Hip hop artist and basketball players are both performers, who have a rich connection and similar persona, showcasing style, swagger, urbanism, bravado, and coolness. This rich bond was established in 1979; from 1984 to 2009, a new era was conceived, known as “The Dunkadelic Era.”
In 1979, the first mainstream explicit connection between hip-hop and basketball was established. The Sugarhill Gang’s hit song “Rapper’s Delight,” which is commonly referred to as the first mainstream hip-hop song, had lyrics about basketball. “Rapper’s Delight” wasn’t only popular in the United States, but it was an international hit. It quickly spread to a number of countries. Big Bank Hank rapped, “I got a color TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball.” This …show more content…
Louis rapper, who grew up in University City, Missouri, a town where my parents lived. Nelly formed a group called the St. Lunatics. Most rap of this era, during the early to mid-nineties, was either located on the east or west coast. Nelly living in St. Louis created a great branding opportunity. Nelly was an all-around athlete and played football, baseball, and basketball at University City High School. Several of his songs make references to the game of basketball. For example, Heart of a Champion’s lyrics say, “I’m like magic to Karem, man you can’t tell me I’m not worthy.” He had a song about Airforce Ones which also contained basketball lyrics as well. “Cause she’s standing there as if I’m shooting free throws.” Purple and Gold with the Lakers….” Nelly also secured lucrative shoe deals with Reebok and in conjunction with Charles Barkley created ‘Air Derrty’ Limited Edition. He has participated in celebrity basketball games alongside of Lil Bow Wow. There is word on the street that he beat Allen Iverson in a one and one basketball game but Iverson was thought to be drunk. In 2002, Nelly and the St. Lunatics were honored by state government officials for agreeing to play basketball with city high school students who demonstrated increased scores on state examinations. Currently, Nelly has a small ownership with the NBA franchise called the Charlotte …show more content…
Allen Iverson changed the culture of the NBA; he brought hip-hop culture into the NBA. Allen Iverson had an illustrious NBA career, which included the following: an MVP award, four time scoring leader, three time steals leader, three time All-NBA first team, three time All-NBA second team, an All-NBA Third Team, Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team. Arguably, he is often considered the best pound for pound basketball player of all time. So, how did he have such a large impact on NBA culture? First and foremost, Allen Iverson was a rapper and even almost dropped an album called Jewelz. Iverson initially dropped a single on the album called “40 Bars,” which received harsh criticism from several people including David Stern, the NBA commissioner. The commissioner believed it wasn’t appropriate for his stature as a role model, considering the song contained violent and misogynistic lyrics. This was controversial for a number of reasons; Iverson was simply expressing his lifestyle and how he was brought up. This brings me to question the effects of commodification on the art form. Since Allen Iverson was a profitable figure on the basketball court, he wasn’t able to express his work. The expression of his work took a backseat to the money that was being made. On top of his ephemeral rap career, he was well known for being himself, especially in his
In 1979, the first mainstream explicit connection between hip-hop and basketball was established. The Sugarhill Gang’s hit song “Rapper’s Delight,” which is commonly referred to as the first mainstream hip-hop song, had lyrics about basketball. “Rapper’s Delight” wasn’t only popular in the United States, but it was an international hit. It quickly spread to a number of countries. Big Bank Hank rapped, “I got a color TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball.” This …show more content…
Louis rapper, who grew up in University City, Missouri, a town where my parents lived. Nelly formed a group called the St. Lunatics. Most rap of this era, during the early to mid-nineties, was either located on the east or west coast. Nelly living in St. Louis created a great branding opportunity. Nelly was an all-around athlete and played football, baseball, and basketball at University City High School. Several of his songs make references to the game of basketball. For example, Heart of a Champion’s lyrics say, “I’m like magic to Karem, man you can’t tell me I’m not worthy.” He had a song about Airforce Ones which also contained basketball lyrics as well. “Cause she’s standing there as if I’m shooting free throws.” Purple and Gold with the Lakers….” Nelly also secured lucrative shoe deals with Reebok and in conjunction with Charles Barkley created ‘Air Derrty’ Limited Edition. He has participated in celebrity basketball games alongside of Lil Bow Wow. There is word on the street that he beat Allen Iverson in a one and one basketball game but Iverson was thought to be drunk. In 2002, Nelly and the St. Lunatics were honored by state government officials for agreeing to play basketball with city high school students who demonstrated increased scores on state examinations. Currently, Nelly has a small ownership with the NBA franchise called the Charlotte …show more content…
Allen Iverson changed the culture of the NBA; he brought hip-hop culture into the NBA. Allen Iverson had an illustrious NBA career, which included the following: an MVP award, four time scoring leader, three time steals leader, three time All-NBA first team, three time All-NBA second team, an All-NBA Third Team, Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team. Arguably, he is often considered the best pound for pound basketball player of all time. So, how did he have such a large impact on NBA culture? First and foremost, Allen Iverson was a rapper and even almost dropped an album called Jewelz. Iverson initially dropped a single on the album called “40 Bars,” which received harsh criticism from several people including David Stern, the NBA commissioner. The commissioner believed it wasn’t appropriate for his stature as a role model, considering the song contained violent and misogynistic lyrics. This was controversial for a number of reasons; Iverson was simply expressing his lifestyle and how he was brought up. This brings me to question the effects of commodification on the art form. Since Allen Iverson was a profitable figure on the basketball court, he wasn’t able to express his work. The expression of his work took a backseat to the money that was being made. On top of his ephemeral rap career, he was well known for being himself, especially in his