In honor of hip-hop turning 50, ESPN tapped the culture's top voices to write about their favorite athlete name-drops in hip-hop history.
Below is a collection of essays. How Jay-Z and Jordan defined the blueprint for greatness by Mychal Denzel Smith There's Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, and everyone else.
They will forever be considered GOATs and the stories we tell will always fuel their legends. Jay-Z, Jordan and the stories we tell to fuel GOAT status When Nicki Minaj crowned Lisa Leslie the baddest by Lauren Michele Jackson When «Barbie World» rapper Nicki Minaj crowned Lisa Leslie, the first woman to dunk in a women's professional game, the baddest.
Nicki Minaj saw herself in Lisa Leslie's display of excellence How Ric Flair influenced a new generation of drip by Morgan Jerkins There's a reason so many rappers love Ric Flair. «The Nature Boy» embodies some of the best characteristics of hip-hop — the flamboyance, the flashiness and the braggadocio.