I propose an epic Old School v. New School rap battle.

I’m old school.  I won’t apologize for that.  In fact, when it comes to music, I’m damn proud of being an old school hip hop head.  I remember when rap was brand new, and the years of innovation in the last years of the 1980’s and the golden era of the early 90’s when every artist pushed the boundaries and reinvented the genre, leading us listeners who were nodding noggins to say, “I didn’t know you could do that!”  In my not-so humble opinion, old school hip hop (let’s say, pre 1996) is still the best.

But the problem is, no one wants to hear it.  To anyone under 30 years old, we sound like dinosaurs when we talk about real hip hop, just like our parents sounded ancient when they talked about soul or old time rock and roll.   Every time I hear a Nelly song that repeats Slick Rick lyrics, or a James Brown sample and these ‘utes’ (youths) have no idea of the history and context of the reference, I cringe.  Again, no one wants to hear it.  So I have a novel idea; let’s prove it.

I propose this: a rap battle.  New School v. Old School.  Let’s line up the best MC’s (that stands for ‘Master of Ceremony’ or even ‘Mike Control,’ to all you kids who just started shaving 18 months ago) and let them duke it out, mano y mano.  A couple rules: no production, no effects, no pre-recorded lyrics, and no lip syncing (gotta say it with the artists these days.)  Just stage and two teams, Old and New, with 10 MC’s on each side.  They can bring their own DJ and they get a microphone and 90 seconds to freestyle.  We could turn it into a street fest and have the audience judge, give a million dollars to the winning team, sell it on pay-per-view, and donate the proceeds to charity.

Who would win?  It’s easy to say the old school, but once I start going down the roster, there’s a lot more new school talent that you’d imagine.  It’s just they’re not the most promoted/pop sell-out artists you see all over the charts.

It’s easy for me to fill out the Old School team candidates:
Slick Rick
Doug E Fresh
Rakim
Nas
Snoop Dog
Q Tip
Black Thought (yes, Old School is taking the Roots’ MC)
KRS One
Chuck D
Big Daddy Kane
Andre 3000
Mos Def
Talieb Kweli
Wycleff
Lauryn Hill

Method Man, Big Pun, Guru, Biggie and 2Pac aren’t around to compete, of course, or they’d be included.

New School?
Eminem
Kanye West
Lil Wayne (strong start)
Jay Z
Drake
50 Cent
Kendrick Lamar
Royce da 5'9"
Lupe Fiasco
J Cole
Rick Ross
Niki Manaj

Who else?  Could we even find 10 new school MC’s to fill out the list?  Would they have the stones to step up on stage without their agents and producers and battle just with a DJ and a mic?

Who would win?  Is this just the sad hubris of a middle-aged man trying to hang on to rapidly dwindling cool points, or would the Old School embarrass them?