Image via Complex Original
Even Wale dropped a sports reference when he went to Hot 97 to talk about our convo. He said rappers and fans relationships are "just like sports. You want to see your team win. You want to see your favorite team be successful. You want to have bragging rights for your artist." The analogy does make sense and it's often been a way to portray the intangible. We've seen plenty of cases of this in this year's hip-hop sports references. Artists ranging from Meek Mill to Action Bronson used them to clarify metaphors, decrease that distance between them and the listener (see Bronson's relatively obscure Mets reference), and to further express how well off they are. Of course, it's mostly been the latter (Jay Z has been pretty guilty), but they have been pretty creative in 2013. From Big K.R.I.T. to Wale (surprise!) to Drake to Kendrick, here's the Best 2013 Sports Rap References.
25. Meek Mill, "Levels"
Lyric(s): "If it's the finals I'm balling like I'm LeBron now/ I call up Odyssey, tell them bitches to calm down"
A majority of the lines on the song would get Meek Mill an immediate tech. Also, can Rick Ross be the greatest fat athlete of all time and not even know it? Such questions will never be answered, which is part of why life sucks.
24. ASAP Rocky f/ Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, & Big K.R.I.T., "1 Train"
Lyric(s): "Fuck them haters and fuck them hoes, a championship win is/The aftermath, ask LeBron, open palm slap a bitch" (Big K.R.I.T.)
K.R.I.T. went off on "1 Train." We wish LeBron would slap the haters that doubted him.
23. Boldy James, "What's the Word"
Lyric(s): "I'm Wolverine, that's Professor X/Got that Magneto, shooting from the hip/Click, quicker than Pistol Pete Maravich"
Pistol Pete, a.k.a. He Who Shoots From the Hip, could kill from the perimeter especially during his LSU days. Magneto could kill you...literally. Magneto definitely goes on the "Do Not Fuck With" list without question.
22. Action Bronson, "Rolling Thunder"
Lyric(s): "I stay in Flushing like I'm Dillon Gee"
Out of all the players on the Mets that would stay in Queens for the foreseeable future, Dillon Gee would probably be one of the last names to come to our mind. But hey, the LOLMets are always capable of surprising us.
21. Drake, "Tuscan Leather"
Lyric(s): "I reached the point where don't shit matter to me, nigga/I reached heights that Dwight Howard couldn't reach, nigga"
Picture Drake joining the Raptors next season for the sole purpose of posterizing the shit out of Dwight Howard just to immortalize this line.
20. Pusha T, "40 Acres"
Lyric(s): "A toothless crackhead was the mascot/The owner of the key to that padlock/I'm Jordan vs Cavs for the last shot"
Having a Bull as a mascot would probably be a bit more motivating than a toothless crackhead, although it admittedly looks a bit awkward to have a smiling Bull just chilling next to you while you're slinging rocks. Sticking out like that can make you an easy target, no?
19. Wale, "88"
Lyric(s): "Carolina blue kicks/hottest nigga on your block/I ain't J.R. Rider but them wolves coming for my spot"
Wale love referencing sports and sneakers. In his track "88" off of The Gifted, the D.C. rapper refs Sam Bowie, Chapel Hill, and Michael Jordan's unbelievable 1988 season.
18. Run the Jewels, "36" Chain"
Lyric(s): "Heard she got a baby daddy and a nigga acting aggy runnin' round talkin' 'bout yeah he plexed/Nigga better pray for a ho like he Tebow though/'Cause right now he stay losin' like the Jets" (Killer Mike)
Gotta Tebow when you lose your ol' lady to a guy like Killer Mike. She ain't never coming back, homie. Only heaven can save her.
17. Action Bronson, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps"
Lyric(s): "Shimmy in the GMC Jimmy/So I can make assists like Mike Bibby"
Action is the king of sports raps at the moment. In every bar he either refers to food, sports, or weed and we love him for it. GMC Jimmys' used to be poppin' back when Mike Bibby was hittin' daggar threes as a Sacramento King.
16. Earl Sweatshirt f/ Casey Veggies & Vince Staples, "Hive"
Lyric(s): "So it's Raging Waters season/That yomper big as Larry Johnson, leave your momma seedless" (Vince Staples)
A gun as big as Grandmama? We good, you got it.
15. Drake f/ Jay Z, "Pound Cake"
Lyric(s): "After hours of Il Mulino/Or Sotto Sotto, just talking women and vino/The contract like '91 Dan Marino/I swear this guy Michael Rapino's boosting my ego" (Drake)
In 1991, Dan Marino signed what was then the biggest deal in NFL history with the Dolphins worth $23 million over five years. So, is Drizzy saying that he's raking in a cool 23 milli these days? Well, according to SOHH.com, Drake took home $40 mil off the Club Paradise Tour, but don't forget, everyone in that OVO fam has to eat, too.
14. World's Fair, "Sammy Sosa"
Lyric(s): "Move to Barcelona bleach my skin like Sammy Sosa/63 home runs... Callate la boca" (Nasty Nigel & Remy Banks)
Sammy really said that he used a bleaching cream to only soften his skin. Callate la boca!
