The worlds of Hip-Hop and basketball have collided in a new NBA rap battle featuring some of the sport’s biggest superstars.
Bleacher Report joined forces with Rap Off, the platform behind viral animated clashes like Ketchup vs. Mustard, to create a battle rap cypher written by several of the culture’s nicest pens. The cartoon, released on Tuesday (October 24), features a star-studded lineup of players.
The cypher, hosted by Shaq features LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić. The athletes compete with bars written and voiced by battle rappers Illmac, Frak, Pass and The Saurus. Fellow battler Real Deal’s impressionist son Trevor Weller Jr. stars as the voice of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. Watch the video below.
While the video is going viral, racking up over a million views on X alone, Rap Off has even bigger plans. The platform hopes to collaborate with Bleacher Report in future animations featuring other battle rappers.
“Maaan we appreciate all the love on the NBA cartoon,” Rap Off shared. “Tryna bring that real battle rap to new heights with real battle rappers too. The goal is to make this a series so let @BleacherReport know how yall feel about it.”
Rap Off has a series of viral animated rap battles showcasing the artform in novel ways. Ketchup vs. Mustard caused a sensation when released in 2018 followed by Dog vs. Cat the following year. Their most recent offering is Kraft Singles vs. Fancy Cheese which dropped last year. Check out below.