What’s pumping through those headphones during workouts, warm-ups, and pregame locker-room rituals? With the WNBA season underway and the NBA Finals imminent, here are some favorite tunes that energize hoop stars.
- “The Greatest,” Rod Wave: This takes me down memory lane…being unknown, coming from a tough place & becoming what I aspired to be.
- “Rude Boy,” K Camp: One of the most underrated artists and one of my fave songs right now.
- “Loaded Bases” and “Dedication,” Nipsey Hussle: Love the game Nipsey shares in all his music; [he’s] one of the most solid we were blessed to have.
- “People Everyday,” Arrested Development: Just a feel-good and reminder to myself I’m just one of the people regardless of who I am and what I do.
- “The White Shoes,” Wale: One of my fave songs ever, and Wale is another underrated artist.
- “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” and “I Get Around,” Tupac Shakur: Pac is my fave of all time.
- “1st of tha Month,” Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Best male rap group ever.
- “It’s So Hard,” Big Pun: RIP Big Pun—he was ahead of his time.
- “Cranes in the Sky,” Solange
- “Doo Wop,” Lauryn Hill: Always going to be legendary.
- “Apparently,” J. Cole: J. Cole…always another favorite.
- “You Ain’t Gotta Lie,” Kendrick Lamar: This is fire to me.
Marvin Sapp and Kirk Franklin. I always want to be in a positive mind before I go out and play; gospel music does that for me. Words you listen to have a lot of power.
- “Kanye Krazy,” Lil Durk
- “Track Star,” Mooski
- “Gone Till November,” Rod Wave
- “Ridin Strikers,” Future
- “Hellcats & Trackhawks,” Lil Durk
- “Lemon Pepper Freestyle,” Drake & Rick Ross
I listen to these when I work out and before road games.
- “Low Down” and “Freestyle,” Lil Baby
- “Plastic,” Future & Lil Uzi Vert
- “Essence,” Wizkid ft. Tems
- “Nowo,” Teni
- “Addicted,” Jorja Smith
“Never Change,” Jay-Z: [The Blueprint was] the first album when I completely fell in love with Jay-Z. I love this song because it talks about his journey, and I’m always reminded to stay true to my roots.
- “Back in Blood,” Pooh Shiesty
- “I Did It My Way,” Jay-Z
- “Lemon Pepper Freestyle,” Drake & Rick Ross
- “What It Feels Like,” Nipsey Hussle & Jay-Z
- “We Gonna Make It,” Jadakiss
- “Summertime in That Cutlass,” Nipsey Hussle
- “Ambitionz az a Ridah,” Tupac Shakur
- “Politics as Usual,” Jay-Z
- “The Recipe” (featuring Dr. Dre), Kendrick Lamar
- “Statute of Limitations,” 2 Chainz
- “Going Back to Cali,” Notorious B.I.G.
- “One Man Can Change the World” (featuring Kanye West & John Legend), Big Sean
- “Light Up,” Drake
- “Tears of Joy,” Rick Ross
- “We Dem Boyz,” Wiz Khalifa
- “Goldie,” A$AP Rocky
I usually do rock a playlist, but last year in the ‘Wubble,’ the drive to games was suuuuper long, so I started to pick an album and just hitting play. It’s definitely gonna stay as my “pregame playlists.” Here are my faves: The Black Album, Jay-Z; Doggystyle, Snoop Dogg; Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, DMX; Nothing Was the Same, Drake; Life After Death, Biggie; Graduation, Kanye West; Good News, Megan Thee Stallion; The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem.
Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Lil Wayne when I want to hear hip-hop classics; and I like to support North Carolina artists J. Cole and Rapsody. My gospel playlist includes Kirk Franklin, Anthony Brown, Tamela Mann, Hezekiah Walker, and my grandma’s favorite, Shirley Caesar.
- “For the Stunt,” Russ: It’s an older song by him, but it came back around, so it’s on my playlist.
- “Say You Will,” Big Sean: Will always be in rotation.
- “Astronaut in the Ocean,” Masked Wolf: When I need some good energy.
- “Sredinom,” Dino Merlin: Dino Merlin is one of the best ever from [my native] Bosnia.
Babyface Ray and Lil Uzi Vert: My most listened to artists at the moment.
- “Get Up,” Kodak Black
- “Family Rules,” Boosie Badazz
- “Dogs for Life,” DMX
- “Tha Mobb,” Lil Wayne
- “One of Mines,” Mozzy
- …and anything from J. Cole
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