Ranking the Best (and Worst) Steph Curry Name Checks in Hip-Hop

Image via Phresh Royalty

Bar: “Sloppy with the rock? (Nope)/Steph Curry with the shot? (Yup)”

Is there any rapper more proud of where they’re from than Earl Stephens?

E-40, as he’s more commonly known, is the heartbeat of the Bay, and he’s been a Warriors stan since Chris Mullin sported blue and gold short shorts. It’s a bit surprising that it took the king of hyphy until 2015 to make a song dedicated to his favorite squad. In his defense, there wasn’t much to talk about before Curry showed up. What would a 2008 Warriors rap have sounded like? What rhymes with Andris Biedrins?

The track, a remix of E-40’s mainstream smash “Choices (Yup),” is a mediocre team anthem. The line dedicated to Curry is basic at best. But for Steph, it’s about what his inclusion and placement in the song represents (he’s the first Warrior mentioned). The Bay Area legend is rolling out the red carpet for Curry, accepting him as a fellow legend.

Rating: 2 mouthguards

Bar: “Steph Curry with the ball status/Swerving, swerving around in all traffic”

Most Curry rap references go for the obvious. It’s all shots, shooting, and shooters. For that very reason, Lil Uzi’s reference to Curry’s all-time ball handling skills earns him a few extra shimmies. No. 30’s handles are so spellbinding that the Warriors actually started opening Oracle earlier so fans could watch his legendary warm-up routine.

Spectacle aside, Steph’s dribbling powers keep defenders honest; backs them ever so slightly off Curry because they respect his ability to shake and bake. His ball skills are the glue that holds his game—and the Warriors entire offense—together.

Standing small himself at five-foot-three, Lil Uzi might know a thing or two about swerving through the tall trees…perhaps a metaphor for the heavy hitters in the rap game.

Rating: 2.5 mouthguards

Bar: “Went to the park to get the scoop/Saw the home boys out there shootin’ hoop/And my shot kinda rusty but the fade clean/And me and Steph Curry on the same team/Win it like back to back/Nobody really want it after that”

Christian rapper Lecrae is legit insomuch as you don’t have to be religious to enjoy his music. However, it was a shared faith that originally brought Curry and Lecrae together and sparked a mutual admiration.

These lyrics constitute a fantasy—an ideal day in which the Houston native takes his fly kicks and fresh cut to the park and runs fives with his real-world amigo. The scene is like a wholesome “It Was a Good Day.”

While Curry has danced on stage at a Lecrae concert, Lecrae can’t exactly grab a jersey and sub in for the Dubs. The only court he and Steph can share is in his lyrics.

The syncopated pitter-pattern in which Lecrae spits the bars also stands out. His percussive vocals evoke Curry’s whirlybird ball handling and quick-as-a-hiccup stutter-step movements on the court. It’s an effective parallel.

Rating: 3 mouthguards

Bar: “My life came full circle, at the park was throwin’ left hooks/Now I’m in the league with Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook/Took a couple bumps, boy you never would see my chest shook/My heart came from a lion, this path only the best took”

Go ahead, name a better NBA rapper than Damian Lillard. The dude makes Jewelz (a.k.a. Allen Iverson) look like Riff Raff…or Steph Curry.

In these aggressive, redemptive bars, Dame has the lyrical space to mention two names, but rather than take aim, he offers his respects. Westbrook is included, in part, because it fits the rhyme scheme. Dame chooses Curry over other formidable point guards like Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving because he was a champion; the most exciting player in the world, and the guy in the NBA.

Lillard clearly respects his peers, but he also wants to dismantle Curry (with the ferocity of a “lion”) as his opponent. Perpetually underlooked, Dame’s got more than a chip on his shoulder thanks in large part to the fact that out of these three PGs, he's the only one without an MVP award. Not to mention, Steph just knocked him out of the playoffs...again.

