In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s basketball was looked at as just a fundamentally based sport, it was the simplicity of the game that drew many spectators to it. Back in those days you had NBA players like George Mullins, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlin, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and other players who were looked at as NBA stars of that time. Not only were they great athletes but they also their image of the time was looked at in a positive light, these players pioneered the start of athletes having a certain image and influencing style and being in the media spotlight. During this time period this athletes were the premier stars of the game. Fast forward to about the mid 1990s on up to the present day things have evolved. No longer is the game of basketball just about the simplicity or the fundamentals its now about the finesse, the showmanship, fan favorites, and who plays the hardest. Also there seems to be a new type of style being brought into the NBA influenced by a musical genre that was started in the late 1970s and its roots is in the South Bronx, New York and this genre is called 'Hip-Hop'. Hip-Hop has influenced the NBA in a lot of ways, many NBA players have taken on the lifestyle of Hip-Hop artist such as wearing chains, having multiple cars, some athletes have even tried to have careers as hip hop artist. Most notably an NBA player who tried his hand at Hip-Hop was Shaquille O'Neal, Shaquille started a brief and small rap career around the time his movie Kazaam came out and he put out an album and surprisingly it went platinum. Although he was not a very good hip hop artist he was the only NBA star to have put out an album that went platinum. During the late 1990s up to the 2000s NBA players really begin to take on the hip hop lifestyle and begin to bring that lifestyle into the NBA, probably the athlete who really took on the lifestyle and was really influenced by it was none other than Philadelphia 76ers point guard Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson was looked at as the guy who really took on the influences of hip hop by storm, his appearances in the media showed it really well he always wore diamond necklaces and watches, he wore throwback jerseys which was a fashion trend started and worn by hip hop artist. He also had a shoe commercial for his signature shoe and it featured hip hop artist Jadakiss rapping over a beat in the commercial as Allen Iverson dribbled a ball in the background. Allen Iverson also tried his hand at being a hip hop artist too, he went by the name of "Jewels" and put out a few freestyles, his career as a hip hop artist was short lived as many people didn't think he was a great hip hop artist at all. The style of hip hop has influenced the NBA in so many ways many artist have shouted out and mentioned NBA players in their songs and some have even said they wanted to play in the NBA. Just like hip hop artist many NBA players have wanted to become artist and some have even started their own record labels with their own recording artist. Also I think hip hop has influenced the NBA to evolve and make NBA players play better and play harder to be able to reach their accomplishment of winning an NBA title; I think hip hop and the NBA are closely related and hip hop will continue to influence the NBA in many years to come.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the NBA and hip-hip have really grown side by side. The NBA is really the only professional sport organization to me that has shown such a connection with music. This has helped the NBA though with bringing in fans and giving them exposure. Recently though I feel like the NBA has tried to pull away from this connection. Even though the NBA has tried and slowly moved away from hip-hop I believe there will still always be a connection there.
Josiah Blevins
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the NBA and hip-hop are connected. The mentality and high life that NBA players lead are very similar to the lifestyles and mentalities of big name rap and hip-hop stars, and I think both industries have a mutual respect for each other. I somewhat disagree with Josiah's comment about NBA moving its connection away from hip-hip. the new video game NBA 2K13 was produced by Jay-Z, one of the biggest names in rap and hip-hop. Almost of the music for the menu and setting screens in the game is hip-hop. But I do agree that there will always be a connection between these two.
Jenn Zoellick
I fully agree that hip-hop and the NBA are connected. I also agree that most of the NBA players have wanted to be hip-hop artists or at least be around the music, and that hip-hop artists have wanted to be NBA players. Like Jenn said, I agree that the NBA is connecting with hip-hop more than ever since NBA 2K13 was produced by Jay-Z and that a lot of the songs on the game is hip-hop. I know that Allen Iverson (Jewelz) did make some music that wasn't very successful, and Lebron James has been in a rap music video or two, but I am not sure that he has done any rapping himself. There are a lot more examples of NBA players trying to rap, and I believe I read a couple days ago that there was one rapper that tried out with the Warriors, but that is the first rapper I've read about that has ever tried walking on to a team. I agree that before David Stern put the dress code into play everyone could see how hip-hop was involving in the NBA with players wearing the chains, baggy clothes, the hats, and tattoos. I disagree that hip-hop has influenced NBA players to play better and harder so they can win a Title. I think that determination is in the NBA player itself, not the music. Sure music helps pump the athlete up and get ready for the game, but they have to have a mindset of working hard and becoming the best that they can be, and I think that is more than what music can do. Nevertheless, hip-hop and the NBA are well connected to each other and it will be interesting to see how the connection molds together even more.
