Two sides of rap, NBA vs And1: A Shaq and Zack Rap Convo

We talk about rap....alot.

Lol when you stumble across a chance for a great analogy, don't pass it up, especially when it involves Rap or Basketball, or in this case...BOTH! 

We all remember the glory days of And1 Mixtape basketball right? Sick crossovers, high flying dunks, action packed, fun, exhilarating basketball. Not nearly as serious, and structured as NBA Basketball. The current state of the rap game reminds me of that very contrast. On one side there’s the trap music, the turn up music, heavily based out of the south, where the loose, usually strip club influenced form of rap originated. On the other side there’s lyrical rap, sticking to the true roots of Hip Hop, delivered from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Big Krit, and more. These artist, the lyrical artist, are the NBA. Like the NBA, they’re structured, traditional, competitive, more serious, seemingly chasing after a concrete goal, conscious of their actions, and the things that they say at all times. Artist such as Migos, Young Thug, Juicy J, Rich Homie Quan, and others who make the turn up music, or the trap music, are the And1 Mixtape crew. Like the And1 mixtape ballers, these artist are interested primarily in entertaining the masses, giving their listeners a good time, less serious, no real structured plan for the outcome of their music other than to provide those previously mentioned services. Nothing is wrong with either of these leagues, I’ve always been an advocate for balance in rap. With J Cole set to drop on December 9^th, and Kendrick working on his highly anticipated follow up to GKMC, the lyrical side of rap is in good hands. And with Young Thug constantly making his way to the Urban Charts, and Migos dropping their banging Rich Nigga Timeline mixtape, the turn up side of rap is in good hands as well. One funny thing my homie Zack, and I joked about recently was the fact that people don’t even care what some of the Trap/Turn Up Music rappers are saying these days, so much so, that it isn’t even clear what they are saying on some of the most popular of songs. (See Young Thug’s Lifestyle). That’s all on this subject though, just another random RadioShaq & Zack rap convo. Which league do you guys rock with harder? Drop Comments.