The NBA’s “BIG” campaign hasn’t been my favorite series of promos the league has ever produced (some of the text, in my opinion, has been a bit corny), but amongst Doritos Locos Tacos, Mr. Sandman, and Stan, I’m just happy to see a commercial that isn’t completely unbearable. So, when TNT went to break and I heard the melody of Mobb Deep’s Shook Ones being pumped out of my TV’s speakers, man, what a refreshing sound it was! A surprising one, too. Although I’ll always associate the NBA with classic ’90s gangster rap, I don’t think the league itself is trying too hard to make any connections.
Maybe times are beginning to change. I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever turn on the radio to find a classic rap station, or if I’ll come across an infomercial selling a compilation of old-school hip hop. As today’s 20-somethings become tomorrow’s 30-somethings, and the 30-somethings become the 40-somethings, I’ve always assumed that the songs I consider classic will become more widely accepted in that regard. I’ve also figured, though, that all the cursing will remain a barrier. I mean, my dad had me listening to his “classics” since the day I was born. As much as I love Illmatic… I’m not sure I want my five-year-old absorbing it.
The NBA obviously elected to go the safe route here by using an instrumental. The commercial is still awesome, but imagine how great it would be if the words on the screen matched up with the lyrics of the song? I got you stuck off the realness, we be the infamous, you heard of us, official Queensbridge Lone Star murderers…
Yup, that would be epic. It would work with the Spurs, too. Tim Duncan and company got the whole league stuck off the realness, and coach Pop’s mob comes equipped for warfare.
Beware.
