LeBron James’ career has been one shrouded in glory and victory. As one of the best basketball players since Michael Jordan, James has an enormous amount of respect in the African-American community and is one of the most recognisable players in the world.
Basketball players often get mentioned in rap lyrics, and Lebron especially. In Nicki Minaj’s 2017 track ‘No Frauds, ’ the Queens act rhymes, “They say numbers don’t matter but when they discussin’ the kings / They turn around and say Lebron ain’t got six rings.”
Even Jay-Z has referenced the NBA player on the 2010 hit ‘Empire State Of Mind’ rapping, “8 million stories out there in the naked city / It’s a pity half of y’all won’t make it / Me, I gotta plug Special Ed ‘I Got It Made’ / If Jeezy’s paying LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade”
Unsurprisingly, the love is mutual, and James has a love for hip-hop. During an interview with the Basketball legend last year at NBA Media Day, the athlete was asked a series of questions in a quickfire fashion. From his favourite food to his favourite season of the year.
However, he was also asked about his favourite album. In response to the question, James proclaimed, “Favourite album of all time?! Oh my goodness! Wow, only one album? That’s almost impossible.” The legend was then given the opportunity to pick three and, while doing so, named two rap albums. Revealing his three favourite albums, Lebron listed “It Was Written by Nas, The Black Album by Jay-Z and…I don’t know!”
His two choices were interesting considering Nas and Jay-Z were once foes in a lyrical war. However, James clearly has an appreciation for lyricism and for albums with a great deal of storytelling.
When mentioning Nas, most people directly default to his 1994 debut album Illmatic. However, James believes his 1996 sophomore project is superior. Jay-Z’s The Black Album will always be a classic as every major player in hip-hop, from Pharrell to Kanye and Timbaland, contributed to it. You can see James answer the quickfire questions below.
