By Nick Shook
Read full post on Medium.com

We’ve heard the connection before. Rappers want to be athletes, athletes want to be rappers. They party together, they collaborate and sometimes, they use their collective power for the greater good.

And then there’s the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James practically gifted us, hip-hop lovers of the world, eight previously unreleased Kendrick Lamar tracks in January, just by telling him hey, the public would really like those songs you privately played for me and friends.

Look at the joy on his face. THIS IS FUN. Thank you, LeBron and Kendrick. You two are the best in the world at what you do.

But how about when a less-notable rapper makes a claim that leads you to believe that he may or may not have spoken personally to a megastar athlete about winning a championship before it happened?

“I was waitin’ on this,

You was hatin’ on this.

Told Bron last year,

We was takin’ the ‘ship.”

-Ray Jr., “Parade”

Illuminati, right? Or maybe Ray Jr. is just relaying that he too has undying faith in King James and his Wine and Gold apostles.

He’s connected in the tight-knit sports/rap scene in Cleveland, observable beyond poses for the ‘Gram.

“Out in L.A.,

They scream Chris Paul.

But I’m from The Land,

We rep Rich Paul.”

-Ray Jr., “Parade”

HE KNEW. Him, and Tristan Thompson, and all of Klutch Sports, and Maverick Carter, and everyone involved with TACKMA. They all knew.

Let’s take a look at how much of an influence a handful of rappers large and small had on the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Because once you take a moment to consider it, the scope is larger than you’d think.

To read the full post on Medium.com, click here.