Lillard Claims To Be NBA’s Best Rapper, Jazz Oni Yawns
Aug 25, 2021, 7:04 PM
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard greets Utah Jazz guard Miye Oni (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Rap beef and NBA beef are not uncommon in their respective environments. Musicians, much like professional athletes are competitive when looking to keep their name in the spotlight.
Thankfully, it seems as though today’s beef in both settings is far less serious than ever before. After all, who can forget photos of Larry Bird and Dr. J grabbing each other by the neck, or the East Coast vs. West Coast drama of rap in the 1990s?
Now, Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside might find themselves feuding online one season, and teammates the next. Drake and Meek Mill might exchange diss tracks one month, and collaborate on their next record.
Hassan Whiteside on his history with Rudy Gobert and now being teammates with the @utahjazz.
"No rivalry or anything, we're just competing. At the end of the day.
I'm always happy to see a big man succeeding."#TakeNote | @kslsports— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) August 9, 2021
But what happens when you mix the two worlds of beef?
That might be the case between Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard and Utah Jazz third-year guard Miye Oni.
After Lillard told Complex News he was the greatest NBA rapper of all time, Oni responded with what could be interpreted as social media beef.
Oni quote tweeted a clip of Lillard talking about his rap career with a yawning emoji at the claim.
— miye (@PrinceOni13) August 25, 2021
Lillard has four albums dating back to his first release, “The Letter O” in 2016. The former Weber State guard released his latest album “Different On Levels The Lord Allowed” just last week.
Oni released his first album “Los Angels” in January under the pseudonym TGF Prince.
“I’ve always been writing,” Oni told KSL Sports after the release. “Whether it’s poems or essays. I started writing songs — writing since I was like 15. Then I started recording during quarantine.”
Again, like “beef’ on the hardwood, Oni’s response is hardly vitriolic and reads more like a playful boasting of his own career. The guard even went on to quote a Drake lyric that reads “I got a whole other level that I can tap into” shortly after his first tweet.
For now, Jazz and hip-hop fans can grab their bags of popcorn and watch to see how this beef between Lillard and Oni over who the better rapper is unfolds.
