More and more, NBA players have begun to share their interests outside of basketball with the rest of us. Damian Lillard, AKA Dame D.O.L.L.A., released his debut album, Letter O, earlier this year. The album was met with generally positive reviews. Damian’s Portland Trailblazers teammate, CJ McCollum has a real interest in journalism, even going as far to interview NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for the NBAPA.
Indiana Pacer’s guard Victor Oladipo is the latest NBA player to turn a passion into a tangible project. For fans who have followed Victor Oladipo throughout his five-year career, his affinity for singing should come at no surprise. Oladipo gave us a taste of what he could do during the All-Star break this past season when he participated in TNT’s talent show for NBA players. Now it seems as if Victor is ready to take his secret gift seriously.
Following from Edwin Ortiz of Complex Music:
“Ain’t too many NBA players who are actually really good at singing,” he said at the time. “There’s a lot of rappers, but not too many singers. I think it could be something special, so maybe one day.”
That day has finally come as Oladipo shares his debut track “Song for You,” which puts a contemporary spin on Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You.”
“What inspired me to put out my own music now is that I believe it is a gift of mine and when God blesses you with a gift you should share it with others,” he told Complex via email. “If not then you’re doing yourself and Him a disservice.”
Oladipo also shared why he decided to remix a classic record from Hathaway’s catalog. “Donny Hathaway is one of my favorite artists and ‘A Song for You’ is one of the songs I could really relate to, so in honor of him I remixed his version of the song and flipped it into a modern day story of something someone might go through today in the second half.”
The dunker turned crooner has evident talent. It may not long before Oladipo too has his original music featured in the NBA 2K video game series, much like Lillard has. You can check out the song for yourself below.
