Hello there!

So I recently ran across a spate of UCLA-themed hip-hop references in the last week or so and thought I would share them with you all.

The first is a tribute to the greatest UCLA basketball player of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then Lewis Alcindor:

Yes, that is the rapper Twista you see wearing Kareem’s indefatigable 33 in the 2004 Kanye West // Jamie Foxx // Twista collaboration “Slow Jamz” – Grammy-nominated, even.

The second is a throwback:

The almost-literally larger-than-life Notorious B.I.G. sampled Herb Alpert’s “Rise” for his iconic (also) Grammy-nominated piece “Hypnotize” – Herb Alpert being, of course, the artist who endowed UCLA’s eponymous School of Music in 2007.

The third is a bit off the beaten path: Sean Combs, the multi-talented (and multi-monikered) rapper and producer, is actually thinking of sending his son to UCLA to play football. The duo visited campus over the summer to attend a practice. If the younger Combs commits, I am more than sure that a Bruin Bash or Spring Sing appearance is in the mix!

And just for kicks, one of the cutest Bruin hip-hop productions you’ll see all year. 🙂

Until next time, PEACE.

Princeton