Music has the ability to draw so many different emotions out of a person. It has the power to change a generation of people in so many ways. It also has the power to literally change the world around us. So much so that it influenced me to also dabble into the music industry as an artist, manager, and eventually a writer. 

I had such a great career in the industry that I often would compare myself to other artists. I would in turn, look at what impact their music had on their fans, and what message was given from their music. I was part of a gangster Hip Hop group named DSC out of Dallas, TX, and there were a lot of us! There were so many of us that we were compared to the Wu Tang Clan size wise.

In my opinion, the music we released was pretty good, and the impact it had on our fans created a small cult following (if you know, you know). Our music was produced by one of the best production companies locally at the time, Grass House Muzic. To look at the crew we had, as far as DSC goes, we had barbers, hustlers, working class guys, hoopers and so-forth.

Now why did I mention all of this? Well it goes back to the impact that music had on me. And me being a hooper at the time, and a huge Chris Webber fan; my fandom only grew when I found out that he had a hip hop song out!

When I had a chance to check out Chris Webber’s music I was impressed with his lyrical prowess. He has that east coast vibe about him for sure, being born in Detroit, MI. He reminded me a little bit of Biggie mixed with Jay Z (I know..).  Chris dropped a song with Red Man, and a little known fact is that Chris was also a hell of a producer.

As a producer, his tracks had a variety of influences, but still had that east coast appeal. And with that east coast appeal, Chris was able to produce a track for the legendary Nas. The song was named “Blunt Ashes”, in which Chris totally ripped that track! The song was dope, and had a soreful meaning of life and death.

Chris’ music would surprise those who never knew he was so musically inclined when it comes to hip-hop. His impact on music back in 2006 and prior is still being recognized today.

Now when it comes to an NBA player with some BARS; Allen Iverson comes to mind. If you have not read my article on “Financial Fallacies”; Allen’s story is evident that he had a hard life and upbringing. His song “40 Bars” is grimy, gangster, and beats of the pain he felt as a youth growing up in Hampton, VA. 

Now when you listen to his lyrical delivery, it speaks Jadakiss, and Kurupt in the same breath. He hits you with that east coast swag, with that west coast grit. The boy truly got bars, and if he wasn’t in the NBA, he may have had a career in hip hop.

Even though there was no evidence of the NBA stopping Allen from rapping, his  impact on the culture was not missed. He was the epitome of hip-hop and street basketball on the NBA level. His mere dress code made the NBA put in place a dress code for the entire league. And “Practice! You wanna talk about Practice?!” Allen really beat by his own drum, and his music reflected that.

But not all music done by some NBA players is of the Rap/Hip-Hop genre. Some players took a soulful path into music and were very good at playing musical instruments. One player that comes to mind, who was an awesome guitarist, is Wayman Tisdale.

Wayman grew up playing the bass guitar at his father’s church Tulsa, OK, which was the spark that produced his love for music. Wayman was not interested in sports as a youth, but played because of his older brother, and Wayman became highly recruited due to his high level basketball skills.

His love for music stayed with him throughout his basketball journey, so much so that he launched his album titled “Power Forward” through Motown Music. The album reached #4 on the billboard charts in 1995 for Jazz, while playing for the Phoenix Suns at the time.

His #1 charting Jazz album was titled “Rebound” in 2008 which stayed on the charts for 60 weeks! So to say the least, the music was extremely good for a Jazz album. His music is hard to compare to anyone, but his ability to play such a mean bass puts him in a category of his own.

Tragically, Wayman passed away on May 15, 2009 from complications of cancer. Little-be-known that Wayman and the great country music artist Toby Keith were close friends. Toby wrote the song titled “Cryin For Me” in memory of his friend Wayman.

Bringing it back to Hip-Hop, one NBA player ushered in the new generation of music and is known to drop some dope barz! Damian (Dame D.O.L.L.A) Lillard has garnered a reputation of being a top NBA player as well as a top NBA Hip-Hop artist. And if you wanted to know what the acronym D.O.L.L.A stands for, it’s Different On Levels the Lord Allows. That’s so dope!

