You win two NBA Championships, one with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, the other with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. You lead the Raptors to their first title ever, and win the Finals MVP for both championships, putting yourself in league with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James. You’re a five-time All Star. A two time Defensive Player of the Year. You’ve just been selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history. Your next move? Being Kawhi “Klaw” Leonard, you make a talent-titan of an album.
Welcome to Culture Jam, Vol. 1. The fusion of hip hop and basketball starts streaming today (October 22). Yesterday, the YouTube page for Culture Jam dropped the “Official Announcement” trailer. Included on list featured artist were Lil Uzi Vert, Youngboy NBA, A Boggie Wit Da Hoodie, Polo G, Rod Wave, Gunna, Ty Dolla $ign, Yung Bleu, “and more”. Though this is the “official announcement”, Leonard spoke on the project at a post-game press conference back in May.
“It merges basketball and music together. It’s always been something on my mind I wanted to do. It’s something that can uplift our community.” – Kawhi Leonard, May 5, 2021
Leonard’s Lead-Off
Last July, Leonard released “Waves” and “Everything Different”, the two lead off single from the project. “Waves” sees Gunna and Polo G unite to deliver a straight-forward head bouncer. On “Everything Different”, Youngboy NBA and Rod Wave pay homage to the process of coming up in the world and the struggles in life that seem to never go away.
Last Wednesday (October 19) saw another track drop, this time from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Capella Grey entitled “Bestie.”. Shorter than the other tracks, but no less for quality, “Bestie.” takes a look at being more than friends, from the basketball court to the Bentley.
At the aforementioned press conference, Leonard also announced that all proceeds from the album will go to charity. He chose for his charity the Mamba and Mamacita Sports Foundation. Founded in the memory of Kobe and Gigi Bryant, this charity strives to create a “positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports.”
Garrett C. Owen
