Photo courtesy of “Bodi” aka Botti Denton
Although it is a fairly common occurrence at boxing or UFC matches, musicians, artists and rappers have never been known to walk out athletes at football games. But, on NFL Sunday last week (Sept. 25), Moneybagg Yo broke ground for this trend.
Ushering in the team from his home state, the Tennessee Titans, Moneybagg Yo rapped along to his hit single from May “See Wat I’m Sayin,” which was also added to the CMG The Label compilation album Gangsta Art in mid-July. Knocking off the Las Vegas Raiders 24-22 during the 1 PM game, the Titans not only stamped a W on their schedule, but opened the door for many other rappers to rep their favorite teams in the future.
On the heels of his latest single release “Blow” (Sept. 22), Moneybagg has always had a symbiotic relationship with the state of Tennessee. Constantly shouting out his hometown Memphis, he has helped uplift the blossoming rap scene in the city while his star power is consistently being revered by all of its citizens.
In fact, it would appear that Memphis loves all of its homebred talent. Just one day after Moneybagg walked out the Titans, burgeoning “FNF” and “Tomorrow 2” rapper GloRilla narrated the fiery official hype video for the Memphis Grizzles upcoming season. Released on their official media day, the NBA team’s collaboration with GloRilla not only certifies her as one of hip-hop’s most endearing rising stars, but continues the city’s already fruitful relationship with their rap community.
It comes as no surprise that Memphis was the first major city to showcase their rap icons in these ways, the only question moving forward is: Which city will be next?