“When Kobe made his rap, when Shaq did his, exactly you know, that’s what you expect from NBA player” - Former MIP winner opens up on NBA players who took the rapping route
Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas recently shared his thoughts on players who took a chance on having a rap career. As critical as Arenas is on other basketball-related things, his opinion on professional players rapping is quite refreshing.
A lot of athletes have tried to make a career in music. However, in recent years, this trend has become quite normal and it's not restricted to just hip-hop. Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is a R&B singer and he showed off his chops back at the 2015 Slam Dunk Contest.
During Gilbert Arenas' time in the NBA, there were a few players that attempted to have a hip-hop persona. The late Kobe Bryant was once featured in Brian McKnight's "Hold Me," where he rapped for a portion of the song. Shaquille O'Neal has also released hip-hop songs under his name. Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson went under the alias "Jewelz" and planned an album release back in 2000. But according to reports, the title track "40 Bars" was so offensive that the commissioner at the time, David Stern, stopped the player from releasing it.
The former point guard for the Washington Wizards shared his thoughts on his perception of this particular practice. Arenas said:
"When it comes to the NBA rappers rapping about those type of things, yeah, there's a code of conduct because that's not the brand.
He continued:
"When you listen to Dame Dolla, it's you know, it's clean. When Kobe made his his rap, when Shaq did his, exactly. You know, that's what you expect from NBA players."
"When I listen to some of these kids rap, It's art. I don't really believe you out there shooting bombs through people's houses. I've never seen that on the news."
Who is the best rapper in the NBA?
As fun as the GOAT debate gets, one particular argument doesn't get enough attention. The question of which NBA player raps the best doesn't get talked about that much, but that doesn't mean it's not important.
Besides Shaq, Damian Lillard is one of the most well-known rapper-athletes. What's impressive is that he's still active in the association and consistently puts out new music for his fans.
Additionally, former Sixth Man of the Year winner Lou Williams is known for being a genius in the music studio. As a friend of Bow Wow, Lemon Pepper Lou enjoys making music and has been featured in some of Meek Mill's songs.
Lastly, Iman Shumpert has been known to be a great freestyle rapper. Even Lou Williams has said that Shumpert's the best freestyle rapper in the NBA. With four albums to his name, it just shows that Shumpert is serious about his rap career.
That's only the tip of the iceberg, there are still a handful of players that should be mentioned here. Like the GOAT debate, this one might be a never-ending argument.