Athletes getting name-dropped by your favorite rappers is nothing new, especially for Dwyane Wade. Everyone from Jay Z to Nicki Minaj has referenced the Chicago Bulls star guard and occasionally, his wife Gabrielle Union, in their rhymes. Wade recently hopped on Genius to provide some annotations to some of the lines that he thought were dope—and some he didn't even know existed.
Before Wade heard the line, "Two years, Dwayne Wayne became Dwyane Wade" off "The Glory" on Graduation, Kanye West approached him, saying, "Yo, you gotta listen to my album. There’s gonna be something on there." After listening to the track, D-Wade called this name-drop "dope," adding that, growing up, he was immediately drawn to him because how similar their names were. "Ooh, somebody with a name like mine. He’s cool. He’s hip," he said, discussing the character from A Different World.
As for Jay's famous "If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade" line from "Empire State of Mind," the 34-year-old says that this is the moment he felt like he made it in pop culture. "I remember where I was, I was with my guys and we were hanging out and somebody texted me like, "Yo, listen to this song,'" Wade recalled. "So I listened to it and then when I heard it, I’m like, “Did he just say what I think he said?”
To find out what Wade had to say about other lines, including the first time him and Gabrielle were mentioned on a song together, click here.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
