My great great aunt is 97. My grandfather is 86. My mother will be 51 this year, and my father will be 52. And I am 27. And these four people have no problem with telling you their age. I've completed interviews with big celebrities, lesser known celebs, and local celebs, and it always boggles my mind when one of them says they don't want to share their age because "in Hollywood, you don't tell your age. You always want to appear younger." I don't believe that's true. Hollywood glorifies Hugh Hefner for being his age and still being the stallion with the Playboy mansion. So you're guessing that the people who give me a hard time about age are women, right? Wrong! Out of at least 20 celebs I've interviewed, only three didn't want to give their age and they were both men. And Black men, at that.
Now call me crazy, but the statistics are still out there saying it's a challenge for a brotha to make it to 25 years old. So when I meet successful black men who have made it to celebrity status, who are doing something positive, and who are those handsome guys women oogle, I wonder why wouldn't they want to brag about how long they've been in the industry. Be proud you've made it this long. There is no rule book saying that you can't act or rap in your 30s or 40s. There's a reason that with maturity comes wisdom. Some of the better rappers out are older (ex. Rakim).
I think people should be proud of the years they've been able to enjoy life. Don't hesitate to tell your age. It's a beautiful thing to be able to experience however many years, months, and days you've had to meet, live, breathe, and experience more days.
I think it's imperative that black men disclose their age, especially as professionals because it gives hope to other young brothers who are just trying to make it and don't have resources to tell them what is a reasonable age to get it done. And when they see friends dropping like flies around them, you have no idea how many of them look at you and think, "Well, he made it and he's _________ years old!"
Love life!