In honor of Kobe Bryant's final All-Star Game, 2 on Your Side's Jonah Javad counts down his list of the 24 best rap lyrics about the NBA.
“I just found my tempo like I'm DJ Mustard (woo!)
I hit the Ginobili with my left hand up like (woo!)” - Drake
What is it with rappers and Manu Ginobili? The Argentinian southpaw is one of the most referenced NBA players in rap. Ginobili has been mentioned in tracks by Drake, Nicki Minaj, Fabolous, Pharoahe Monch, Roc Marciano and Asher Roth. Not bad for the Spurs sixth man and potential Hall of Famer.
“The ROC handle like Van Exel,
I shake phonies man you can't get next to” - Jay-Z
The first of many Hov rhymes to make this list. On his first track with B, Jay pairs a Roc-A-Fella reference with former NBA guard Nick Van Exel. Only true NBA fans remember the crafty veteran lefty with the nasty crossover.
“Stop placin, time wastin
I gotta a friend with a pole in the basement (What?)
I'm just kiddin like Jason (Oh)
Unless you gon' do it”
Nelly drops one of the best forgotten NBA references in rap history about one of the best forgotten players in NBA history. Jason Kidd was a triple-double machine. More on "triple-doubles" in a bit.
“I need my money pronto
Get it in the morning like Alonzo,
Rondo, green got cheese like a nacho”
It's hard to take Tyga (26) seriously when he's dating Kylie Jenner (18). Nevertheless, this lyric is pretty fire. Tyga refers to one of best centers of the 90's (Alonzo Mourning) and former Celtic Rajon Rondo.
“Ball so hard, b**** behave
Just might let you meet Ye
Chi town’s D. Rose, I’m movin the Nets to BK” - Jay-Z
WTT Part 1: In case you haven't heard, Kanye is from Chicago and Jay-Z hails from Brooklyn. Like Joe Flacco leading the Ravens to Super Bowl XLVII, "N***** in Paris" helped Watch the Throne ascend to elite status. This short ode to Bulls guard and former MVP Derrick Rose pairs nicely with Jay-Z's business venture of moving the Nets to Brooklyn.
“Sorry I’m in pajamas, but I just got off the PJ,
And last party we had, they shut down Prive
(Ain’t that where the Heat play?) Yep
(N***** hate ballers these days)
Ain’t that like LeBron James? (Ain’t that just like D-Wade)"
WTT Part 2: A retrospective lyric about the love-hate relationship of LeBron James (and the Miami Heat) versus the critics.
"F*** around and have your heart, like Jordan had Starks
While you playin hokey pokey, there's no time to be dokey
Cause I come out to play every night like Charles Oakley” - Phife
Ole Knicks fans don't appreciate this one but they remember the characters involved. John Starks and Charles Oakley were two of the Knicks best players during the 90's. And, as most were during this era, they were victims of Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
“Y’all dudes will never make it, you’re a Tyus Edney
Imma standout like Yao Ming
I’m what’s sparkin now
like fallback Shaq, I’m startin now
Boys poppin it, toys poppin spit
I’m not from round these parts, I’m Stojakovic” - Joe Budden*
OHHH SNAP. Extended NBA bars! We got references to Tyus Edney's full-court game-winner, Yao Ming vs. Shaq rivalry and the Serbian Sniper, 3-time All-Star Peja Stojakovic.
"Ced said, 'Look, my n*****, we got a foot in’
Being good is good, that'll get you Drew Gooden
But me, I want Jordan numbers, LeBron footin
Can't guard me, Vince Lombardi, John Wooden"
Poor Drew Gooden. He did not ask for this. Great Uncle Drew is somehow still in the league.
"Aged cheese, 8 months, stinky aroma/
Behind the back pass, Arvydas Sabonis”
Arvydas Sabonis... Arvydas. Sabonis.
“I’m from a place where junkheads and zombies dwell,
And suckaz keep the heat blazin like Bonzi Wells”
Back-to-back Trail Blazers references! Opposite of Sabonis, Bonzi Wells went from the NBA to international ball. The 11th pick in the 1998 Draft never lived up to expectations, but rappers love Blazers.
“So who’s killin’ the game? Who’s the culprit?
I be workin like I’m Anders Holmvik/
Now I gotta buncha new friends and they all rich,
Got blazers, Aldridge”
Y'all ready for this? Another Blazers reference! I wonder why?
