Kurtis Blow's "Basketball" Kicked Off The Hip Hop Era In the NBA

Zachary Draves | Jul 17, 2024

Oct 1976; Unknown location, USA; FILE PHOTO; Philadelphia 76ers forward Julius Erving (6) also known as Dr. J sits on the bench during the 1976-77 season. Mandatory Credit: Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK / Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY Sports

The bond between basketball and hip hop has always been strong.

Forty years ago, that connection was captured on record thanks to pioneering New York rapper Kurtis Blow.

His 1984 song "Basketball" off his album Ego Trip was his love letter to the game.

That year, the NBA was hitting its stride thanks in large part due to the rivalry between the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics. Other prominent stars in the league included Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bernard King, Darryl Dawkins, and Ralph Sampson.

All the players were featured prominently on the track.

Kurtis, an avid basketball fan, gave additional shout outs to some of the great players of the 1960s/1970s including Bill Russell, Willis Reed, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Jerry West, Rick Berry, and Wilt Chamberlain.

The song has been credited with the beginning of an era of basketball where hip hop told the story.

Eventually, both the game and music achieved global domination.

Rappers regularly referenced NBA players in their lyrics as well as show up to games. Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant even tried their hand at rap.

Then NBA Commissioner David Stern used the song in promotional campaigns. It was later featured on the soundtrack to NBA 2K12.

Today it is organic for hip hop to be a fixture at basketball games, but it wasn't always like that. That was until Kurtis Blow spoke it into existence.

Forty years later, they're playing basketball, we love that basketball.

Zachary Draves is a contributor to Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at zdraves1013@gmail.com and on Instagram @zdraves0633.