cases of “young adults” who were faced with horrifying scenarios which altered their mindset. Some couldn’t cope while others assumed the role of a problem solver. If you were an older sibling, you begin to solve the toughest of problems while your parents worked long hours of the day. You concentrated on tutoring your younger brother or sister with their homework, provided meals, entertainment, household chores, and completing your assignments for school. But not all of us had that maturated mindset to handle such tasks. Some may get careless and let chaos corrupt the household, while others abide by the rules that were set. A child has to become a team player in order to maintain a healthy environment for their family. Most parents struggle with that task to be honest. Is THAT a question of maturity?

The third round was the highlight of the entire event itself. It would please me so much to tell y’all what happened but it’s best to witness history yourself. This battle has multiple answers of maturity if you are open minded enough to take heed. Judging from the comments left by the viewers, there’s a clear cut winner, but don’t be surprised to see immature comments on the matter
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What are your thoughts about maturity vs age?

Peace in!

 

The opinions and views expressed here are the opinions of the designated author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of any of the individual members of Dead End Hip Hop.