Both shot the three ball at a well-above average rate of over 37 percent, and could always light you up from the field if they were left open. Big L is a lot like that playground legend whose career was derailed by the elements surrounding the court he built his reputation--'cept he was so nice he still made it to the league, and mesmerized listeners when he dribbled across Lord Finesse instrumentals, disarming MCs with tight rhyme schemes and irrepressible wit. In both cases, excellence proved to be the best remedy for large scale PR fiascos. Lil Boi, South Korean rapper. That raw talent is certainly what’s caused his name to stay at the front of many rappers mouths, as Childish Gambino rapped on “Freaks And Geeks,” “Put your team on the map, Blake Griffin on the court.” Blake Griffin, along with Chris Paul, helped turn the Los Angeles Clippers into a competitive Western power. But that short sells the nine time All-Star and four time All-NBA First Team player, who is consistently one of the league’s leaders in assists. But you can say this: It doesn't matter what aspect of rap it was, Biggie was dominant. Obviously, there’s a bias towards players who’ve been in the league longer—just look at LeBron James, who was a household name in 2010, while Steph Curry was still playing at Davidson College. Shaq's blunt critique doesn't sit well with NBA stars. Young Hot had a buzz and was one of the best freestyle rappers around, but most folks at the time didn't expect him to win. The song these lyrics belong to sees Cube run through a good day in the streets of Compton, where death is around the corner—and so is the basketball court, so why not run some pick up? But, one of the Toronto rapper's more underrated strengths lies in his ability to contextualize both himself and others in the world of pop culture through quick bursts of incisive lyricism. Kendrick Lamar's "The Heart Part 4" sees him explain all the ugliest parts about the "split" of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook within a matter of only four bars. Lyrics: "My team in the cut, packing metal things/I've got more foreign shooters than the Sacramento Kings,". Instead, like James Harden, Nowitzki’s major rap accomplishment is his connection to the Dallas Mavericks, where he’s played his entire career and led to a championship in 2011. BRO THIS IS THE BEST RAPPER WITH THE WORD "BABY" IN HIS NAME! A clever little quip from Wale's titular Ambition track, this line is as quick and efficient as they come. When NBA players hear their name in rap songs While early references highlighted Roses talent, that all shifted in the last few years, as Drake said on “Furthest Thing”: “I had to Derrick Rose the knee up before I got the re-up.” Rose’s injuries reverberated so much off the court rappers shifted the context of his name to sadly reflect his diminished skill set. When Curry was drafted, the NBA record for most 3s in a season was 269. Does LeBron, Curry, or KD hold the top spot? Rozay's repeating the last part in his deep, guttural voice made it all the better. The message? Those accomplishments are often less observed in rap lyrics. That amazing combination of gifts isn’t always loved. He was Kobe Bryant/LeBron James to Hov's Michael Jordan. Who is the best rapper with numbers in their name? “I was Kyrie with the rock, the crack game number 2,” Meek Mill rapped on a remix of Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s 2016 hit “All The Way Up.” That combination of maneuverability and ball handling prowess makes for a bit more fun in rhymes. In later years, of course, MC’s would use the NBA references to mythologize themselves, creating bars that acted as summations of their career or their status in relationship to the rap game. People like Lil Wayne, Drake and, of course, Jay Z come to mind, but there are more. With his legacy of nearly unprecedented dominance and cultural ubiquity, Jay Z is one of the few who can viably compare themselves to the great Michael Jordan. Honestly, that was probably all Lil Mouse did for the first half of his career. One thing you'll learn from this list: You can never, ever go wrong with a Michael Jordan reference. Instead, he chose to stay the course and proceeded to average a triple double and have one of the most impactful regular seasons in NBA history. The very first mainstream rap song in history also included a reference to the New York Knicks. In a looser way, Yeezy had sort of his own redemption cycle after his embarrassing interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Lyrics: "Tables turned, lesson learned, my best look/You jumped sides on me, now you 'bout to meet Westbrook/Go celebrate with your team and let victory vouch you/Just know the next game played I might slap the shit out you". Lil B, American rapper. Top User Quizzes in Sports. You could look at 2007's American Gangster and 2011's Watch the Throne as being Hov's equivalent to MJ's 1996 and 1997 NBA titles—with Yeezy playing the role of a Dennis Rodman/Scottie Pippen hybrid on the latter album. Rappers weren’t too late to the bandwagon, as Steph’s ability to shoot became an easy metaphor for one’s own “shooting” ability or having “shooters” around them. Here are a few of our favorites. Get an extended look at 20 of the best NBA references in rap history by peeping our list below. That might be why rappers often speak of him in slightly more generic terms like Young Thug on Chance the Rapper’s “Mixtape” with the line, “I’m ballin' on you like I’m Chris Paul.” Rappers often celebrate the primary scorer, but they liked Chris Paul for his ability to get his teammates involved and make his peers better. It's not a stretch to say this sequence in "Return of Simba" is everything fans love about J. Cole distilled into four bars. There are so many fire rappers with baby in their name, from