Damian Lillard spent his first moments of the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend with Oakland born rapper Sway Calloway on his weekday radio show Sway in the Morning. They were joined by co-hosts Heather B. Gardner (HB) and Tracy G. for a casual rhyme session. It was a warm environment that really heated up when Lillard dropped a full verse of his own over Jay-Z’s 1996 hit, “Dead Presidents”.
*Video contains profanity – Listener discretion is advised*
If that was too quick for you to appreciate in full, here are the lyrics:
Me being the chosen one was like a blessing in deception
City known for homicide, majority depression
Grinding in the gym so I could live through the recession
Real goons show me love cuz they can feel how I’m connected
Background of a street dude, mind of a scholar
Just to pop our collar, man, we climbing for the dollar
I mean it when I say it bro, we started from the bottom
Childhood friends dropping like leaves and it’s autumn
Don’t believe time is money, money is time
When you focused, man, you look up and your money is fine
I’m from a city where your friend will put a gun to your mind
Cuz you eating and they envy all that glory and shine
I swear to god it gets realer, a city full of killers
Addicts walking round looking like the zombies off of “Thriller”
It’s sick and getting iller that’s why my skin thicker
Now you see why brothers want to get away, grab a Snicker
My mission took me to college where I picked up the knowledge
And tried to stay away from violence since I escaped the virus
Divided my folks retirements, but I rised from that environment
In my life it was perfect timing, and my drive blew me up atomic
I’m sick of these suckers all in my bubble though
Critiquing me on stuff I had to struggle for
This dream done been a long time coming
And my clock was Forrest Gump—it spent a long time running
This is among the best verses I have heard from an NBA player. In fact, it is better than most of what you will hear from artists on the radio today. Calloway had the right idea when he said to anyone listening in, “He doing it as a pastime and he’s beating you. Get your game up!” and that’s beyond Reasonable Doubt.