The Current State of Basketball and Hip Hop

Basketball and Hip Hop culture have long been intertwined. These two cultural forces have helped shape the other throughout the decades, often blurring the lines, or crossing them completely.

From the early days of Hip Hop, where its birth in the South Bronx ran parallel to the emergence of basketball culture, the two sub-cultures eventually found themselves entangled. And nearly inseparable.

Cue in Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball.”

This cultural synergy, created in the mid-1980’s, was inspired by the rise of a sport that became the “№1 sport for African-Americans,” and an opportunity to shine a light on its growth through Hip Hop — a cultural subset that was also trending upwards thanks to pioneers like Kurtis Blow.

Unbeknownst that “Basketball” would be sampled for a basketball-themed movie titled, “Like Mike,” starring a then, young rap star, Lil Bow Wow, eighteen years later.

It’s synchronicities like this that have defined the relationship between basketball and Hip Hop, cementing the two as indivisible components of urban culture.

As the years go by, and each era of Hip Hop finds itself re-imagined with new stars, sounds and styles, the culture of basketball has also gone through its own transformation. In its current state, it’s safe to say that mixed feelings run rampant amongst loyal fans.

Long gone are the days of And1 Mixtapes, the 1990s Dream Team, Michael Jordan poster-worthy dunks, Allen Iverson crossovers, and Kobe Bryant’s signature moves on display at the iconic Staples Center. Long gone, too, are the days of legitimate Rap beefs, actual lyricism playing on mainstream Hip Hop radio, Hip Hop’s elements (breakdancing, graffiti, DJ’ing) in the mainstream light, and the Millennial fans’ “Top 5” greats; who have all retired the mic, or tragically passed.

So, what’s really good with basketball and Hip Hop nowadays?

The answer truly varies depending on who you are asking.

Those of us who long for the nostalgia of 90s and early 00s Hip Hop and the era when basketball players weren’t “soft” and NBA All-Star games were actually competitive… this new era just can’t compare. Surely enough, however, there’s a kid out there who was born in the new millennium who only recognizes Lebron James as their “goat,” and thinks Future is a Top 5 caliber rapper. Not to say these things can’t be true, it’s all really objective, but you get my point, right?

The state of Hip Hop and basketball is contingent on whose critical lens we’re looking through. It’s all about perspective, and whose POV it is. For me, Hip Hop and basketball are boundless entities that will tread along the changing timeline as dynamic subsets of culture.

We might not like the current state of either, but thankfully, like us, evolution is inevitable. Appreciate it for what it is, what it will become, and enjoy the ride.

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