On Wednesday (Sept. 20), 42-year-old DJ and rapper Paul Wall spoke frankly with TMZ Hip Hop about a recent viral TikTok video, his take on growing gray, and his appreciation of all things Drake.
On Tuesday (Sept. 19), Wall posted a video on TikTok with the caption: “[First] off, why my face look like the old man filter lol, we had a lot of fun yesterday performing halftime with Louie TheSinger and watching the Houston Texans. Mannnn, gonna be a long journey, but [you] can definitely feel we’re headed in the right direction, Tank Dell LFG, homie!!!!”
The rapper’s fans offered mostly supportive and appreciative replies to his comment about looking like an “old man” with some referring to him as a “silver fox” and “elegant.” One fan spoke of how he aged “beautifully.”
Wall explained during his TMZ interview that he couldn’t always accept the thought of growing old.
“My grandfather had a full head of gray hair when he was 18 years old. So, growing up, I always knew it was coming. I started out with a little here and there on my chin… Honestly, I always had insecurities and hang-ups about my gray hairs as a younger person,” the famed artist admitted. He received comments about the first signs of graying in his early 20s that negatively impacted his approach to aging.
The rapper then had a somewhat change of attitude after he reached 40. “Now, I don’t mean to be ageist or any of that, but once I hit 40, it just felt like being gray was more age appropriate,” Wall stated. He still has his doubtful moments, however — like with his TikTok caption.
As noted by TMZ, the graying hasn’t hurt Paul Wall at all in terms of his success as a rapper. Recently, during the “It’s All A Blur Tour” in Houston, Drake spoke highly of him and other Houston rap icons while on the stage before thousands of fans. Wall expressed his joy about the moment, noting, “Felt great getting that shout out from Drizzy Drake” and talked about his love for the Toronto superstar.
Wall then spoke about how he and his business partner, Johnny Dang, have no problem giving Drake custom grillz for life. He shared excitement about his upcoming album, The Great Wall, set for release on Dec. 1.