It's the story of a timeless title that still resonates in theaters around the world as a hit to the glory of basketball. The aptly named “Basketball” had the effect of a bomb in the then nascent world of hip hop, and its impact forty years later says a lot about its legend.
The story behind this song is that it was his girlfriend at the time, who later became his wife, who encouraged Kurtis Blow to write a song about basketball. The latter had fun by mentioning 25 of the most famous players at the time, starting with his favorite player, Julius Ervingmentioned first, just before the late Moses Malone.
Thirteen years ago, the sound was brought up to date by being selected for the trailer for NBA 2K12, in which Michael Jordan was (already) in the spotlight.
The WNBA also in the spotlight
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song, it was necessary to mark the occasion and the NBA accompanied the 65-year-old rapper grandpa to record a new song “2.0” with the names of current players!
A music video was also released, with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Sue Bird as “guests”. The producer Hit-Boy also put his touch on it by modernizing the instrumental somewhat, while the rapper Lola Brooke highlights the stars of the moment in the WNBA, from Angel Reese to Kelsey Plum via Jonquel Jones and many others.
“We made another version, a remix, which is now available. It's called “Basketball 2.0,” and it mentions today's new players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, and Kevin Durant. The clip is incredible, and we have Knicks Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart in it. And Lola Brooke is a guest rapper. She does a verse talking about the WNBA, mentioning Sue Bird, Caitlin Clark and Brittney Griner. The video is sponsored by the NBA and DoorDash. I'm going to do some things with the NBA this season. So people will be able to see the clip and listen to the song“, explained Kurtis Blow.
Many references can be found in the clip, such as the presence of his wife Shirley Walker, to whom he has been married for forty years and who is therefore at the origin of the song.
