KD: I’ve been hearing my favorite rappers put their favorite basketball players in their
songs for years, before I was even in high school. For my favorite rapper at the time
to do that, it was a big accomplishment.
Rob: Kevin Durant, what’s up? Welcome to Genius.
This is an honor to sit down with you. I mean, normally here at Genius, we sit down with
rappers and different musicians and get them to break down their lyrics. But, what we wanted
to get to is how you affect culture, how you affect music.
I want to start off with Drake, “Weston Road Flows.”
[LYRICS]
KD: When I first heard it he’s my favorite rapper. You get a shout-out in a song, you
look around to see if anybody else heard it. Because, somebody will recognize me. We talk.
So, going through that stuff, him and Meek Mill, it was entertainment for me because
I’m such a huge rap fan. They both came with it. I think Drake set it off and you
know, went on another level. I think Meek came back and through some jabs as well. So,
it was fun to be a part of that.
Rob: What do you think Drake is actually saying here? “A lot of people hit me up when my
name is mentioned. Shout out to KD. We relate.. We get the same attention.”
KD: Me, along with a lot of other people, wanted to know if he was coming back with
some new music. When I have a game, he texts me or snapchats me, and we talk about stuff.
I’m sure when he got in the booth, he was feeling that a little bit and he put it in
there. So, it went together nice.
Rob: That’s dope. And he didn’t give you a heads up? Like, “Yo, you about to hear
something real quick!” KD: Nah, I guess he just wanted me to hear
it as I was going through the album. But once I heard it, I was like, “man, that was dope.”
Rob: Jay Z: “Crown.” KD: All yeah, that was…
Rob: I’m not going to get into the whole bar because he’s talking about different
agents and his arrival with Roc Nation Sports and what he’s building. He says,
[LYRICS]
KD: Yeah, that was wild. That was wild when I heard that. That one I was like, “Jay
Z? That’s someone I’ve been listening to since I was 10 years old.” And, I didn’t
care what the beat sound like or anything. It was just that he put my name in a song.
That was a moment for me.
Rob: But, he didn’t just put you in one of his lyrics, right? Because Jay Z doesn’t
rap just to rap. KD: Yeah, exactly.
Rob: There is a real life component to this. “It’s a new day. Hit up KD.” What is
he talking about in that moment?
KD: Well, when I signed with Roc Nation, it felt like it was a changing of the guards.
How being a professional athlete was run. It felt like it was a new regime. We kind
of kicking down the door on how operations used to go. We’re just doing it our way.
Rob: Wale and Curren$y collaborated on this song called, “What It Look Like.” And,
Wale, who I know you know very well, had a line. He said,
[LYRICS]
KD: Yeah, that was important to me to play on on the best street ball courts. Rucker Park was
number one on the list. A lot of guys come up to me and talk about me scoring 66 at Rucker---
Rob: Can you say that again? How many points? KD: 66.
Rob: At the Rucker. KD: Yeah.
I’m sure a lot of guys have done something like that before. But being an NBA player,
you not supposed to be playing outdoors in those environments.
When I hit a 3 on the court. That moment was second-to-none, so far in my carrer.
[crowd cheers]
Rob: Fabulous: one of my favorite rappers. He did this song called Steve Jobs, which was actually
a freestyle for Lil Wayne’s “Bill Gates.” He says,
[LYRICS]
Rob: Now, when you heard this, what were you thinking?
KD: I really thought it was a clever play on three-five and the Tre Pound.
These guys, I look up to. I’ve been listening to Fab since I
was in 7th-8th grade. I used to watch his video and I couldn’t
leave the house at 11 years old.
Rob: Now I wanna ask about the real life component to this, cause "Trey Pounds, shoot fast, call that Kevin Durant"
In February, against the Orlando Magic, you hit a buzzer beater.
KD: Yeah.
Rob: You left half a second on the clock. And it got me to wondering,
How quick is your release? Have you ever timed your release? Cause you shoot fast.
KD: It depends what situation I'm in. I feel like I always gotta have it locked and loaded no matter what, anytime.
I feel like I'm in the wild wild west, I'm just walking around waiting to pull my gun out and be ready to shoot.
So that's how I feel on the court, I'm just searching.
Rob: This ain't just rap. These are real bars. Like you really have to time your shots and be flexible in these situations.
KD: Yeah, so when he said that I was like, he's not just throwing a name in there or throwing something together, he really thought about it.
That's how you can tell the good ones.
Rob: This is actually your performance. It’s not a lyric. But, you were on Wale’s mixtape. “Best In the League” skit.
KD: I would love to do it over again.
Rob: We gon' talk about it.
KD: That was one of my first time behind the mic. Yeah, I would love to do that over again.
Rob: Just shouting out:
[Lyrics]
Rob: And, Wale’s in the background. “What else?”
KD: Yeah Rob: “What else?”
KD: I can’t run around and just scream out everything I’ve done because that’s just
not who I am. I guess I had to get cocky for that one. And, It was awkward as it sounds.
You could tell that’s not me. I was nervous. And, I was like, they had to tell me what
to say. But now, I add a little bit more flavor and swag and sauce to it now then I
did back then. But that humbled me a lot.
Rob: This is different time. Next gig going to get better. Next Wale tape.
KD: Whoever need me on a skit, I got it. I got the juice now.
Rob: I want to ask you about a guy named Logic. Couple of years ago, he dropped a song named,
“Numbers.” All the way back in 2012. And you tweeted the hook, a lyric from it.
[LYRICS]
Rob: Do you remember sending that tweet? Do you remember that lyric resonating with you?
KD: Yeah. Rob: Do you remember that moment?
KD: Yeah, I really sent it out. I just wanted to connect with him. We come from the same
area, and I didn't know. That was the first time I’d heard of him. My teammate was playing
him in the locker room. I was like, “who’s this?” And, he told me. And then I saw the
lyrics to the song. I tweeted. And I found out he was from Maryland. I was like, “Man.
Dope. Someone from my area. I’m gonna support him and let him know that he got that hometown
love coming from me.” So, that’s why I did that. I’ve just been following him ever
since. He’s just killing it write now. Probably my favorite. He probably got the best album
I listened to this year. That album was incredible. I always support my hometown team.
Rob: J. Cole. KD: Yeah.
Rob: “Fire Squad.” He’s comparing himself to Bruce Lee---
KD: Everybody. Rob: and Bruce Wayne. And, he said,
[ LYRICS ]
KD: J. Cole. I feel as though he’s in the top tier of rappers. Like, you got to do a
lot of work to catch up to him.
Rob: Cole is somebody who knows his way around the court.
KD: Yeah, he can play a bit. Rob: Ok.
KD: He can play. I watch him. There’s a few guys that can play and a few guys that
are flat-out terrible. But, he can play.
Rob: Does it mean any more coming from somebody, like Cole, because he knows his way around
the court. As opposed to, and no slight to Drake, but we all saw that air ball.
Does it mean more coming from Cole, who actually plays the game?
KD: It means---I wouldn’t say it means more from Cole that it does from Drake or Wale
or anybody else, ‘cause all those dudes they actually work for something to get to
where they are. They go through the rough times to get to where they are, so I respect
their opinion, just as much as basketball players. Whether you’re shooting balls or
whatever, you still got to put in the work. You still gotta perfect your craft. So, they
perfected their craft. It’s just in a different profession.