Born 2 Ball

I would like to start by saying this mixtape really offended me. I am always a proponent of new artists, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should try to rap. Historically, there have been many NBA (National Basketball Association) players who have tampered with rapping in the past. For example, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Damian Lillard, Iman Shumpert, and others  have all had brief rap careers, some much better than others.

Lonzo Ball is the newest professional basketball player to partake in a rap career. He is a flashy, young, rookie who has gained much media attention because of his basketball ability and his father Lavar Ball who has made many rash statements to hype up the basketball ability of his three sons. Over the past year the Ball family has skyrocketed in popularity across the entire nation.

I can’t say that I am surprised that Lonzo Ball, the oldest of the Ball sons and current point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers, just released his first mixtape. Considering his media presence and type of person he is, I first assumed this was a publicity stunt, but after research I learned that he was actually taking his rap mixtape serious. This is the most unfortunate part. I feel very strongly when I say that his rapping on this mixtape Born 2 Ball is not good at all. From the first song to the last song Lonzo’s flow imitates other artists but with much lesser, almost elementary, level rhymes.

The opening song on a project is the key song on the mixtape. It is the first impression that the listener gets to the mixtape. Therefore, the first song almost has to be good. However, Lonzo’s is not. In fact, I feel that the first song is the worst on the entire project. He does use a very nice beat, but his rapping needs to improve if he is serious about a rap career. The lyrics in the first song Grind Mode are very simple and the subject matter is consistent with a large majority of rap songs from this decade. The only difference is that what he is saying is terribly delivered.

The rest of the project is more of the same. Lonzo tries different rap flows and different styles–all which have been done before and done better–and tries to layer amateur lyrics over them. For instance, in his song Lavar, Lonzo mimics a Drake style of flow with a Drake style beat underneath. I personally think that this mixtape should mark the beginning and end of Lonzo Ball’s rap career.

“I love Lonzo as a hooper but his mixtape was trash lowkey” – Omar Bah ’18

“He needs to focus his energy on getting back healthy instead of being in the studio.” -Kyle Truevillian ‘18

Clearly I am not the only one who feels strongly about Lonzo Ball’s new mixtape. I too agree that he should stay with basketball and let others do the rapping because, like I said, rapping is not for everyone. Don’t forget to checkout CLove’s Suggestion of the Week below.

CLove’s Suggestion of the Week:

Memories Don’t Die- Tory Lanez