Rating: 3.5 mouthguards

Bar: "I just dropped the biggest of checks and the sh*t cleared/When everybody counted us out just this year/I’m Steph Curry in the clutch/Take a shot of this Royal Elite and go all the way up”

First things first, Fat Joe is a true hoops head (shoutout Rucker Park), so this name drop carries weight. Second, Curry was at his absolute apex when the "All the Way Up" remix dropped on May 27. The night prior, the scoring leader and soon-to-be back-to-back MVP tallied 31 points and led Golden State to a critical Game 5 win against OKC, staving off elimination. The Warriors, who had the best season in NBA history that year (73-9), used the momentum to overcome a 3-1 deficit to reach their second straight finals.

It felt like Steph and his squad had nowhere to go but all the way up... Until LeBron and Kyrie came knocking.

For Fat Joe, this track represents his own personal 3-1 comeback. All the Way Up reached double-platinum status, making it his most successful song in 10 years (see: “Make it Rain” in 2006). How many artists can disappear for a decade and return to the top? That’s some serious ascension.

Rating: 3.5 mouthguards

Bar: “Ice cream on me; McFlurry/Get away, hit a swish like Curry”

Stokely Goulbourne, a.k.a. Ski Mask The Slump God, is anything but conventional. So why should his bar about Steph Curry be different? The lyric references Curry’s propensity for hitting jumpers with ease—a common throughout this list. However, Ski Mask’s calculated word choice, “hitting a swish” allows him to convey his fondness for a certain recreational activity, and nail the double entendre.

Of course, the clever homage to Steph begins with braggadocio—he’s covered in chains—which is fitting given his arrogant streak on the court. Ski Mask also gets points for rhyming “McFlurry” with “Curry” because one, it’d never been done before, and two, the pairing of the foods feed the listening palette in a highly visceral way.

Rating: 3.5 mouthguards

Bar: “Steph Curry for the win, boy/And I’m Curry with the pen, boy/Never miss a shot of a verse that’s a sin, boy/All across the board, yeah the Bay is on ten, boy”

This song contains three Steph Curry references, but Kehlani’s line is the most lyrically superior by far. The Oakland native lays down her near rhymes smoothly and with precision, hitting every line the way Curry seemingly nailed every three-pointer in 2015. “Steph Curry with the pen” is a clever and evocative take on another more-famous Steph reference (more on that later), and it accurately represents Kehlani’s propensity for putting out fire verses that year.

It feels appropriate that “Champion” takes the form of a posse cut. It contains a collection of the Bay Area’s finest emcees—G-Eazy, Lil B, and Iamsu!—who formed a superteam that mirrors what the Warriors flexed on the court. An underrated track with a solid list of features, to say the least.

Rating: 4 mouthguards

Bar: “I been Steph Curry with the shot/Been cookin’ with the sauce/Chef curry with the pot, boy”

Sometimes, co-signs come from the most unexpected places. Drake, in his summer ’14 banger, officially anointed Curry as “chef” and, in the process, catapulted both he and the subject of his legendary bar to new levels of stardom.

“0 to 100” is pure, unadulterated bravado. It’s Drake at his most braggadocious. One minute, he’s Forrest Gump scoring a touchdown (weird flex, but ok), the next, he’s a hit machine who can’t be stopped. The Raptors pay his bills. He attacks Boi-1da and 40’s minimalist beat with a Curry-esque mix of aggression, dexterity, and panache.

What’s more, the two-part track was Drizzy’s first major release in nearly a year. But it opened the floodgates, as Aubrey proceeded to drop two monster mixtapes and Views in the next 20 months, cementing his place in hip-hop’s uppermost echelon.

Curry also owned the next 20 months. He won back-to-back MVPs and led Golden State, the hottest ticket on hardwood, to its first title in 40 years in 2015.

Two icons, simultaneously hitting the peaks of their powers, plus one of the most iconic name drops in hoops history make “Steph Curry with the shot” an easy call for the top spot on this list.

Rating: 5 mouthguards and the key to the mouthguard factory

For more on Steph, stream the new series 'Stephen vs. The Game’ now exclusively on Facebook Watch.