DaBaby to Lil Baby. Yeah but word though, this line was fire. One doesn’t have to see E-40 in the crowds at Golden State Warriors games, Rihanna dabbing courtside, or Drake devoting an entire song to a Toronto Raptors bench player to see that. From Drake and Jay-Z to Rihanna and Pharrell, rappers and singers have long made themselves known as fans of the NBA. Since entering the league, he’s broken that record four times. With only one season with the Warriors, Kevin Durant found another level of skill even beyond his 2014 MVP season. There's a very good chance you're not even an eighth as good at anything as Michael Jordan was at basketball. The move increased his mindshare among the many rappers who call New York City home. He was able to carry the team into the playoffs, an accomplishment the team had struggled to achieve in the decades prior to Griffin. Name The Clubs With The Most Wins In The Premier League 8,128; Name the most expensive players signed by Jose Mourinho 3,814; Name every Portuguese player to play for Man United 2,769; Name The Clubs With Most Champions League Appearances 2,534; Pundit Arena Daily Sports Quiz Challenge – Day 285 1,195 Lyrics: "I believe in the hype/That's why every time you hear me, I compare me to Mike/Example: Remember when A.I. That's all it takes to realize one immutable truth about the retired Laker's star: People love themselves some Kobe Bean Bryant, and that affection transcends pretty much everything. Murda Mook's first verse in his battle against Young Hot pretty much ended the showdown. MY NEW SONG IS OFFICIALLY OUT! Blake Griffin made a splash in the league with his out of this world dunks and uncontested athletic ability. As a 10 time All-Star, there’s no denying Melo’s talents as a versatile forward; the excitement over his move from Denver to New York in 2011 was massive. Lil'B, Japanese pop duo. Whether they are mentioning teams or players in their songs, talking trash to rivals on Twitter, or attending the games themselves, current r Genius Nickname Email Password. There is nothing, we repeat, NOTHING wrong with Andre Miller. Photo via Ezra Shaw (Kevin Durant and LeBron James) and Joe Murphy for Getty. The rapper lifted his stage name from the DMX drum machine made by Oberheim, which was a classic used by artists including non-rappers including Rod Stewart and New Order. crossed Mike out his sneakers?/Seemed so much worse 'cause we ain't think Mike had a weakness/All for that one move A.I. Kodak Black) Jacksonville, FL rapper 'Baby Soulja' Pretty Ricky Member Baby Blue Is Currently On Love And Hip Hop Miami Miami, FL rapper 'Baby Blue' Lil Baby, Gunna - Close Friends A Drizzy did it with smooth vocals and the songwriting skills of a hit-making virtuoso; Allen Iverson did it with a lethal first step, supernatural athleticism and the most explosive crossover the game had ever seen. It’s why French Montana on “Moses” rapped: “Keep it on me, quick to shoot a three / Like Dirk Nowitzki from the Dallas Mavericks.” One can’t mention Dirk without Dallas following closely behind. Top 10 Famous Rapper's Favorite NBA Teams. Rappers typically name drop NBA players in their verses to boost up their own ego and at the same time, NBA players have tried their hand at rapping to usually middling results. Of course, those stats couldn't change the fact that the Warriors won 73 games last year and added a top three player in the world to their roster. Check out the five hip-hop's baby rapper name ・Baby Blue ・Lil Baby ・Yo Baby ・Da Baby ・Baby Soulja ・Baby Goth Baby Soulja - AVERAGE (feat. Eric Lynn Wright, better known by his stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper who performed solo and as a member of the group NWA Wright is affectionately called "The Godfather Of Gangsta Rap." At the time, Cole had been signed for about two years, but just as he said on his The Warm Up rendition of Kanye's "The Last Call," "what's a deal when you trying to be the greatest?" Including Andre 3000, 50 Cent, 2 Chainz, and 21 Savage, the list of rappers with number names feature popular American rappers as well as good UK rappers and underrated Asian rappers. Back on his original Dreamchasers mixtape, Meek Mill had a song titled “Derrick Rose,” which dropped around the same time the young Chicago point guard was on his way to becoming one of the best players of this decade. As we know now—and as we saw coming within a year of his first album dropping—Drizzy would go on to dominate pop culture just as AI did. The old heads respect him, contemporaries admired him, and even if you're a casual fan, chances are you've shouted "Kobe" when you launched your empty Mountain Dew in the trash can. When NBA players hear their name in rap songs. LOS ANGELES -- He was asleep in Greece, halfway around the world, enjoying an escape before the start of his fourth NBA season when he was disturbed by the incessant buzzing of a cell phone on vibrate. Lyrics: “As fate would have it, Jay’s status appears/To be at an all-time high, perfect time to say goodbye/When I come back like Jordan, wearing the 4-5/ It ain't to play games with you, it's to aim at you, probably maim you.". Go stream it if you support the channel! With the NBA Finals wrapping, Genius pulled together the top 10 most popular active NBA players in hip-hop, by the numbers, from 2010 to 2017. Carmelo Anthony’s legacy will forever be tied to his draft peers of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, who all got championship rings, while Melo remains outside of that club. There's not too much to analyze here, but Post Malone references Iverson's status as both a revolutionary NBA player and as someone who--sadly--never won an NBA title. After his father’s imprisonment, YoungBoy’s mother left them with their grandmother. Many more. 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