One of the many things I’ve learned watching sports over the years is that some star athletes just can’t get enough of the spotlight, leading to all kinds of branching out. Some choose to form management companies or clothing lines. That’s cool and all but it’s usually not that interesting.

The real fun starts when these talented sports figures try their luck at music. Based on what we’ve seen and heard through the years, there’s a reason why they have their day jobs. The latest guy to make headlines for his music is Los Angeles Lakers starter and NBA Champion Ron Artest. Ron-Ron is no newcomer to rapping and his hometown of Queensbridge, New York has been the birthplace of many rap superstars (Nas, Mobb Deep, ).

His latest song has been his most famous though, especially since he plugged it during the live postgame speech after game 7 of the NBA Finals. It immediately became a hop topic online and by the next day he released the song – appropriately called “Champions” – and it was a viral hit. Trey Kerby over at Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie called it the “best athlete rap song of all-time in the non-unintentional comedy division.”

After more than a few listens it’s hard to say it isn’t a good song. Artest covers all bases, using several examples of sports superiority throughout the lyrics and it’s actually missing most of the antics that earned him the nickname “Crazy Pills” among fans. It’s certainly better than his puzzling tribute to the late Michael Jackson.

Since it’s brought up the topic of rapper/athletes again, we thought we’d line up a few of the most well-known examples and let you decide. If you want to know what some of the NBA guys think, you can catch Artest’s list here or watch Amare Stoudemire and Brandon Roy break down their picks. Whether you think they are good, unintentionally funny, campy cult classics or just plain awful, enjoy.

The Good/Decent:

The Bad (yet still memorable):

The Ugly:

It seems like a recipe for some success on the mic involves the right mix of charisma (Shaq), originality (Da Bears), and a bit of craziness (Artest). It’s a delicate balance though, as we can see with overdoing the cheesiness (Deion, the Dolphins and Eagles) or just lacking any flow (Barkley was turrible). If the rumors about Delonte West and LeBron’s mom are true, I doubt he won her over with his rap lyrics. Iverson went a bit too overboard with the homophobia (safe to say John Amaechi wasn’t waiting in line to buy his CD) and Kobe just S.U.C.K.E.D.

Whether they end up being ridiculed or accepted for trying to cross over, it’s unlikely we’ll see a decrease in rapping athletes anytime soon, especially when looking at the long list of those who hit the booth.

- Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Jamario Moon of the Toronto Raptors showed off his flow while he was mic’d up for the Raptors/Pistons game on Sunday. I give him two and a half on a scale from one to five. Moon gets points for freestylin’, but if he knew he was gonna be mic’d up, he should’ve spit some of his written rhymes and acted like he was coming off the top.. Like a real rapper.

Tags: Jamario Moon, Toronto Raptors, NBA, freestyle, youtube

Just when you think it can’t get any worse better Ron-Ron goes and drops a new video. This isn’t of the rapping, or dog neglecting ilk… Artest is talking about the infamous brawl.

Some of my favorite quotes:

• Detroit is a gangster arena.
• I definitely shoulda got a pass on that one… you know, when I went in the stands.
• What Ben did was disrespectful.. If I’da known that the referees would of handled was gonna handle it how they did like as far as not handling the situation at all then I woulda probably fought.
• The owner of Detroit, he’s a.. he’s a trip.
• I lay on tables a lot. I lay on my bench in my neighborhood and nobody throws cups of beer and rocks at me.

Ron Artest is classic. I do agree that Ben Wallace got the ball rolling that evening, BUT.. Ron saying he deserves a pass is hilarious. What’s next? Charles Manson saying “the incident” was taken out of context?

If you’re like me.. That sucks.. But it also means you can’t get enough Ron Artest…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLCcfvpnizI]

If Ron can keep cutting these PSAs he should get a pass on any law he breaks. I can’t have this humor locked up.

Ron Artest sentenced to 20 days in jail. Courtesy of Fox Sports 

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Loaded? check. Suns fan? check. Video camera? check. Ready to rap?

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gil8Nw53MRI]

“They got their eyes on the prize and I’ll tell you whys”, “Coming froma coming from Brazil like Barbosa, he’ll blow by you and then he’ll toast you, in the toaster”, and “they got goat boy, go back to Germany, go back to Berlin” are some of my favorite lyrics of all time. Tell me one MC he wouldn’t smash in a battle..

Kobe Bryant took exception to the “they’ll close line you like Raja Bell” line and demanded that I show this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpzJgLzzX38]

That video’s from back in the day.. Way back when Kobe wore number 8.. After seeing Otto flex his bilingual skills and playing the obligatory “rappin’ in a wifebeater” card, I don’t know why his album didn’t take off. He even got Tyra Banks on the track.. She only danced on stage because nothing says professional model and television host like backin your thang up at NBA All-Star weekend. I can’t wait to see Barbara Walters dancing for Ron Artest next year.

If you can’t quite make out what Kobe’s sayin, they claim to have the lyrics here.

Phoenix Suns fan rapping. Courtesy of YouTube

Kobe ft. Tyra Banks, K.O.B.E. Courtesy of YouTube

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