I wanted to talk really quickly about a phenomenon of rappers from different backgrounds and futures. But not just any background or future. I wanted to talk, and mostly highlight specifically the transition that many actors/athletes/rappers make.
For some reason, there have been periods of almost exudes type numbers of rappers getting into film and shows acting, and vice versa. Similarly, in the 90s, when Hip-Hop seemed to be really in its prime, many NBA players were also spending quite a bit of time on the mic spitting verses.
Since I love basketball, I am going to make this post about basketball rappers, and then put up another post this weekend about actor rappers.
So without further ado, I"m going to highlight some of the marque NBA players who have had "rap" careers.
First of all, love him or hate him, Kobe is talented on the court. Past that, he also apparently has enough clout to pull Tyra Banks onto a track with him, and make it a little bit catchy.
On this track, he speaks a lot about "what he lives for, Basketball beats and broads" and how he is a master in all three. I hate the guy, but unfortunately the song gets you, and you can't help but sing along.
Another prominent NBA player/rapper is the original Deisel, the Big man himself, Shaq Daddy. This is an interesting video explaining his relationship with Biggie too, and the night that Biggie was shot. its kind of a sad story unfortunately.
Some of Shaq's songs, you can actually put on and bump to.
And of course, as any master of the game must be, Shaq is not afraid to call people out in a little freestyle. This first one got him in quite a bit of trouble when he first dropped it. In this he is referring to Kobe not being able to win a championship in LA without Shaq, as he lost in the finals. And Shaq says Kobe was pretty much just on his coat tails. This was of course before Kobe did finally win one without Shaq, and when there was much tension between the two.
This second Freestyle/name drop/call out rap from Shaq mentions LA's Newest Big Man Dwight Howard. The beginning style is almost slam poetry esque as well, which I think is cool and fairly interesting. (Shaq begins at 30 seconds)
And then another NBA (Ironically now also a Laker) that got on the mic for a while was Ron Artest, who actually had albums
There was even a "nba's best kept secret" album featuring several of these artists back in the 90s
On an end note, my basketball team listed to boxer Roy Jones Jr's track "Can't be touched" before most games one season as a pump up song. This is a notable song, by a notable athlete, and he goes hard.
I think the link between basketball and hip hop also goes the other way-- think of the way hip hop slang, or perhaps African American vernacular pervades.basketball announcing and a certain kind of swagger as well. Interesting post
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating. I have always been aware of the relationship between rapping and acting and vice versa, but before this post I was completely oblivious that any of these basketball stars had attempts or careers in hip-hop. I knew briefly about Metta World Peace's attempt at rap when he was playing on the Bulls I believe, but all of this far succeeds that. To my surprise though, KOBE and Shaq were not half bad. I mean granted they had the money to pay the producers to give them the right sound, but still they were not too bad. I agree with Jen though, I think the african american vernacular and slang have a lot to do with it. I also think the idea that is now described as swag has a lot to do with it. Basketball more than any other sport is a sport about flaunting yourself and possessing showmanship when you perform moves that outdo those of others on the opposing team. And rap is all about who's the "realest" and most masculine and can dominate others. I think this similarity in style has a lot to do with the the sport and art form connecting.
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