15 Songs by Evil E

0. Introduction:

I grew up in the Bay Area and have been a Warriors fan for 20 years. I'm a big fantasy hoops fan and I currently write for www.82games.com. I also love music, so this contest really intrigued me. I always thought it would be fun to be DJ for the Warriors, but had never thought about which SONGS I would play. You guys have given me that chance (or should I say incentive?).

I have chosen 15 songs that I would play if I were to DJ the Warriors next home game. Almost every track is by an Oakland or Bay Area native or has some kind of Warriors or NBA reference, which is pretty cool. I have written a blurb for each one (in quote boxes) and uploaded all of the songs as well, so you can listen for yourself and see what you think. Enjoy!

1. Pre-game Shootaround:
Basketball - Kurtis Blow

Kurtis Blow is a rap pioneer. He was the 1st rapper signed to a major label and the 1st rapper to have his picture on a 12" sleeve. His first 2 singles (Christmas Rappin, 1979 and The Breaks, 1980) were the 2nd and 3rd certified gold 12" singles EVER! One Joseph Simmons was so enthralled by Blow that he started rocking the mic as "Son of Kurtis Blow" before changing his name to "Run" of Run-DMC fame (more below). You know the song that Nas made famous, If I Ruled the World? Yeah, Kurtis Blow put that out in 1985. The guy deserves some props. And here is his ode to the game of basketball. It's a fun track that is sure to get fans psyched for the game, and he even gives a shout out to Rick Barry!

2. Ready for Tip-Off:
Eye of the Tiger/ Holla if You Hear Me - 2Pac vs. Survivor

Eye of the Tiger is a classic pump-up song from Rocky III, and this is what happens when you mash it up with 2Pac's Holla if you Hear Me. DJ Vlad and Roc Raida (X-Ecutioners) decided to do this for their "Rock Phenomenon" album. A lot of the tracks don't work for me, but this one DOES. Pac's rhymes ride the guitar riffs like they're tailor made for each other, and right from the start, it grabs you and shakes you until you start jumping around and pumping your fist in the air. I guarantee you this song will get people pumped up and it doesn't get old so you can save it for a key moment down the stretch as well. BONUS: On Baron's Yardbarker blog, he lists Tupac 1st under music, so you know he'll be down with this.  

3. Timeout when the Warriors need some Energy:
Game Time - Trackrunners

I actually hadn't heard this song until recently, but it's nicely done and doesn't seem like it would get old, although an Azubuike for J-Rich edit is needed. It's a good head-nodder and hand-clapper, so it's great for timeouts to keep the Oracle energy going strong.

4. When the Warriors (especially Stephen Jackson) are Dominating:
Oaktown - Dangerous Dame

I copped a Dangerous Dame CD for a buck one time and was pleasantly surprised. The dude's from Oakland and you can definitely hear it in his music. I'm having trouble picking a Too Short song for this, so I'm gonna go with Dame's dedication to "Oaktown" instead. Don't worry, he gives Short a shout-out. This song is "hard as hell" and sounds like a sweet song to play when the other team is getting frustrated.
BONUS MP3 for Hieroglyphics fans: Here is Casual's re-make of this song

5. Warrior Girls Dance song #1:
Dance to the Music - Sly & The Family Stone

They might do this classic already, but if they don't, they should. Sly & the Family Stone represent something the Bay Area should be proud of: they were the 1st fully integrated group (black & white, men & women) in rock's history!  That was an immediate signal that they were going to break down musical boundaries as well. Dance to the Music was one of their top hits and a very influential one at that. I give Sly serious props for 3 reasons:

1. Sylvester became "Sly" Stone when he started off as a disc jockey for San Francisco radio station KSOL.
   
2. His first band was named Sly and the Stoners.
   
3. The Family Stone were formed when The Stoners teamed up with The Stone Souls, which was Sly's brother Freddie's band. Sly and Freddie were both guitarists, so Sly named Freddie the "official" guitarist for the Stone and then taught himself the electronic organ. I guess that's why he got the band named after him!

6. Warrior Girls Dance song #2:
Let's Get Down - Tony! Toni! Tone! feat. DJ Quik

Now here's something a little more modern. This is my favorite Tony! Toni! Tone! song. Yep, they're from Oakland too. DJ Quick tears it up and the Tony's do what they do best. It looks like they're having a lot of fun in this video, so I'm sure the Warrior Girls can have some fun with it as well. This song is just so damn smoooooth. Where is Sam Perkins at?

7. For Thunder and Crew to Breakdance to:
It's Like That - Run-D.M.C.

The Warriors breaking crew has skills, so we've gotta play a song for them to shine. Look no further than this Run D.M.C. gem. The video for this song is kinda wack tho, so I'm linking to the song only. Run-D.M.C. are rap legends, but of course they have special meaning to us Warrior fans thanks to Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. This is the cut where we re-live the 80's. How much money would you pay to see Sarunas Marciulionis come running onto the court and start busting out Moves like these

8. Post-Halftime Warmup song:
N.B.A. - Ras Kass feat. Xzibit & Saafir

The beginning of this song is pretty epic with the "Golden State" chants. Yep, before Xzibit became famous he was in a group called the Golden State Project. Actually, they wanted to call themselves the Golden State Warriors, but they got wind that it would be a bad idea. While Xzibit is the most well-known, it is Ras Kass and Saafir who are considered underground hip-hop legends. Ras Kass especially has dropped some of the most incredible lyrics of all time, but has had to face many setbacks. Saafir owns one of the rawest voices I've hear and was actually a dancer for Digital Underground when he lived with 2Pac. N.B.A. is a pretty sweet track that somehow manages to take John Tesh's NBA on NBC theme and turn it into something hard. Now that's hard to do!

