Damian Lillard Talks NBA LIVE 15 Soundtrack
Most fans know All-Star Point Guard Damian Lillard for his play on the court – but there’s also another side to him… a side that we like to call Damian the Rapper.
It’s no secret that many NBA ballers are music fans, but Damian takes his passion for music to another level. He’s a true hip-hop head, and even started #4BarFriday, a weekly Instagram based freestyle competition in which people send their best bars in 15 seconds or less.
Growing up in the Bay Area, Damian was influenced by some of the biggest names in hip-hop. We recently had some time with Damian to chat it up about music - what he likes, his favorite artists, and more:
Photo credit: Dominic DiSaia
Tell us about your work with #4BarFriday. How’d you get the idea?
It started off because of VINE and how you can post a six-second video. I would always want to rap on there, but there was only six seconds so I couldn’t figure out how to get enough on there in six seconds. And then Instagram basically topped them by letting you upload 15-second videos – so as soon as that came out I was like “Man, that’s the perfect amount of time for you to spit a verse with 4Bars.”
I shared the idea with someone I worked with and told them “we can do 4 bar Friday – and every Friday we spit 4 bars and we post a video and have people send in their verses. So we did all the ground work so nobody could steal the idea.
I’ve gotten to know a lot of really good artists – but for myself, every week is not hard for me to do ‘cause I got a story to tell. I really like to write verses ‘cause I want to tell my story and let people in on different sides of me and how I feel sometimes and what I think about certain situations and that’s all part of my story. I like to put it in music – to put words together and tell my story. Every Friday it’s something new, and I enjoy that part of it.
Is there anyone that stands out to you?
Yea, there’s a guy that does it every Friday named Lex The Rapper. I follow him closely, I really like his music. His delivery is different every other week. And I think for a lot of people, it’s the same thing.
They might have cold bars, but a lot of the time, it’s the same type of delivery, and his delivery is so different and he can switch it up in so many different ways – I think he’s one of the coldest and I think he’ll be somebody that will actually get a deal. Every Friday I get up and wait for him to do his 4 Bars – that’ll be the first one I watch.
What are some of your biggest musical influences? What makes your so passionate?
2Pac. As far as the Bay Area, 2Pac was an activist through his music and there was always a story. There was always something behind what he was rapping about – And that’s my thing, you know? Rapping about something that tells a story. Rapping about something that might not directly be talking about [it], but it’s in relation to a real problem or issue.
I’m a huge fan of stuff like that. It’s kinda like poetry. Like crying out a little bit, but music form. So I think 2Pac is the biggest influence as far as how I go about writing my rhymes. I always liked music, even when I was a kid I remembered 8, 9, 10 years old, I would listen to songs, I would listen to the words.
What was the 1st album you bought?
The 1st album I bought for myself was the ‘Block Is Hot’, Lil Wayne and Illmatic.
What kind of music do you listen to before a game?
I hardly ever have earphones on before a game. When I’m driving on the way to the arena, I’ll have some music playing, but it's more chill music than turnt up music. J-Cole and stuff like that. I even like Lupe Fiasco, Common. There might be one rap song in there, but that’s pretty much it. If I’m not out, in a lounge or somewhere like that, I really don’t try and hear that.
If you could meet or work with any living artist, who would it be?
I would either work with Nas or J-Cole, it would be one of those two because I think their music is what I would want my music to sound like. I feel like their sound, the message in their music is what I would want mine to be like. I would want people to appreciate my music. I would want people to appreciate that I can put words together and tell a story and gives you something that interests you.
If you could put any artist on the soundtrack, who would it be?
I would put an Oakland artist on there. Danny From Sobrante.
Can you tell us about your new sneaker from adidas?
It’s a similar feeling to being on the cover of NBA LIVE, because there’s not a lot of people that get shoe deals and get involved with shoe companies. So the fact that I have my own signature shoe is another blessing, another dream come true, and I know that it’s something that I worked hard for. It also brings expectations and standards. It was earned, it wasn’t given to me - but I’m thankful. It also reminds me that I have to keep working hard.
Think you got what it takes to drop 4 bars? Then be sure you submit you’re versus, every Friday on Instagram. You never know, Dame might take notice. More #4BarFriday Info:
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/4BarFriday
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/4BarFriday
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4BarFriday
You can check out the full NBA LIVE 15 soundtrack here. Read up on other soundtrack info and stay in touch with NBA LIVE 15 updates by checking out our Facebook and Twitter pages.
