We can go on for a minute about the parallels between sports and hip-hop. There's the superhero mystique that follows the best of the best from both professions. There's the need to sell their talents and just be interesting (side eye to swagger-less Kevin Durant) to connect with an audience—or a demographic in marketing-speak. But the similarities don't mean much of anything if they're not entertaining, and many have been enjoyable through the past two decades in which hip-hop in advertising have become prevalent.
It's especially fascinating how versatile associating sports and hip-hop in advertising can be as much as both professions have been stereotyped—they're both more complex than people give them credit for. They're bizarre (shoutouts to Rick Ross), inspiring (see: “Umi Says”/Air Jordan XVI), and adrenaline-pumping (JUST BLLAAAZEE). Allen Iverson was the first to provide a pure distillation of the hip-hop/sports advertising mixture when he famously appeared on the SLAM cover with the blown out ‘fro and the Mitchell & Ness jersey, but there have been a few other TV spots that played up the hip-hop aesthetic to humorous peaks and passion-appealing success. From Styles P rapping Kevin Garnett’s theme music to The Neptunes at their finest, here are the Best Sports Commercials Featuring Rap Songs.
15. A$AP Rocky's Poetry Slam
14. Everything Is Funked Up Thanks to Snoop Dogg
13. T-Mac Vs. The Beast
12. LeBron James and the Magic Chalk
11. Charles Barkley vs. Michael Jordan (vs. Humpty Hump)
10. Queensbridge Meets the Spurs
9. Rick Ross Says, "Boom!"
8. KG the Kid Is Grown
7. Prof. Tracy McGrady and Birdman (and The Clipse)
6. Scarface Vouches for Steve Francis
5. In Which the Handles Are Crazy
4. The Second Coming
3. "Umi Says" to Cop Some Air Jordan XVI
2. Allen Iverson: Young Boss of the Cross
1. The Neptunes on the Beat
