Top 5 Sports Rappers

By Yosef Solomon on June 17th, 2009

Rap seems like the only genre of music professional athletes gravitate toward when deciding on their next career move. From Kobe Bryant to Deion Sanders, some of the best rapaletes in the world have spit a cold 16. But with so many to choose from we decided we had to brake it down to the Top 5 Most Memorable Sports Rappers. So without further adieu check out the list:

5) Ron Artest – “Fever”

The same guy who applied at the local Circuit City electronics store during his 2nd year in the NBA so that he could get an employee discount is also the artist behind “Fever”. Artest takes us to the Sapphire Strip Club in Vegas, where in 2006 he recorded this video for the chart missing hit “Fever”. You gotta love Artest though, “he’s gonna spend his cash and spend it fast…he’s doin his thang”

4) Cedric Ceballos – “Flow”

“Duece trey is in effect” a.k.a the ‘92 NBA Slam-Dunk champion who represented the Westside back when Snoop and Dre were on hiatus gave us the critically unacclaimed “Flow”. With his laid back style, Ceballos tried to seduce the ladies on the basketball court by playing against guys half his size. It seemed to work because afterward he took them to his mansion where the party really goes down. Ceballos, who after the NBA had stints overseas and in the ABA, is currently an in-house emcee for the Phoenix Suns and hosts a few local TV sports programs.

3) Shaquille O’Neal – “I Know I got Skillz”

Shaq Diesel might just be the pioneer for all rapaletes. Although often criticized for his early rap career, Shaq was able to make five full albums and one even went platinum. In “I Know I Got Skillz” Shaq breaks down the many reasons, he’s the most dominant force in the universe. With his Kung Fu impersonations and larger than life build, he was definitely the biggest rapper of his time. Pineapple Express even featured this song in their soundtrack.

2) Deion Sanders – “Must Be The Money”

Before 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” Deion Sanders let the world know just how much money he had in the classic song “Must Be The Money”. Now, I think we see where “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather got his swag from. “Primetime” Deion’s nickname at the time, was known for rocking the flashiest suits and jewelry anyone had ever seen. I think he might have even influenced the “shiny suit era” in rap. One things for certain though, he definitely gave P. Diddy, his Diddy Bop. Oh yeah, and check out Darryl Strawberry’s cameo in this video. Classic.

1) Roy Jones Jr. – “Y’all Must’ve Forgot”

No Roy, we didn’t forget. At the number one spot comes Roy Jones Jr. His powerful summer banger “Y’all Must’ve Forgot” put him as the best/only boxing rapper ever. But really, who could forget Roy’s signature head bounce and emphatic flow that levitated his rap career to rapalete royalty. At a time when Jones just couldn’t be beat in the ring, he had to remind his haters that the gloves come off in the studio. So much so that he almost went to blows with rapper Fat Joe after he mentioned his name in the smash hit “Lean Back”. But, Jones knew his place was in the ring and decided to hang up the microphone before someone really got hurt.

There were a few rapaletes we had to leave out due to the circumstances, but we couldn’t forget about them entirely. Here’s a few we decided to note:

Honorable Mention: Kobe Bryant “Thug Poet,” Refridgerator Perry “The Refrigerator Man,” Allen “Jewelz” Iverson “40 Bars,” Tony Parker “Premier Love.”