We thought we’d come so far past this trend, but we were dead wrong. The trend of rapping athletes has been a thorn in the side of hip-hop since Shaq started using Bugs Bunny catchphrases for song titles. Fast forward twenty years and we’re back at one with LeBron James dropping a “freestyle” over Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s hit “N***as In Paris.” As you would expect, LeBron’s talents are better suited for sports rather than music. However, we’ll give him a high-five for effort.
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As we mentioned earlier, LeBron isn’t the first and most certainly won’t be the last athlete to drop some struggle couplets. The 2013 NBA Finals MVP inspired us to take a trip down memory lane and dig up some of the oldest and worse songs ever performed by athletes. Peep this.
Chris Webber ft. Kurupt “Gangsta, Gangsta”
Chris Webber was in his prime when he received his calling to struggle rap. Featuring a star-studded video with cameos from rap stars, Webber flexes his gangsta while rapping about fast women and all of that. While Webber wasn’t lying about the fast women, cars and clothes, he didn’t come off as gangsta. He came off softer than baby s**t.
Deion Sanders – “Must Be The Money”
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Deion Sanders is possibly the originator of athlete struggle rap. The name of the song says it all. How did he get women after releasing this terrible rap song about smashing random women? Must be the money. Why was he allowed to cook in those silk shirt and paisley vest combos? Must have been the money. Well, what happens now that his ex-wife Pilar Sanders is trying to take all of his money?
Metta World Peace ft. Mike Jones “Get Lo”
I’m a little apprehensive to write about Metta World Peace‘s struggle raps. We all know about his violent outbursts. Who has time for that nowadays? But we’ll do what we must. I can’t ask who kept giving him the mic because he started his own record label called Tru Warrier just so he could struggle rap with the best of the worst. According to some people in the office, Metta World Peace’s album is the “Reasonable Doubt” of terrible rap. Yikes!
Roy Jones – “Y’all Must Have Forgot”
By the time Roy Jones got into rapping, the rapping athlete wave was dying out, or so we thought. Tired of being disrespected by sports fans and talking heads, Jones got fed up and blasted the haters in “Y’all Must Have Forgot.” While some may have forgotten his accomplishments, we haven’t forgotten this craptastic track.
Allen Iverson – “40 Bars”
When people first heard “40 Bars,” they all wondered who was A.I.‘s publicist. Why did they ask about the publicist? Because only a publicist who really gives no f**ks about their client would allow this to hit the streets. Mind you, this came out before the internet was really popping. So a “leak” always came from the celebrity’s camp. And was it super smart for him to be rapping about living and dying by the gun considering all of the trouble he got into while he was going to Georgetown University? Y’all thought we forgot?
Kobe Bryant ft. Tyra Banks “K.O.B.E.”
No. No! and Hell NO! Kobe tried and he failed. Tyra Banks sounds better when she’s quiet. And get that faux-Latin beat all the way out of the paint.
