Pop culture and sports have gone hand in hand for decades. Musicians, specifically rap artists, continuously shout out top NBA players in their music. Two of the league’s biggest stars, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, hear their names in songs every single day. Two of the biggest artists, Drake and Kendrick Lamar, are guilty of said name drops. Rapper E.D.I. Mean believes the four actually have plenty in common.
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In 2024, Drake and Kendrick Lamar set the world ablaze with their notorious rap beef. Their onslaught of disses brought about a series of diss tracks between the two of them, and their feud led to Lamar’s mega-hit “Not Like Us.”
Although the two stars’ specialty comes from putting songs together, legendary rapper E.D.I. Mean sees a lot of LeBron James and Stephen Curry within the rappers.
“Drake is Steph Curry,” E.D.I. Mean said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break. “A lot of guys want to be Steph Curry, but they don’t know the amount of work Steph put in to be that great.”
The same applies to Drake as well. The Canadian artist has broken countless records throughout his career, all due to his tireless work ethic. That consistent effort is evidenced by his eight studio albums.
If Drake is Stephen Curry, E.D.I. believes only one other player is comparable to Kendrick Lamar.
“Kendrick right now is in that LeBron phase, where LeBron was just terrorizing the league,” E.D.I. Mean said. “There was nobody on his level.”
Rather than compare Lamar to current-day LeBron, E.D.I. compares the West Coast rapper to James at his physical peak. Although he didn’t give a clear timeframe, it’s safe to assume he’s referring to LeBron between 2011 and 2018.
During that time, James was in the NBA Finals each season and walked away with three championships. LeBron may not have received the accolades deserving of his dominance, but it was no question he was the best player in the league.
Lamar’s control on the rap scene is very similar right now, as nobody is close to touching his spot. Coincidentally, E.D.I. Mean compared these particular artists to these particular players because they have relationships with each other.
LeBron and Drake used to be extremely close, but their friendship tarnished when the Los Angeles Lakers star showed support to Lamar amid the beef. Now it seems the entire James family has distanced themselves from Drake.
On the other hand, Curry has been close with Drake for many years, and that relationship doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
