In 2006, rap came of a certain age. It was the ten-year anniversary of Jay-Z’s first album, and he celebrated it by performing the entire thing in a highly publicized Radio City Music Hall show. Rap had enough longevity and had resisted enough fads to reach a level where some of its best acts never had to record a new song again — and they’d still be able to sell out venues for the remainder of their careers. (Fwiw, Jay was “retired” at this moment.) Our culture already accepted this from the Stevie Wonders, Aretha Franklins and Billy Joels, but it was around this point that hip-hop made the turn. Jay, Kanye and Wayne can call it quits on making new music today, and still pull a Barclays Center crowd in 2039 by giving the people what they want.