I was a youngin when I got my hands on Eazy-E’s and NWA’s first albums. I got away with blasting the explicit lyrics for a while before my dad questioned me about the merits of my music.
I was allowed to keep those albums and every gangsta rap CD afterwards. Joakim Noah’s first encounter with the gangsta rap genre came courtesy of his mom.
In a recent piece from ESPN.com’s Jon Greenberg, Noah opened up about the energy Snoop’s ‘Doggystyle’ and Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’ brought him as a nine-year old in France.
I used to listen to ‘The Chronic’ and ‘Doggystyle.’ My mom bought those for me when I was in third grade living in Paris. Those albums just came out, and she gave them to me. I had no idea about those lyrics or what they were talking about. I could just feel the energy, and I loved it.”
You can picture a 9-year-old, French-speaking Noah rapping “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.”
Can you imagine the response from Noah and other after the first time he blasted ‘Stranded on Death Row’?