This Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game will be the 65th in league history. What was for a long time a mere exhibition game for the sport’s elite has now morphed into an unofficial hip-hop holiday to boot. According to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, this week’s event should pour an estimated $90-$100 Million in tourism into the city of Toronto. Part homecoming for retired legends and part pilgrimage for sports nuts, the inclusion of events like the Skills Challenge, the Three-Point Contest, the Rising Stars Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest have all contributed to the hysteria that surrounds the entire weekend of events. In the midst of the pageantry, All-Star Weekend has become a moment where hip-hop, sports, fashion and entertainment converge on one city.
The first (technically second, 1976-77 had a dunk contest that went throughout the entire season!) NBA dunk contest was held Saturday January 28, 1984 (making the “game” into a weekend long event). This along with the iconic “birth” of the Jumpman emblem from the free throw line by Michael Jordan in the 1985 dunk contest, helped mesh the universes of hip-hop, fashion and sports forever. Jay Z and LeBron James’ annual “2 Kings” parties have become a staple of the weekend festivities. The 2003 addition of the celebrity game blurred the line even further between artists and athletes. MC’s like Nelly, Ice Cube, Bow Wow, DJ Clue, Master P, Common, Nick Cannon, J. Cole and Snoop Dogg have all laced up their kicks for the NBA at one time or another.
But it all hasn’t been peace and love. “The Broad Street Bully” Beanie Sigel allegedly knocked out fellow Philly spitter, Gillie Da Kid on South Street in Philadelphia during All-Star Weekend (in front of his boss at the time), Birdman. 2007’s weekend in Las Vegas was marred by reports of several altercations along the Vegas strip, with reports of as many as 300 people being arrested. Many people attribute the spike in crime on the hip-hop influence on the event. Despite these criticisms, the NBA has continued to embrace hip-hop and the symbiotic relationship it has with the sport of basketball.
In 2016, ASW has become one of the mandatory networking summits for big name artists and acts looking for their big break. If Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime performance has taught us nothing else, it has demonstrated the power of using sporting events like All-Star Weekend as a vehicle to promote an artist or to even roll out new music.
This year, the biggest names in the game have decided to take advantage of this once a year opportunity. Kanye West is capitalizing on it, as he’s used every tactic in the book to hype So Help Me God SWISH Waves The Life Of Pablo, which officially dropped today. A week ago, Future surprised fans with EVOL, just a mere three weeks after dropping his Purple Reign mixtape, thus allowing his fans just enough time to familiarize themselves with his latest work before the club goes crazy when his records hit the speaks during ASW. The weekend’s party atmosphere can also provide just the right type of momentum to turn a club anthem into a major hit, which is exactly what happened to Rocko’s U.O.E.N.O. during the 2013 ASW in Houston.
Considering the relationship between the hosting Toronto Raptors and the city’s native son Drake, and that Drizzy released If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late on the Friday of All-Star Weekend last year, keep your eyes and ears peeled as the OVO general may very well be willing to finally ready to give us a glimpse of his “Views from The 6”.