Hip Hop Blogs

The NBA and the Hip-Hop Generation

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks takes on the question, "Is the connection between hip-hop and the NBA a bad thing?" He makes a good point by defining what exactly is the so-called hip-hop generation:

"Every kid today. Your young sons. Your young daughters. Your nieces. Your nephews. They are all part of the Hip Hop Generation. They dont have to like all Hip Hop music. They could like Alt rock, punk, R&B, Opera, Musicals, whatever.  But somewhere along the line, they  sang along with a rap song.  Thats just the way it is. Hip hop songs were 4 of the top 5 titles on BillBoards 2004 charts. It's today's pop music. Talking about kids and talking about the  Hip Hop Generation are interchangable."

And for as long as I can remember hip-hop consumers have been 3/4 White, and very much middle class. So who is this Hip Hop Generation they are talking about? Seems like it's just a code word for "Young Violent Niggers" to me.

So let's rephrase the question, using this decoding of that term- Is the connection between Young Violent Niggers and the NBA a bad thing? Ok, now we can get a straight answer.

HHB Fantasy Basketball League

It's about that time of year again. Basketball is back, and this season is going to be exciting. The championship is wide open for both the West and Eastern Conferences.

Disagree? Ay...then put your rep on the line and join my fantasy basketball team. If you want to join just email me or shoot me a quick message at the bottom of this post.

The league id is 143097
The password is "hiphop" (of course).

Here's the details so you know what you're getting into:

1. The commitment is for once a week, every week until the league ends. You can slack for three weeks, but that's it. I'll have to kick you out to maintain the quality of the league.

2. The custom roster you choose in the draft goes head-to-head against another roster in the league. You opposing team you go against rotatates every week. Trust me, this way of playing is fun.

3. Be prepared to make trades. You don't have to do it, but it's rude not to be open to negotiation with the other GMs. So factor that into your commitment time.

4. First come first serve. That's how I'll choose the draft order.

5. I need you to contact me by next week. So hurry!

The top GM at the end of the season gets $100 worth of free cd's from hiphopsite.com. It's on like that.

Kobe drops dime on Shaq

There's a reason why Kobe has no street cred... He violated the #1 rule of the streets: the "Keep my name out ya mouth" rule. What's even crazier is that he's not even dropping dime. He's actually going out of his way to lie and use Shaq to try to get himself off. Not to mention the fact that in the interview homeboy sounds scared as hell. No wonder people don't like him.

Carl Lewis and Old Women With Big Sunglasses

I, really... don't even know what to say. Wow.

Roy Jones Jr. Gets Knocked Out... Again

Every good athlete has their run, and some people lose it more quickly than others. Somehow, Roy Jones Jr. lost his before even he himself could probably tell. I saw the overhand right that took him down, and I watched him lay on the ground stunned. There was no attempt to get up at all, because that's just how good his bell had been rung. There goes any hope of that dream fight everyone was waiting for.

Kobe's Clutch Defense

Who says Kobe ain't clutch? They say the great ones find a way to pull out a victory... Kobe pulled it off without Shaq (one of the greatest centers ever) or Johnny Cochran (one of the greatest black defense lawyers ever). Homeboy ran up in a rich white town, sexed up a white girl, who then accused him of rape...and had the charges dropped before it even went to trial!

Basketball + Hip Hop = Streetball?

I was browsing through ESPN.com as usual, and what do I find? Jack Ramsay opines that "hip-hop lessens the image of the NBA. It lends to associating the NBA with street ball -- which really isn't basketball."
I nearly fell out of my seat when I read the article. Is this guy serious?

Coincidentally (or maybe not) he fits the stereotypical old white guy image, which is the type of person who usually makes these types of statements. Fortunately, the article includes about 3 times as much opinion from Greg Anthony, who used to play for the Knicks back in the day. Whew! Greg just saved me alot of time spent writing angry emails to ESPN.

Hip-Hop And Basketball

Dr. Todd Boyd charts the give and take relationship between hip-hop and basketball. A few notes about my favorite baller, Rasheed Wallace:

Rasheed was retro, in a way, yet his style and overall disposition was all hip-hop. He wore a headband like back in the day and he fixed his jersey inside the undergarment of his extra long shorts so that it looked like he was "saggin'."

Rasheed also brought back the popular Nike Air Force I. The Air Force I had originally come out in the '80s, and was now the shoe of choice again, along with the Jordans and Shell Toes, throughout the world of hip-hop fashion. Rasheed, who had a hip-hop show on a local Portland radio station at one point, also ended up in a battle with Bay Area rapper E-40, after 'Sheed had dissed 40's music in a radio interview. 40 Fonzarigadel -- one of E 40's many monikers -- responded to 'Sheed with a track called "Record Haters," which featured the hilarious chorus, "What's that n----'- name? Rasheed Wallace!"

Boyd was a great choice to do this article since he literally wrote the book on rap music and sports. (bootlegged via Move the Crowd)

The return of Shaq

NBA fans in Florida have been waiting for this for 8 long years. Shaq is back, and all of a sudden... Miami is supposed to be a real contender for the championship? As I said in an earlier post, just because a player was able to dominate when he was young, he shouldn't be expected to dominate as much when he is old (Shaq is 32). Somehow Dwyane Wade is comparable to Kobe or the old Penny? So does that make Malik Allen a replacement for Horry? or even Malone? So what role will Eddie Jones have?

End of the West Coast Dominance?

At the age of 18 the furthest West I had ever been was New York City. Since then I've made a few trips to the left coast, but it should be noted that I am, without question, East Coast-centric. As a rabid NBA fan, it's been very difficult for me to adjust to the sudden, inexplicable trainwreck that occurs once the East and West meet in the NBA Finals.

Prior to game 1 of the NBA Finals, many of my friends and I joked about just how poorly Detroit would fare when they clashed with the seemingly bulletproof Lakers. Shutout in 4? Who was the last team to get swept in the finals? A close friend actually considered betting $10,000 on the Lakers win-in-five- it was a SURE THING "like Smarty Jones," he assured me the day of the Belmont Stakes. Even after Detroit's Game 1 victory we were reminded that Larry Brown had taken a game 1 victory a few years back, only to lose the next 4 straight.

Tonight is game 5, and I'm beside myself. Detroit is up 3-1?! They were seconds away from taking BOTH games in LA?! They beat the lakers by 20 in game 3?! Rasheed has had a few great games, minus any major flip-outs. Rip, Billups and Ben Wallace have consistently played well, also. As happy as I am to see Detroit step up and play great basketball, I am much happier about something else: WE ARE WATCHING GREAT BASKETBALL IN JUNE. When was the last time that the NBA Finals were this much fun to watch?

Does this mark the end of the West Coast streak? As long as the basketball is this good, who cares?!