9. While the opponent is shooting free throws:
Red, Black & Green - Pharoah Sanders

Pharoah Sanders began his professional music career in Oakland. He started playing in John Coltrane's band in 1965 and was once described by Ornette Coleman as "probably the best tenor sax player in the world." This cut is off his 1971 album "Thembi," which has one of the coolest album covers of all time.

I picked it up a couple years ago when I started getting into free jazz. Free jazz is all about energy and improvisation, so you could definitely compare it to the Warriors' style of play. Thembi is a really dope album, but it's TOUGH to listen to this cut all the way thru. In fact, I dare you! It has a haunting beginning and it doesn't start to let up until you're 2 minutes in. You know how a lot of players aren't distracted by noise at the free throw line? Well, I can almost guarantee you that this song would make a difference.

10. For the Crunch Time Timeout:
My Favorite Mutiny - The Coup feat. Black Thought & Talib Kweli

The Coup are another dope hip-hop group from Oakland who put on a killer live show: they were one of my favorites at Rock the Bells this year. Black Thought (The Roots) and Talib Kweli (Black Star) are 2 of the most incredible MC's out there, so you know this song is gonna be good and it doesn't disappoint. One day I was bumping the Coup at work and an older dude who was walking by started listening. After awhile he said: "Now this is interesting. The beats are all funky like Prince but the lyrics are very angry and political." Haha, yep! The beat from My Favorite Mutiny is a driving force: you'll be able to feel the intensity building when you play this song during crunch time.

11. When Baron Davis comes thru in the Clutch:
Anchor Man - Chali 2na

This is my favorite track off the NBA 2K7 soundtrack and possibly the song I played the MOST in 2007 (at least 50 times)! The album was produced by Dan the Automator, who I'm sure some of you know has serious skills. Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 fame has perhaps the most unique and recognizable voice in all of hip-hop. He can hit them low notes without breaking his stride and he's got a fun vibe and persona. Anchor Man brings the best out of both men. Chali 2na holds it down in the clutch (just like Baron) and the Automator beat doesn't get old. If you don't like this song there's something wrong with you!

12. After the Warriors Win:
I Got 5 On It (Boom Dizzle Remix) - San Quinn, Equipto, etc.

I Got 5 On It is the quintessential Bay Area posse cut by The Luniz. The original Bay Ballas remix featured several Bay legends: Dru Down, E-40, Shock G, Richie Rich, and Spice 1. Somehow, Fear the Beard managed to create a special Baron remix during the playoffs last year, and the outcome is dope! After the Warriors win at home, this is a great song to start post-game celebrating to.

13. When the Warriors are getting blown out:
What I Got - Michael Franti & Spearhead w/Gift of Gab

This cut is off the Tribute to Sublime album, which is worth getting for this song alone. Michael Franti creates a beautiful tribute song with a killer verse at the end by Gift of Gab (Blackalicious). Franti is from Oakland and in my opinion, is this generation's closest thing to Gil Scott-Heron. Gab also has Bay ties: he went to high school in Sacramento and college at UC Davis, where he soon met up with Chief XCel, DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, and Lateef the Truthspeaker. The rest is history. What I Got is all about living your life with and spreading love. The Warriors current team (and the fans!) have a lot of love for each other, so this is a great song to remind us of that when the Dubs are down 26 to San Antonio.

14. For Troy Murphy:
Red Rum - Celly Cel feat. Spice 1

You guys know the story, right? Redrum = Murder backwards. It was made famous in The Shining, which Troy Murphy apparently liked so much that he decided to write "REDRUM" on his shoes for every game. I first heard about this when he was in college at Notre Dame, and I'm pretty sure he continued to do it when he came into the league. I'm not sure if he still rocks the Redrum (or why he started doing it in the first place), but this song would definitely catch his attention and probably throw him off his game (whatever game he has left that is). Celly Cel and Spice 1 hold it down for the homicidal side of the Bay in this song: they leave bodies numb because they're 187 proof! Spiggity Spice is from Oakland and (despite his limited lyrical content) has super sick styles. Chris Mills would approve of this song for sure.

15. For Kobe, Webber, Ice Cube, Snoop, etc:
A Friendly Game of Basketball - J-Zone

J-Zone might be the funniest MC out there. In this song, he calls out all Ballplayers that wanna rap and Rappers that wanna ball. Check out some of the lines:

"Timberlake is the man for flashing Janet's tits, but his hoop game is so weak even Magic can't assist. I saw Nelly playing ball but his game was skurred, 1-on-1 you wanna ball we can ball right hurr. I heard Latifah played in high school and she won the state, I'll still swat a girl's shot I don't discriminate."

"Even Chris Webber don't stand a chance, I'll cross him up, f*ck up his bad knee and put him in an ambulance (see ya!)"

Haha, nothing like ending on a Chris Webber diss. I sure hope someone enjoyed this.