Who’s the Rap Game Derrick Rose? Posted by Nathan S. on 11/25/13 | Filed under Opinion, Debates, T.I., Sports, Rap Game

After doing a nearly 1,000 word "Rap Game" last week, and devoting nearly an entire podcast to it, I felt like RefinedHype Nation had to be burned out on rapper-NBA player comparisons for a while. I should probably just let it rest for a minute, maybe do one more before the end of the year. Still, I couldn't help throwing out a little question on Twitter just for kicks, promped by the homie Max Pete: 

I WAS WRONG. REFINEDHYPE NATION CAN TALK RAP GAME ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, AND IT NEVER GETS OLD. I got a Twitter crap-ton of responses, and once my brain gets going on a subject I just can't let it go. Pair that with the news that D. Rose is now out for the season with another knee injury, and I just had to do this shit. So, here goes one mo 'gin. 

First off, we need to define just what it means to be the Rap Game D. Rose. Rose is a player who, when he's healthy and been playing, is widely regarded asa relentless and fearless scorer who's one of the best in the game, period. In fact, he's a former NBA MVP, Rookie of the Year and three time All-Star. So let's be clear, we're dealing with someone who, by any measure, has already succeeded in the NBA....except, now there's increasinly the feeling that, because of injuries, his career may never reach its full potential. In a best case scenario Rose rehabs, comes back and finally manages to win the championship that's the last missing piece of his legacy. Worst case scenario he becomes the NBA version of Bo Jackson, one of the all-time "What if?" players. (aka What if Bo Jackson had stayed healthy? Could he have been one of the best running backs of all-time? The best?)  

So when we're talking "Rap Game" equivalent, we're looking for someone who at their peak was inarguably one of the best, but had their career hampered by injuries/arrests/label politics/things out of their immediate control. Essentially, a "what if" rapper. 

With that in mind, let's get to the nominees: 

Hmmm, really not seeing that one. While Banks may have had far more success than some realize, he was never the top guy - he needed 50 Cent to lead him to victory - and has never really suffered a true "injury", just kind of slowly but surely faded away. Banks is more like....Chris Bosh. Subject of jokes, better than he often gets credit for, but if he's the top guy on your team/label, you're not winning. 

I like where you're going with this, I can see it. Like with D. Rose, with every day that goes by Jay ElectroniNeverDroppingAnAlbumica is looking more and more like a "what if" rapper. It's still too soon to write off Jay Elec yet, but so far his career has been about 75% potential, 25% delivery. Could he get it together and finally drop that classic album/win a championship? Sure, it could happen, but that window's closing fast. Still though, unlike Rose, who's a proven elite-level player in the NBA, Jay Elec is still more of a rookie, or even a highly-touted high school prospect who has yet to play serious NBA minutes. Will he prove to be a bust (Michael Olowakandi), or just a late bloomer (Steve Nash)? Too early to tell, but especially when you factor in his style and personal life - Jay Elect the eccentric weirdo, Rose the clean cut but fierce point guard - he's not D. Rose. 

I can see it, and good explaination. Although I don't know if I'm ready to pull the trigger on that one. Budden's never been a "MVP" level rapper, and his "injuries" have been more self-imposed. He's never really been out of the game for extended stretches. He's more like a guy who could have been truly great if he could have mentally gotten it together and focused, but instead just went on to have a long career as a mid-tier player/rapper. (We're speaking objective place in the game here, not how dope you think he is or isn't.) Budden's more of a....Lamar Odom, before the crack addiction? No, not quite right either, but you get the point.  

Winner winner chicken dinner. You may be able to argue me into a better candidate in the comments below, but in the meantime this is the best nominee. Stylistically, T.I. may have more "swag", but both are undersized guys who manage to be incredibly intimindating primarily off their ferocity. You could argue T.I.'s got some "championships" (aka classic albums) that D. Rose doesn't, but that's the difference between a team sport like basketball and a solo sport like hip-hop. At the peak of his career Rose will have missed two seasons (and counting) due to injuries, T.I. missed two years (and counting) at the peak of his career in jail; better yet. T.I. was released, then promptly went back to jail, just like Rose recovered from a knee injury, then promptly re-injured it. 

Extending the analogy, T.I. is really the best case scenario for Rose. While there's still a bit of a "what if?" factor with TIP - if he hadn't spent all that time in jail would he have another classic album under his belt? Would he have turned Grand Hustle into a true powerhouse label? - he's still managed to regain his place near the top of the rap game, if not exactly in the elite-elite sphere he was once in, and doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. Hopefully someday we'll be able to say the same about Rose. 

Until then, we'll just have to ease the pain of not being able to watch Rose do his thing by comparing him to rappers. Cold comfort, but at least it's something.