The link between basketball and rap culture has been long established. It has famously been said that athletes want to be rappers, and rappers want to be athletes. With most rappers having played basketball growing up, especially in the US, and most ballers regularly blasting out the latest Drake on the way to practice, the two worlds now enjoy a relationship that is firmly intertwined.
Here are some of the best basketball bars in rap music.
10. Ice Cube – It Was A Good Day (1992)
“Shit’s ironic, I had the brew, she had the chronic
The Lakers beat the Supersonics”
This song is an absolute classic and Ice Cube’s basketball lyric gives a little hint into which day he is actually referring to in this song. This banger was released in February 1992. On the 20th of January 1992, the Lakers did in fact beat the Supersonics. It just so happens there was no smog on that day too!
9. Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight (1980)
“So after school, I take a dip in the pool, which is really on the wall
I got a colour TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball”
Back in the late 1970s, when this banger was created, the New York Knicks were actually a decent basketball team, with Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Phil “Action” Jackson in the lineup at one time or another.
8. Drake – 0 To 100 / The Catch-Up (2013)
“The 6 ain’t friendly but it’s where I lay up
This shit a mothafuckin’ lay up
I been Steph Curry with the shot
Been cookin’ with the sauce, chef, curry with the pot, boy”
For Drake’s first feature on this list, he pays homage to basketball legend Steph Curry. Drake compares his sharp hitmaking ability to Curry’s signature three-point shot. Ice cold.
7. Jay-Z – Encore (2003)
“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.”
Jay-Z’s fellow Brooklyn native Michael Jordan briefly came out of retirement wearing the number 45 in place of his original, renowned 23.
“45” also refers to a pistol. Jay won’t be afraid to aim a gun at you and fire. So whatever 45 Jay decides to wear, both indicate that he’ll “fire shots” at you.
6. J.Cole – Return of Simba (2011)
“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.”
J. Cole describes his desire for greatness in this 2011 track. Drew Gooden was a solid player, but nothing special. Cole expresses that being like Drew is alright, but he’s striving to be the MJ or the LeBron of the rap game.
5. Pharoahe Monch – Push (2007)
“My accurate jabs connect like rotary
Make you notice me,
Be like, ‘Damn, dudes on some totally
When he rides the bass line like Ginobili.”
Retired small-forward Manu Ginóbili of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs was known for, among other things, his play along the baseline, whether shooting corner 3-pointers or making perfect cross-court passes. Pharoahe boasts here that people compare his work along a bass line (that is, a beat) to that creativity and precision.
4. Ras Kass – Sonset (1996)
“Imma make you see L.A. like Ed O’Bannon”
Ras Kass pays respect to his hometown with this bar. Ed O’Bannon was a power forward on the 1995 UCLA Bruins basketball team. This line here plays on the term ‘UCLA’ sounding like “you see L.A.‘. It refers to Ras’ hometown, and how he wants the people on the East coast to not underrate the West Coast’s skill.
3. Drake – Weston Road Flows (2016)
“A lot of people just hit me up when my name is mentioned,
Shout out to KD, we relate, we get the same attention,
It’s rainin’ money, Oklahoma City Thunder,
The most successful rapper, 35 and under”
There could honestly be a whole list dedicated just to Drake and his basketball references. In this 2016 banger, Drake boasts about his success and compares himself to Kevin Durant with some wicked wordplay.
2. Jay-Z – Ni**as in Paris (2011)
“Ball so hard, b**** behave
Just might let you meet Ye
Chi town’s D. Rose, I’m movin the Nets to BK”
Hove comes through with a huge flex here. He compares himself to Chicago’s hometown hero Derrick Rose as he brought the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn to become the Brooklyn Nets.
1. Drake – Nonstop (2018)
“Bitch, I move through London with the euro-step,
Got a sneaker deal and I ain’t break a sweat,
Catch me ’cause I’m goin’ outta there, I’m gone,
How I go from 6 to 23 like I’m LeBron?”
This is just an incredible bar. First, Drake smartly creates a play on words linking the Euro step with London, the capital of England, a country in Europe. Secondly, he compares his meteoric rise with LeBron James’. James famously switched jersey numbers from 6 to 23. Similarly, Drake has risen up from the ‘6’, the slang used for his home city Toronto, to acquiring his own Jordan sneaker deal with Nike. Michael Jordan famously wore 23.
Brilliant.
