Does anyone one else often wonder why more sporting stars don’t branch out into the music biz? Well neither do I, but that hasn’t stopped a bunch of NBA players getting together to record “Full Court Press Vol 1”. Most notably we have Miami Heat‘s Juwan Howard trading verses with Rick Ross on his track “It’s Time To Ball” . With a title like that, I would love to have seen where Ross would have taken it had he been given total creative freedom. According to the The Huffington Post , producers on the project wanted to create an album with artists and athletes that kids look up to, with clean and motivational lyrics. Other high profice ballers such as the Knicks‘ Baron Davis, the Magic‘s Glen “Big Baby” Davis, and the Clippers‘ Lamar Odom pitched in with self penned raps about what it takes to get to the top .
So while music hasn’t seemed this uncool since Christian Rock , keep in mind it will be a non-profit endeavor with proceeds (if there are any) going to children’s charities. Howard’s song will hit iTunes in Oct. 30 and the entire album will drop during the NBA All Star Weekend in February 2013. I for one can’t wait to see how many ways you can rhyme the word ‘dunk’ or use ‘shooting for 3’ as a metaphor for taking a chance in life.
While it’s easy to be a cynical shithead about the whole enterprise (as I find myself guilty of), it takes me back to a dark time in my early teens when i was dropping sitters and getting hit out the ground by tailenders. Sometimes the music heals.
Pictures by Mike Ehrmann and Christopher Polk at Getty Images.
