There’s no secret that rap music and sports have a tight connection with each other and this can lead to some mentions of sports in songs. A lot of times, athletes and musicians show each other love and respect and they sometimes hang out in their free time. Today, we will be discussing some of these songs that mention athletes in the song or are titled after them.
“Barry Bonds” – Kanye West
The first song that I would like to mention is a song by Kanye West and it is named after one of the most historic and infamous athletes of all time, Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds played in the MLB for 22 seasons and racked up one of the most historic and greatest baseball careers of all time. During his career, Bonds won multiple MVP awards, won multiple Home Run Derby’s, 2 batting titles, 8 gold gloves, 12 silver sluggers, and retired with the most career home runs in MLB history. In the song by Kanye West, he shows homage to Bonds while he also connected it with his own career by saying “And here’s another hit, Barry Bods.”
While Bonds is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, he has had his share of controversies. Bonds has been described as a bad teammate by multiple former teammates and has been denied entry into the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame due to his involvement in PED scandals. While he has had his fair share of controversies, he is still one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
“Floyd Mayweather” – Young Thug
The next song that I would like to bring up is a song titled after one of the greatest boxers of all time, Floyd Mayweather. This song was created by Atlanta Rapper Young Thug and was released in 2016. Floyd Mayweather is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, and his career boxing record can back up that statement. Over his long career, Mayweather has racked up a career record of 50-0.
Unlike the last song that was mentioned, Mayweather isn’t actually mentioned at all in this song but after really listening to it, you can understand why it’s titled after him. Mayweather has been known to have a cocky mindset both inside and outside of the boxing ring and in this song you can get a feel that Young Thug is using this type of mindset while he’s rapping. This type of mindset is one of the reasons why Mayweather is so iconic because while it can rub people the wrong way, he’s just embracing it and doing his own thing.
“White Iverson” – Post Malone
The next song that I want to talk about is a song by Post Malone that isn’t necessarily named after an athlete, but still acknowledges him in the song. This song is titled “White Iverson” and it really acknowledges former NBA player Allen Iverson. Iverson was one of the NBAs biggest stars in the 2000’s and a lot of young basketball players and fans really looked up to him. During his career, Iverson won an MVP award and he was able to make a Finals appearance.
During the song, Malone makes quite a few references to Iverson and he uses these references to really show people his mindset towards his music career. One of the references he makes in the song goes like “I’m swaggin’, I’m swaggin’, I’m swaggin’ / I’m ballin’, I’m ballin’, Iverson on you.” I believe that these lyrics show that he he’s trying to show off his swagger and share what his mindset is when making music. This is just one of many references he makes about Iverson during the song and I believe this whole song is a way to really show his energy at the time and he wants to be compared to the greats.
In the music scene, there are a lot of connections between music and sports. Typically, these connections come from the fame of these musicians and athletes and when these connections are made, you can typically see both sides praising each other for what they do. Overall, there’s a lot of songs out there that really give athletes some shout outs, and there’s also times where these musicians diss athletes in their music, and I believe that these two industries should continue to stay connected..
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