is their youth & the fact they're broke imo.

i was listening to a lot of noreaga the past week.

and it's like even if he rapped like this today:
a) he isn't 22 years old any more so it won't be the same.
b) his whole lifestyle has changed because he's been in the entertainment industry for 15+ years.

but i started thinking about it and this was such a common element about almost every single breakout rapper, yet never gets acknowledged directly.

i think you could be a half-ass rapper but if you're young & broke and people think your image is cool - you're already way ahead of the rest of the pack.
rappers who sound exactly the same 20 years later like raekwon, i couldn't be any less interested in hearing in 2012 and i think in all honesty a lot of it is because a lot of rapper's overall appeal is based on them selling their youth & lack of entertainment industry $.