Ball So Hard: Dr. Dre and Lebron James on Beats Partnership, Playlists and Workouts

(AllHipHop News) ESPN the Magazine brought together the best basketball player in the world and arguably the greatest producer in Hip Hop’s history for its “The Music Issue” edition. The issue, which hits stands Feburary 18th reveals that Lebron James was actually the first person to test out the Beats by Dre headphones prior to the […]

(AllHipHop News) ESPN the Magazine brought together the best basketball player in the world and arguably the greatest producer in Hip Hop’s history for its “The Music Issue” edition.

The issue, which hits stands Feburary 18th reveals that Lebron James was actually the first person to test out the Beats by Dre headphones prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and has since had an undisclosed stake in the $850 million company. Lebron also speaks on his affinity for Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E.” from the epochal The Chronic 2001:

“People are always trying to throw rocks or say you’re not the best. I love that song, man. I listen to it at least weekly.”

Lebron even jokes about possibly rapping when Dr. Dre offers a studio visit. “If Doc lay the track and my big bro Jay [Jay-Z] write me some lyrics? I would absolutely do it. I can’t fail. How can I lose?” While Lebron has not formally entered the rap arena, there are numerous videos of Lebron playing hypeman to Drake, rapping Eminem’s laser-fast “Forever” verse and blaring Big K.R.I.T.’s “I Got This” song after winning his first NBA title.

[ALSO READ: Nike’s “The Ringmaker Commercial” For Lebron James]

In the issue, the Miami Heat megastar and the good doctor discuss Lebron’s recent partnership with Beats by Dre (PowerBeats) as well as workout playlists, Beats by Dre’s cultural impact and more. The PowerBeats are being dubbed as “earbuds engineered for athletes” that resulted from Lebron constantly destroying earbuds during workouts.

A few of the songs found on Dr. Dre’s workout playlists are Eminem’s “Till I Collapse”, Kanye West’s “POWER” as well as J. Dilla’s “WorkinOnIt”. Lebron opts for 2Chainz’s “I’m Different”, Rihanna’s “Diamonds”, newcomer A$AP Rocky’s “LongLiveA$AP” amongst a variety of others.

[ALSO READ: Dr. Dre Tops Forbes’ List Of Highest Paid Musicians of 2012]

Check below for both of their playlists in their entirety as well as a quick sneak peak into the behind-the-scenes of the cover photoshoot.

Lebron James’ Playlist

Dr. Dre’s Playlist