What makes Dame so different from other NBA Hip-Hop artists is he is not glamorizing the gangster life still. His music is full of fun and partying and living life. So many laid back tracks, it’s hard to really narrow down which one I like the most. The evidence of his lyrical genius is on the song “Trap Party (Funeral)”, so laid back.

His rhyme still is a mix between Drake and Jay-Z, with a swig of Future, and that is saying something. And the above song I mentioned is on the “Confirmed” album which reached number 72 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart in 2017. As a tribute to the late great Kobe Bryant, Dame put out a song titled “Kobe”, which featured Snoop Dogg and Derrick Milano, in which the song ended up on NBA 2K21 back in 2020.

Dame has a bright future in Hip-Hop, if he so chooses to pursue that route. However, if he heals soon from his season ending injury, the music career may have to take a back seat as he continues to pursue an NBA championship.

Speaking of NBA Championships, one particular NBA player was such a dominant force, no one could handle him in the paint. He was traded from Orlando to the Lakers back in 1996. Who am I referring to, no other Shaquille O’Neal, The Big Aristotle, Superman, The Diesel, so many nicknames, I can go on for days.

If you had a chance to read my article titled “Financial Fallacies”, I mentioned how Shaq was a true entrepreneur. His talents beyond the basketball courts are far beyond what one would imagine. Despite the obvious of him spending time with his family, he always was an honorary law officer, a DJ, film, and music.

Since this article is about music, let’s dig into Shaq’s discography and see what his musical contributions were to the world. He dropped 12 albums, from 1993 to present times, and his top selling album was his first one titled “Shaq Diesel”. This album went on to sell over a million copies which certified as platinum in which it was a top 25 album on the Billboard top 200 chart.

The top song on that album was “I Know I Got (Skillz)”, which was the first EP off of it. With a feature from Hip-Hop artist Def Jeff, the song was an instant hit. When you listen to a lot of the songs that Shaq released, you can feel the East Coast heavy on each song. To compare The Big Aristotle, to anyone I would have to say a more aggressive Will Smith, with a little bit of Gangstar undertone (go look Gangstar up).

Other features on some of his albums also included some NBA players, and the most notable was the late, great Kobe Bryant. Back in 1998, Kobe dropped a nice little bar on the song titled “3X’s Dope” off of the “Respect” album. Not my favorite song of Shaq’s but Kobe put it down lyrically. 

But as history would tell, the two would part ways as teammates. In 2006 Shaq went to the Miami Heat and teamed up with Dwayne Wade to defeat my beloved Mavericks (rigged lol). Nonetheless, Shaq was determined to win the first championship without Kobe. The two were at odds with one another at the time, and in true Shaq fashion, once he won the championship before Kobe, Shaq had to rap about it.

In 2008, Shaq was playing for the Phoenix Suns, and he happened to be in a New York nightclub. Probably still reeling from the rumor of Kobe possibly telling Shaq’s then wife of possible infidelity. Shaq busted out a freestyle and dropped this line “There’s a difference between first and last place. Kobe, how does my ass taste?”..

That was a vicious bar to throw at a former teammate, and I can imagine how Kobe took it at the time. Tragically, Kobe passed away in 2020 from a fatal helicopter crash that took not only his life, but his daughter Gianna, and seven others that were on board.

Shaq was torn up about the passing of Kobe, and he expressed that he lost his brother and he gave a heartfelt condolences to the family. Shaq’s impact on Hip Hop is very noticeable, that I am sure he inspired other NBA players to express themselves musically.

Thinking back on my Hip-Hop journey with my group DSC, I can see some semblance of Shaq, Chris Webber, Dame, Wayman Tisdale in a lot of the songs we did. The music we released was southern for sure, but the impact of what these NBA players brought to Hip Hop, reaches all coasts and countries as a whole.