"OVO that's major s***
Toronto with me, that's mayor s***/
Gettin cheddar packs like KD, OKC that's player s***" - Drake
Check the lyricism here. We have a nod to Kraft Mac n' Cheese Dinners AND Kevin Durant. The perfect KD combo. Then, Drake follows it up with an "OKC/OK, see" entendre to fit the rhyme scheme. Stay woke for more subatomic analysis.
“School a fool well, you feel it like braille,
It ain’t hard to tell, I kick a skill like Shaquille holds a pill” - Nas
One of the best rap albums needed a home on this list. Here it is.
"And when it comes down to this recording
I must be LeBron James if he's Jordan
No, I want rings with my performance
I'm more Kobe Bryant up in all this
Same coat, same gang been starting
Same triangle offense” - Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne's remix of Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got" was brilliant. It demonstrates complete cohesion of the time (2006), when LeBron was ringless and Kobe had three of his five. Plus a reference to Phil Jackson's triangle offense? Amazing.
“Police come around don't nobody say nothing,
And you be with the cops, you n***** is McLovin/
Dark liquor till we busted,
Till I got a buzz like that n**** Chris Mullin” - Wale
One of my favorite rap lyrics of all time. If you don't understand why, I'm not sure why you're still here.
*8. “Pump it Up” (Remix) – Jay-Z & Joe Budden
"Worry I'm not Mike Jordan of the mic recording
Hovi baby, You Kobe, maybe Tracy McGrady
Matter fact you a Harold Miner
J.R. Rider, washed up on marijuana
Even worse you a Pervis Ellis, you worthless fella
You ain't no athlete, you Shawn Bradley” - Jay-Z
Savage. Never has someone been demoted from Kobe to Shawn Bradley so mercilessly. In a matter of seconds, Hov drops Harold Miner, Pervis Ellison and Shawn Bradley. We are all witnesses.
"Went from most hated to the champion god flow,
I guess that's a feeling only me and LeBron know" - Kanye West
Classic Kanye comparing himself to the best of the new generation. He isn't wrong.
"Me and Jay same track, you gotta be kiddin
It's like that n**** Jordan, I'm Scottie Pippen
It's like Magic, Worthy
Parish, Bird and
Stockton, Malone s***
Who gonna stop and hold this?
Game like Doc and Moses
Fullcourt press and the ROC control this" - Beanie Siegel
Man, the ROC loves the NBA. Beanie Siegel compares himself and Jay-Z to some of the best NBA duos of all time. While Jay-Z belongs in many of those duos and Siegel does not, the "Doc and Moses" line is straight fire.
“Kobe about to lose a hundred fifty M's
Kobe my n**** I hate it had to be him,
B**** you wasn't with me shooting in the gym
(Ruh! B**** you weren't with me shooting in the gym)”
One of the most controversial lyrics of the decade. Drake hops on Rozay's "Stay Schemin" and drops the mic with a reference to Kobe's wife filing for divorce and Kobe having to pay the price. (The divorce was called off.)
“I been Steph Curry with the shot
Been cookin' with the sauce, chef, curry with the pot, boi
360 with the wrist, boi”
Drake was back for more NBA love when he dropped "0 to 100" in Summer 2014. Stephen Curry had just wrapped up a breakout season and the leader of the 6 paid homage to the undersized sharp-shooter. It was the first Steph Curry rap lyric on record, which holds quite a bit of clout as the Warriors star is en route to a second straight NBA MVP award.
“We hit the spot to chill with the Fuji Grill,
She ordered Kobe beef like Shaquille O’Neal” - Kanye West
"Get me on the court and I'm trouble,
Last week, f***** around and got a triple-double/
Freaking n***** every way like MJ
I can't believe today was a good day"
Cube's most iconic lyric on his most iconic track. The Predator was released in 1992, which would make this one of the earliest NBA references in rap history.
“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, wearin the 4-5”
An all-time great lyric about an all-time great player from an all-time great rapper.
After becoming one of the best rappers to ever do it, Jay-Z began a series of short-lived retirements. "Encore" encapsulates Jay's greatness with his ability to flow in-and-out of the rap game without losing his masterful touch - the same way Jordan retired twice and came back. This track is a rap symphony. It's one of my favorite songs. And, it's number one on the list.