ReplyDelete-Kody Burlingame
I agree that the NBA and Hip Hop run a similar course. You brought up some great points on how the evolution of Hip Hop and the evolution of the NBA has been very similar. I can't think of any of the other big four sports in America even having somewhat of a relationship between a music genre and the sport. The only exceptions that come to mind is a few baseball players who play guitar. You mentioned Shaq and Iverson's rap careers; and neither were very good, but how about Ron Artest/Metta World Peace plugging his rap single after winning the championship a few years ago?
ReplyDeleteDerek Zyski
I agree that the NBA and hip-hop are connected. It seems like a lot of NBA players want to be rappers and that a lot of rappers would like to be NBA players or atleast associated with the NBA. This is evident by how their are people such as Jay-Z and Usher who own part of NBA franchises, Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers respectively. Both NBA players and hip-hop artist live lavish lifestyles with lots of cars and jewelry. Hip-hops influence on the NBA has made it an even more attractive sport as fans love to see the players get excited and express themselves. It has also made the game more flashy with exciting passes, dunks, and alley-oops. I think all in all the NBA and it's hip hop influence mesh well together.
ReplyDelete-Tim Love
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your blog about the correlation between hip hop and the National Basketball Association. I agree not only in basketball, but in all sports that musicians want to be professional athletes, and professional athletes dream to producing their own musical hit. You made a point where Shaq made an album, I've done alittle research on my own and found Stephen Jackson has some songs out there as well. I also remember during the NBA All-Star weekend rapper JCole played exceptionally well, and even had a dunk while playing. A point that stood out to me that you made is that you said hip hop has a place in the NBA for years to come. Although that may be true, it will be interesting to see if the new commissioner will try to do anything to change the National Basketball Associations community and hip hop influence. All in all, I appreciate the NBA for what it is and love the atmosphere it provides.
-Brett Creamer
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLike the general consensus in this blog, NBA and hip-hop are definitely closely connected and it's become a cornerstone for the NBA. It's created a sense of identity for the NBA that is unlike any other professional sport in the U.S. That doesn't mean that NFL, MLB or NHL players don't listen to hip-hop, but their industry isn't as related/connected to the hip-hop genre that the NBA shows. Tim was going down the same road I was thinking that hip-hop can also be attributed to the way players play. The flashy moves and exciting plays were never seen that much back in the day, now it's common and second nature.
ReplyDeleteNate Dudzik
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a lot of good points about how changes in music can change the culture of basketball. During the earlier years of basketball (such as the times with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain), the music was different. It consisted of songs by Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers and Chubby Checker. The words of their songs didn't instigate "bumping-and-grinding" like the rap and hip-hop era started. Those artists also dressed much more formally while on stage as opposed to the baggy clothing that is seen worn by rappers in today's day-in-age. Therefore, it's difficult for the music and heard all over the radio to not carry over to sports.
-Chris Cournan
Hello Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Hip Hop has a big impact on the NBA. Like someone said above the NBA 2k13 is mostly Hip-Hop it even has the "MyPlayer" doing hip hop dance within the game. Allen Iverson is the reason why NBA players have a required dress code. He took it to the extent of being "to flashy" and "unprofessional". In hip hop their attire fits their career, but with basketball its should be more business attired because its a professional business.
-Sparkle Robinson
Carrying on the theme of this post, the NBA and hip hop music are more closely related now that they ever have been, in my opinion. You see this mostly in the form of rap superstar Jay-Z. Jay-Z is a majority owner of the Brooklyn Nets, and now he is one of the executive producers of NBA 2K13. The NBA and hip hop are intertwined now more so than ever because one of the biggest faces in the hip-hop industry and crossed over into business ventures involving the NBA.
ReplyDeleteI think hip hop influences the NBA and the players quite a bit. During pre-game hip hop music is played over the loud speakers as players warm up and NBA players are always seen with head phones listening to music. You can also see the influence of hip hop of the way the players dress, like Russel Westbrook and his glasses with no lenses. It is even more of an influence now that Jay-Z is a partial owner of the Brooklyn Nets. The two industries have intertwined with one another and will continue to grow together.
ReplyDelete-Jacob Beverly