Kevin Durant has laced up a new pair of Nikes. Making their debut in Game 1, Kevin Durant and Nike are set to introduce fans to the Nike KD 15. The new sneaker is designed by Ben Nethongkome and will be released in the first colorway, “Beginnings,” this summer for $160.
The new sneaker features a cushioning package with full-length Zoom Air Strobel, exterior wraps for foot containment, and a reduced-layer upper that hugs feet for mobility. The heel also has 3d-printed tech for Kevin Durant.
Only thirteen NBA players have had their number retired from multiple teams. Kevin Durant believes he should be number fourteen.
In an interview with The Ringer, the 12-time All-Star said he thinks his jersey should be retired in Oklahoma City and San Francisco.
“OKC has to retire my jersey,” Durant said. “It wouldn’t even be good for the game of basketball if they didn’t. The same with Golden State. I’m still doing what I’m doing here in Brooklyn, but if I continue on what I’m doing four or five years, then I’ll feel the same way about this program. I better have a home. Because I feel like I am basketball. I breathe it. This is my DNA. I put in the time and respect and love for each one of these programs on and off the floor to get that type of recognition. If I don’t do it, then it’s personal.”
Durant is an all-time great talent on the court. He is entitled to have his opinion and could be on to something here. The Golden State Warriors have already gone on record stating they will eventually retire his number. The Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t gone on records about retiring Durant’s number but should consider it. Durant won his first league MVP while with the Thunder. He helped lead the team to its last NBA Finals appearance in 2012. Will the Thunder eventually retire Durant’s number? Who knows, but the case for doing it is a solid one.
Young Thug‘s YSL Records artist T-Shyne drops his debut album Confetti Nights in two weeks, on April 1, but first, the New York rapper has shared the tracklist for the Kevin Durant-produced project. Coming in at 15 tracks, the album might be something of a departure for YSL Records, which is made up primarily of Thugger’s fellow ATLiens, but it manages to stay relatively close to home with its impressive guest list. Features on the album include 6lack, Dougie F, Gunna, JID, Meek Mill, Nav, Swae Lee, and of course Young Thug.
Of the 15 songs, five have been previously released: “Top 5,” “Feed The Fam,” “30 For 30,” “That Go! (which he previously performed on UPROXX Sessions),” and “Sugar Water” featuring Young Thug. Naturally, as T-Shyne’s benefactor, Thugger appears on the album three times, on “Fighting Demons,” “That Go!” and “Sugar Water.”
In a recent interview with AllHipHop, T-Shyne broke down the album’s concept, saying, “It’s that championship mentality. That feeling, that Mamba mentality. The story of Confetti Nights goes from a rookie going through the seasons. At first, he might not get no playing time. Eventually, you start doing your thing and then go on to win championships. The image I originally wanted for the cover was this picture of Kobe, it’s him with his hands up and all the confetti falling down. Rest in peace, Kobe.”
Confetti Nights is due 4/1 via YSL Records and 300 Entertainment.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The connections between the modern NBA and hip-hop are growing all the time and with the latest announcement out of Young Thug’s YSL Records camp, they’ve become the most pronounced they’ve ever been. YSL Records fixture T-Shyne is set to release his new album, Confetti Nights, which is naturally executive-produced by YSL’s founder Young Thug on April 1… along with some help from none other than the Brooklyn Nets’ recently returned All-Star forward, Kevin Durant.
It’s not the first time that an NBA player applied their talents to musical curation. In 2021, Durant’s fellow NBA champ Kawhi Leonard executive produced the Culture Jam Vol. 1 compilation featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, Polo G, Rod Wave, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard, the All-Star guard for the Portland Trailblazers, has had a flourishing rap career as Dame D.O.L.L.A., dropping four studio albums that featured Lil Wayne, Raphael Saadiq, and Snoop Dogg.
In addition to producing albums, Durant has also been a movie producer, commissioning the Basketball County: Something In The Water documentary in 2020. Durant’s music connections came in handy there, too, as he recruited fellow Prince George’s County native IDK as music supervisor for the film.
Meanwhile, YSL Records is coming off a stellar 2021 that saw Young Thug’s Punk on the Billboard charts, followed this year by Gunna’s outstanding DS4EVER. With plenty of the roster yet to release — Lil Keed, Strick, and others are especially anticipated — 2022 figures to be another pivotal year for the Atlanta-based label.
Confetti Nights is due 4/1 via YSL and 300 Entertainment.
For his most significant release yet, rising Miami producer-turned-recording artist Reazy Renegade hits the court with hip hop stars K Camp and Rich The Kid in the release of his new single, titled “Ballin’ (Kevin Durant),” out now via Hits Only Music & Mastermind Artists / EMPIRE.
The song delivers a heavy bass foundation like a ball dripping down the court with the three artists saucing it with basketball-inspired rhymes that praise the popular Brooklyn Nets’ power forward. K Camp and his signature sing-a-long hook style spit, “Ball like I’m Brook, ball like Kevin Durant (Let’s go) / That boy a dub, I know he don’t stand a chance (Uh-huh) / Glock in my hand, keep a knot in my pants (A Glock in my-) / Glock in my hand, keep a knot in my- (Skrrt, hey).”
