Damian Lillard isn't the first NBA player to demonstrat an interest in establishing a hip hop career, but the young Portland Trail Blazers star has shown that he has perhaps more potential than any of the baller-turned-rappers that came before him.
Lillard is known for his Four Bar Friday competitions, in which he encourages people to upload videos of themselves laying down verses. He's had his own lyrics printed on his shoes, and he even said he'd like to create a rap mixtape.
In New York for the NBA All-Star Game, Lillard burnished his already-considerable rap credentials during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Shade45. In this clip Lillard is laying down rhymes over the beat from Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents."
Lillard's smooth, confident delivery belies his age (24). He passionately details his rough upbringing in Oakland and how he's overcome considerable hurdles to become one of the league's more surprising All-Stars. A two-star recruit in high school, Lillard's only scholarship offer was from Weber State.
Lillard has not yet filmed any full-length videos for his music, but hopefully if/when he does they will be better than this one:
In his second All-Star appearance, Lillard came off the bench for the Western Conference squad and scored 11 points in 16 minutes.