13. Pusha T f/ Chris Brown, "Sweet Serenade"
Lyric(s): "Supreme ballers, all my niggas got ESPYs/Triple-doubles, both wrist and neck freeze/Triple-doubles, two bricks and tech squeeze/Triple-doubles, two hoes and check please"
When you're flippin' that work like Sosa, you'll be paid like you play ball too.
12. Drake, "5AM in Toronto"
Lyric(s): "Why is it always me?"
In addition to swerving with Balotelli, Drake also found some common ground with Super Mario, which is probably why Drizzy dropped this somewhat veiled line when talking about how he needs to watch what he says all the time. We would advise Drake to continue maintaining that mindset with TDE watching his every move.
11. World's Fair, "'96 Knicks"
Lyric(s): "This is it (what?)/For the chip (what?)/We go out swinging before we can ever quit (what? what? what?)/Clear the bench (what?)/Catch a tech (what?)/It's like Miami and the Knicks, '96 (what? what? what?)"
If you've ever seen World's Fair live you might flip Charlie Ward and catch a tech too. Them boys go all the way the fuck in.
10. Pusha T f/ Ab-Liva, "Suicide"
Lyric(s): "Unpacked, powder rise and it fall like Sebastian/Telfair, tailor-made suits hand-crafted/Over Bottega Veneta, high tops unfastened" (Ab-Liva)
Bassy was on top when he released his adidas documentary Through the Fire, but once he went straight to the league his star quickly faded. After nine years in the L, he's out of a job...for now.
9. Danny Brown, "Side A (Old)"
Lyric(s): "Vet in the game, first seed in the playoffs/Meet me at the Coney, gotta get this weight off"
Before becoming a rap star, Danny was a trap star.
8. Drake, "Furthest Thing"
Lyric(s): "I had to Derrick Rose the knee up before I got the re-up"
Between So Far Gone and Thank Me Later, Drake blew his knee on stage. He had to pull back like Derrick Rose before really hitting his stride. Unlike Rose, Drizzy managed to stay in the game.
7. Eminem, "Groundhog Day"
Lyric(s): "Promisin' complete dominance/Sugar Ray Robinson/I'm in the league Muhammad's in/Ali's my colleague/Bombing 'em/Probably end up on top of them/Stomping them like Ndamukong/I'm rushing like a Ukranian LaDainian Tomlinson"
On MMLP2, Eminem drops plenty of sports references, but few, if any, were better than these bars on "Groundhog Day." In an effort to tell you just how good he is, Em goes from comparing himself to Ali to saying he's probably going to be better than one of the greatest of all time. We get it, Em, you're one of the best to ever pick up a mic. No argument over here.
6. A$AP Rocky f/ Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T., "1 Train"
Lyric(s): "Red roses dropped from boxes very often/Confetti torchin', drinking Henny like I'm Kenny Lofton/Outstandin'/I fixed the game between Georgia Southern and Grambling/You see us scrambling, selling Susan Sarandon" (Action Bronson)
We didn't know Kenny liked the Hendu just like we didn't know Action fixed HBCU games.
5. Jay Z, "Open Letter
Lyric(s): "Would've brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free/Except I made millions off it, you fuckin' dweeb/I still own the building, I'm still keeping my seat/Y'all buy that bullshit, you'd better keep y'all receipt"
Boasts like these sort of put Joe Johnson's over $100 million contract into perspective, right?
4. Pusha T, "Numbers on the Boards"
Lyric(s): "Givenchy fittin' like it's gym clothes/We really gymstars, I'm like D. Rose/No D-league, I'm like this close/'88 Jordan, leaping from the free throw"
Nowadays, the only thing fitting D-Rose like gym clothes are those tailored suits he stays rocking on the bench.
3. Action Bronson f/ Big Body Bes, "9.24.13"
Lyric(s): Basically the whole track
After some miscommunication with a Yugoslavian on "9-24-11," Bronson finds himself involved in the lucrative sports business. He gets pleasured at a Lakers game, gives a companion her comeuppance after allegedly cheating with LeBron James, and breaks the hearts of Knicks fans everywhere after fixing the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals. Patrick Ewing may have missed that layup, but at least Action Bronson is flourishing. So we all win...sort of. And Big Body Bes? He's fucking out here, fam.
2. Big Sean f/Kendrick Lamar "Control"
Lyric(s): "If Phil Jackson came back, still no coachin' me I'm uncoachable, I'm unsociable/Fuck y'all clubs Fuck y'all pictures, your Instagram can gobble these nuts"
The power of Kendrick actually compelled Phil Jackson to respond. This was one of hip-hop's latest "We Made It" moment.
1. Jay Z f/ Travis Scott, "Crown"
Lyric(s): "Scott Boras, you over baby/Robinson Cano, you coming with me"
After stealing away Robinson Cano from Scott Boras, causing extreme levels of saltiness from the super agent, Jay Z helped Robbie sign the third-largest contract in MLB history. And many of y'all thought Hov was going to lose. The thing is, Jay doesn't lose.