Rap music and the NBA have been tied together for generations. Several rappers grew up with dreams of playing basketball and a slew of NBA players have gone back to make hip-hop music to fulfill their dreams. Music is also a great motivator for athletes as it helps them get in the zone before games. Despite basketball and rap music being culturally intertwined, Michael Jordan was never a fan of the genre.
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According to N.O.R.E., the six-time NBA champion hated rap music and even said it out loud in a room full of rappers. In an interview with Rap Radar in 2016, the Queens artist revealed that Jordan disliked all rap music except one artist. He said,
“Jordan is a hater of hip-hop. He only likes Hov [Jay-Z], that’s it. I’ve seen him shut Redman down. I’ve seen him shut Redman at a Def Jam Christmas party. We were all sitting there, waiting to speak to Michael Jordan and a n***a said, ‘Yo, Redman and Method Man is here’. He said, ‘F**k rap.'”
Despite growing up as a Knicks fan, Noreaga said he admired the Bulls icon for his greatness. However, he was heartbroken when the five-time NBA MVP cussed out the art form he lived for. The only redeeming factor in this scenario for Noreaga was that Jordan liked Jay-Z, and even greeted him during a Mariah Carey party.
Redman and Method Man are two of the most revered rappers. However, Jordan did not care about their stature as he disliked their genre. Days later, during a conversation with AllHipHopTV Noreaga clarified that he was unsure if it was Redman or Method Man who wanted to meet Jordan, but added that it was one of the two legends.
The Drink Champs host acknowledged that he didn’t read much into Jordan’s sentiments about rap music. But as someone who looked up to the six-time Finals MVP, hearing him trash the genre was a hard pill to swallow.
In Netflix’s The Last Dance documentary series, Jordan gave an insight into his musical taste. In one scene, he’s seen jamming to music on a walkman. When asked what artist he was listening to, he responded it was R&B singer Kenny Lattimore’s new record. He revealed that the artist was his close friend and the song he was listening to hadn’t even been released.
