Hip Hop & Hoop

Hello everyone and welcome to hiphophoop. For my first post I thought I would discuss the synergy between hip hop and hoop, a relationship that has grown tremendously since the mid eighties. Hoop had already been around for some time while Hip Hop was gaining more and more ground as a respectable art form. Magic and Bird had brought a level of excitement back to the sport that had been unseen since the early battles of Wilt and Russel. Hoop was on the world stage and the coupling of the hard core lyricism from artist like Melle Mel and Run DMC with NBA darlings such as Magic and Bird might have been hard to imagine, but Hip Hop managed to break into the Hoop scene, and it was absolutely hilarious. Now, there might've been some attempts before the one I am about to mention, but my earliest memories of hip hop and hoop involve my beloved 1980s Showtime Lakers and their "Just Say No" rap song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2eFdO7H7cU. (I just finished crying from a combination of laughter and embarrassment.) That's just classic, the "cool" shades, multi colored shorts and tank tops, and of course the b-boy hard core stance with the arms folded. Now if that aint Hip Hop, then I don't know what is, and this was only the beginning. We can't forget about the "Unbeatable Dream", a classic joint dropped in 87' by Hakeem Olajuwon with some help from producers "Hurt 'em Bad." My older brother has a better(or more painful) memory of that song when The Dream was droppin skyhooks on the Lake Show on his way to the finals in 86'. The "Unbeatable Dream" use to drive him insane. Here's a link http://www.wizznutzz.com/2007/12/bob-geldof-asked-question-one-time-do.html to the lyrics if you want to check it out for yourself, but here's a warning: you're going to laugh. It's easy to see how it came to this, the same brothas who had hoop dreams had those same ambitions in music. Hip Hop gave them that opportunity to do something musically that was relatable to their situation. There was a connection between the music and the players. That's why we were all able to relate to the Fab Five of Michigan, the freshmen who embodied the Hip Hop generation with their baggy shorts and black shoes. That's why we had the infamous "Basketball's Best Kept Secret", a product that I'm sure everyone involved hope and pray every night that it still is a secret. Well just in case you don't know what that is, "Basketball's Best Kept Secret" was a compilation featuring the likes of Gary Payton, Cedric Ceballos, Shaq, and even Jason Kidd bringing their skills from the hardwood to the recording booth. Unfortunately, the transition wasn't very smooth. Listen to some snippets and you be the judge. http://www.amazon.com/Basketballs-Secret-Barros-Malik-Sealy/dp/B000008NOI. Bottom line is, Hip Hop and Hoop go hand and hand, for better or worse. I can't lie and say I didn't like some of Shaq's tracks, or that I'm not still searching for a bootleg of the never released "Jewels" album by A.I. (David Stern was thrilled when that was shelved) The fact of the matter is that the culture of Hip Hop has totally influenced the sport at this point, and now rappers and players tend to stay in their lane and pretty much stick to just hangin out with each other and calling it a day. So rather you were in to Kobe Bryant's "Thug Poet"(Ugh), or Shaq's infamous freestyles, (How my ass taste?) or one of the lucky 78 people who picked up Troy Hudson's album(Who?), you gotta love Hip Hop and Hoop.