“Basketball” is a rap song that was written by William Waring, Robert Ford, Kurtis Blow, J. B. Moore, Jimmy Bralower, and Full Force and recorded by Kurtis Blow released in 1984 from his album Ego Trip.
Song history
According to Blow, the idea for the song came from his then-girlfriend (whom he later married), who told him, “You need to make a song about basketball, it’s the No. 1 sport for African-Americans and nobody has done it yet.”[1] Twenty-five famous basketball players are mentioned during the recording.[2] Waring was primarily responsible for choosing which players would be mentioned in the song, but Blow specified that his favorite player, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, would be mentioned first.[1] Blow said in 2013, “We wanted the guys we grew up watching who were all out of the league by the time the song came out, and the best of that time.”[1] The lyrics consist of rhymed couplets, a structure which has been described as “typical of early-1980s rap”.[3] The song’s hook was sung by Alyson Williams, who later had hit songs of her own on the R&B chart.[1][4]
The music video for the song was directed by Michael Oblowitz, who had a $25,000 budget.[1] The video included cameos by rappers The Fat Boys and Whodini.[1] Although Blow had wanted the video to include footage of the players mentioned in the song, the National Basketball Association would only provide clearance for use of still photos of Micheal Ray Richardson (who is not mentioned in the lyrics).[1]
Nevertheless, the NBA later took an interest in Blow’s song and played it at games, as well as creating its own video that featured clips of every player mentioned in the song.[5] Blow said, “When the song was peaking, the NBA started flying me around to do shows. … I would do a live performance right after the game to fill the arena.”[1]
The video game NBA 2K12 used the song during the introduction.
Music video by Kurtis Blow performing Basketball. (C) 1984 The Island Def Jam Music Group
#KurtisBlow #Basketball #Vevo
Music in this video
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Song
Basketball (Album Version)
Artist
Kurtis Blow
Writers
Hermann Skibbe
Licensed to YouTube by
UMG (on behalf of Def Jam West); LatinAutor – UMPG, Rumblefish (Publishing), EMI Music Publishing, LatinAutorPerf, ASCAP, LatinAutor – PeerMusic, UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA – UBEM, UMPI, and 19 Music Rights Societies
Lyrics
They’re playing basketball (3)
We love that basketball
They’re playing basketball
We love that basketball
VERSE01
Basketball is my favorite sport
I like the way they dribble up and down the court
Just like I’m the king on the microphone
So is Dr. J and Moses Malone
I like slam dunks, take me to the hoop
My favorite play is the alley-oop
I like the pick-and-roll, I like the give-and-go
‘Cause it’s basketball, uh, Mister Kurtis Blow
CHORUS
They’re playing basketball
We love that basketball
They’re playing basketball
We love that basketball
VERSE02
I used to go to dinner, then take the girl
To see Tiny play against Earl The Pearl
And Wilt, Big O, and Jerry West
Play basketball at its very best
Basketball has always been my thing
I like Magic, Bird, and Bernard King
And number 33, my man Kareem
Is the center on my starting team
Clyde, Rick Barry, and Pistol Pete
Now these players could never be beat
Isiah, and Iceman, too
Just give ’em the ball, and then you chalk up two
Dantley and Wilkins are on the scene
And Ralph Sampson is really mean
Bill Russell didn’t take no junk
And Darryl Dawkins got a monster dunk
(It’s basketball)
Tell me, were you in the joint
The night Wilt scored a hundred points?
Or when Celtics won titles back-to-back
And didn’t give nobody no kind of slack?
Or when Dr. J shook the whole damn team
With moves that came right out of a dream?
Or when Willis Reed stood so tall
Playing D with desire? It’s basketball
VERSE03
I get the ball and then I go and play
Like a superstar in the NBA
The forwards, the centers, and all the guards
The ones you see on the bubblegum cards
Me and homeboy would go one-on-one
‘Cause playing the game is a lot of fun
Sit by the TV and watch ’em all
‘Cause Kurtis Blow is rappin’ basketball
“Now did you see that boy Pearl the other night
Take that thing up in Ewing’s face?”
“He’s bad, but I like Michael Jordan, man”
“Man, do y’all remember the old days?
The old days when the Reverend Dr. J
Used to take the whole team, boy
Used to do it to ’em
Used to burn ’em, used to burn ’em
I saw him burn Cazzie Russell one night
Man, it was embarrassing”
“Hey, y’all see Bernard King, man?”
“Oh Bernard King is my man
I like that nigga”
“Knicks play ball”
“Oh they been playin'”
“Bill Russell was the man”
“Oh, but Wilt usually take him, man, Wilt”
“My man Bill Russell had the championship ring
Wilt just had them points, that’s all he ever had”
“I don’t know, I don’t know about rings, man”
They’re playing basketball (the ball, y’all)
We love that basketball (the pill, the pill, the pill)
They’re playing basketball (D up, D up)
We love that basketball (oh yeah, to the hoop)
CHORUS
They’re playing basketball (3)
We love that basketball
They’re playing basketball
We love that basketball
They’re playing basketball (to the, to the hoop)
We love that basketball (to the hoop, to the, to the, to the hoop)
They’re playing basketball (swish!)