Reazy follows Camp with a trendy obnoxious flow, rapping, “I walk with a dirty stick / Pull up at a bank with a bankroll lit (Skrrt) / I was eighteen, hit a hundred band lick (Lick) / These n*ggas ain’t even rich as my bitch (My bitch).”
Rich The Kid appears on the track courtesy of Rich Forever, and K Camp appears courtesy of Interscope Records.
On the production side, Reazy’s resume includes a laundry list of a-listers, like Young Dolph, Fabolous, and Dave East. In 2021, he released a few buzzworthy songs in “Kiss & Make Up” and “C.O.D.” This year, with the popularity of “Ballin,” Reazy Renegade preps a forthcoming debut album, expected late-2022.
Stream “Ballin’ (Kevin Durant)” below and follow Reazy Renegade on social media for daily updates and more.
James Harden admitted on Tuesday that when he was essentially forcing his way out of Houston at the start of last season, his first choice was to be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers to join up with Joel Embiid and his former general manager with Daryl Morey. All of this might have been something Kevin Durant might have assumed all along.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, Durant had grown frustrated with Harden this season over his conditioning and an apparent lack of commitment to the Brooklyn Nets.
One source told Fischer that Durant and Harden had a “cold war” this season that made everyone “miserable.”
Durant reportedly held out hope that Harden would become re-engaged. However, according to Fischer, after reports grew louder that Harden wanted a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, Harden reportedly eventually told the Nets he wanted out, and Durant gave the green light to pull the trade.
Fischer quoted a source saying: “Kevin’s the one that pulled the trigger with this. Kevin’s the one that said, ‘Do this deal.’”
It was an unfortunate end of what could have been. Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving only played a grand total of 16 games together.
As one of the few younger rappers who has been recognized by the Grammys recently, Roddy Ricch has more of a relationship with the Recording Academy than some of his peers. At the 2020 awards, Roddy was nominated for a whopping six nominations, including nods for both Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year. Anyone who has followed the conversation around the Grammys and hip-hop over the years knows that they haven’t always gotten it right in the past.
During an appearance on Kevin Durant’s The ETCs Podcast last week, Roddy told KD that after his 2020 nominations he was “tripping” on the Grammys for snubbing a few of his peers. “Uzi is like, like when I was talking to the Grammy’s ‘y’all ain’t nominate Uzi for [Best Rap Album],’ I was tripping on them,” he remembered. “Even like Lil Baby, y’all ain’t nominate Lil Baby? Like I’m tripping, cause it’s like everybody got their own lane, and it should be spoken about, talked about more because I feel like the n——s now that’s doing shi* like, no disrespect, we really breaking barriers.”
Roddy also told KD that instead of competition, he feels like it’s more of a collaborative vibe within the new cohort. “I feel like it’s more for sure more a collaboration because we run into each other more,” he said. “But I feel like everybody got their own lane, everybody got their thing they do, you know what I’m saying?”
Check out the interview clip below, and the full episode here.
NBA legend Kevin Durant-produced, Swagger, premiered last week giving us 3 full episodes of all the basketball feels. The show, featuring O’Shea Jackson, Isaiah Hill, and Quvenzhané Wallis is based around Durant’s life growing up with a single mom in the DC area and his pursuit of a basketball career. We’re giving you the full […]
As the basketball and music worlds continue to crossover in entertaining and unexpected ways — think Damian Lillard’s rap career, Kawhi Leonard curating a rap compilation, or 2 Chainz, Jack Harlow, Lil Baby, and Quavo participating in a 2-on-2 during NBA All-Star Weekend — one of the more welcome surprises has been Kevin Durant’s podcast, The ETCs. The well-noted Drake stan and his co-host Eddie Gonzalez not only talk music and sports, but they also occasionally bring on interesting guests from both worlds, including TDE engineer Derek Ali, Roc-A-Fella Records founder Kareem Burke, and in today’s episode, Insecure creator Issa Rae.
While discussing Issa’s role in curating music for the popular dramedy and running her own label, Raedio, in conjunction with Atlantic Records, Issa wonders what the two hosts have been listening to lately. While there seems to be agreement around the table that Drake’s new album Certified Lover Boy is worth revisiting, Issa stops cold when the fellas mention Meek Mill. “I have not listened to Meek Mill,” she admits. “Y’all forgave him?”
“For the Drake thing?” Durant asks. “You didn’t forgive him.” Eddie points out that Drake forgave Meek, which Issa acknowledges but refutes, saying, “I’m the girlfriend that’s like, ‘He asked for no onions!’ So that’s like, I just felt protective of him — with him and Pusha T.”
I guess that means we’re not going to hear any Pusha T music on the final season of Insecure. Check out a video clip of the conversation below.
To kick off season 2 of #TheETCs, KD + @bansky sit down w/ award-winning writer, director, producer, actress, & NYT best-seller @IssaRae.
Issa talks Insecure’s final season, their love of Drake, privacy within superstardom, and what’s next for her.
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