For the past two years, the college hoops rap game has been held down by one man and one man only. That man is Tennessee's Renaldo Woolridge. His rap name is Swiperboy. And as a basketball player-slash-rapper, he's pretty much one of a kind.
Until now, at least. Apparently, highly-touted Texas freshman Myck Kabongo has emcee ambitions of his own, and he's already planning the release of an album after his first season with the Longhorns. His rap moniker? "Yung Swag."
ESPN High School's Jason Jordan got the lowdown from Kabongo, who describes his rapping style as a cross between J. Cole and Drake.
“Rapping,” Kabongo said matter-of-factly. “It’s just in me. It’s something that I used to play around with and grew to really love. So I decided to do it for real.”
That’s right, Kabongo, Texas’ highly-touted freshman point guard, is joining the ranks of hoopers who double as hip hop emcees. His debut, 15-track album entitled “Late Nights and Early Mornings,” is set to drop next spring after basketball season. [...]
“I’m a very positive person and that comes out in my music,” Kabongo said. “I’m from a tough neighborhood back in Canada so I rap about things I’ve seen and been through and how I overcame things. Now I’m rapping about the college experience. I’d say I’m a motivational rapper. I’ve been in both extremes so that’s what I rap about. That’s my lane.”
Kabongo says "Late Nights and Early Mornings" -- which, I have to admit, is a pretty intriguing album title -- won't be for sale in the spring; presumably, it'll be a free download. It will also feature verses from former Texas and current NBA star Kevin Durant, who also made an appearance on Wale's 2010 mixtape "More About Nothing."
Oh, and in case you needed a Yung Swag endorsement from another incoming freshman star, Duke guard Austin Rivers has you covered:
“Everything I’ve heard from him goes hard,” said Rivers, a freshman scoring guard at Duke. “He’s nice.”
For those of you that don't speak millennial, in this case, allow me to translate: "He's nice" means "he raps in a manner that entertains me." You're welcome.
Anyway, it appears that Swiperboy isn't the only rapper in the college hoops game these days. Let the search for college basketball's best emcee begin.