The Intersection at Hip-Hop and Basketball
With a plethora of shout outs, comparisons, and even business partnerships, basketball and Hip-Hop go hand in hand. This bond is best shown during NBA’s All-Star weekend, a weekend that is meant to celebrate basketball, bouncing around the biggest cities in America year to year, with a famous hometown Hip-Hop act usually serving as the ambassador for the whole weekend. Although it has fluctuated in the past, recently Hip-Hop acts like J. Cole, Migos and Pharrell have been the one tapped to perform during the halftime show for the All-Star game that happens on the last day of the weekend. From participants in the Celebrity All-Star game to props in the Slam Dunk Contest to occupying the courtside seats during the weekend’s events, Hip-Hop is everywhere during the weekend every year.
With this year’s All-Star weekend being held in the major music hub of Chicago, Chance the Rapper served as the ambassador for the weekend. However, the high flying weekend attracted many other hometown legends like Kanye, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan and more, with some gracing us with unforgettable performances. Jennifer Hudson gave us a breathtaking performance of “For All We Know” in tribute to the late Kobe and Giana Bryant, Common seamlessly rhymed the player intros for both team lineups for the All-Star game, as well as reciting an incredible ode to Chicago titled “If This City Could Talk” and finally Chance the Rapper performed some of his hits for the halftime show bringing out DJ Khaled and Quavo.
One of the main places you see the relationship between Hip-Hop and the NBA is the Celebrity All-Star game where rappers like Quavo and J. Cole can live out their dreams of hooping on an NBA court. Many rappers have often rapped about the time they spent playing Basketball during their childhood like the 6’ 5'' 2 Chainz who often raps about his hooping past or J. Cole who’s early mixtapes like “The Warm Up” and “Friday Night Lights” were mainly about his real-life first striving to be a basketball player before dedicating his life to music. The admiration for NBA stars in Hip-Hop is massive from Jay-Z’s many shout outs to Dwyane Wade and Lebron James, to Chief Keef’s hit single “Kobe” many individuals in both music and basketball acknowledge the inseparable bond between the two.
However, there was no better illustration of the bond between Hip-Hop and Basketball this weekend than Damian Lillard aka Dame D.O.L.L.A. point guard for the Portland Trailblazers. Lillard, affectionately known as “Logo Lillard” for his shooting range became the first player to be selected to an All-Star game and perform at a half-time show after he performed a few tracks from his latest album “Big D.O.L.L.A.” even surprising fans with an appearance from frequent collaborator and friend Lil Wayne.
Dame has been subtly making a name for himself in the rap game for years while simultaneously dominating on the court. But he’s not the only baller to play both sides. In 2019 Marvin Bagley III and Dame got into a mild rap beef, sending multiple diss tracks towards each other. Iman Shumpert became a fan favorite in New York as a rookie after dropping his Knickstape project. Even the basketball greats have dipped into Hip-Hop, with young Kobe Bryant having signed to Sony before eventually getting dropped after a lackluster performance from his debut single “K.O.B.E.” and Shaq going platinum with his debut album “Shaq Diesel”. While NBA players rapping isn’t random, actually taking the time to produce and release albums is rare. We’ve even heard an unreleased track from Kevin Durant and Lebron James, the unreleased track “It Ain’t Easy” rumored to be recorded around 2011, totes unedited vocals from both MVPs about the struggles the two have had to overcome to become great, over a simple guitar melody with a female vocalist on the chorus.
Another elite (now retired) NBA player has gotten into the rap game this year. Dwyane Wade made his debut to the airwaves when he and Rick Ross dropped their celebratory single “Season Ticket Holder” also featuring Raphael Saadiq. The beat brings that signature Maybach Music sound that the MMG Boss loves to use, slow and angelic, making you feel like you’re on a beach somewhere remote. D. Wade raps the first verse with a simple flow before handing the reins off to fellow Miami Legend Ross. UD aka Udonis Haslem, long time Miami player and best friend to D Wade, also helped with the song, being included in the video along with Wade, Ross and another Miami legend DJ Khaled.
The most common pipedreams for young kids in America come from what they see, and for black children where they see Black people successful, the most are music and sports. Always during February which is Black History Month, All-Star weekend is a way for Black Excellence to be highlighted during a month where the Grammy Awards and the Oscars are held, two award shows that often don’t acknowledge the feats of black entertainers and artists. Hip-Hop and basketball don’t just collide, they effortlessly mesh, with NBA All-Star weekend being exhibit A.
