I was listening to Eminem’s new album tonight and a line from the song “No Love” turned my thoughts to LeBron James and his now infamous decision.

Look at these rappers, how I treat ‘em

So why the f*ck would I join ‘em, when I beat ‘em

Maybe you can see the correlation. LeBron hadn’t won a ring, but his teams were far better than Wade’s Heat and Bosh’s Raptors. Yet, he joined them because he felt like he couldn’t be The Man on a championship team. Fine.

But LeBron has long been intertwined with the hip-hop community. He’s very close with Jay-Z, his More Than a Game documentary featured a hip-hop soundtrack, he’s often referenced in songs, and he can even be seen rapping along to an Eminem verse while waiting to inbound the ball in the final minute of a close contest with the Lakers.

There is a bravado to hip-hop that makes me wonder what his friends in the music business think about his decision. Rap is inherently competitive. From freestyle battles to ‘diss’ records to claims of being the best rapper alive…it’s not an industry in which it’s acceptable to shy away from challenges.

Not that he’d *ever* say it, but I wonder if Jay-Z thinks LeBron’s decision is lame like many of us do. Not that it matters what Jay-Z thinks, but I’m curious.

I just find it interesting that an NBA superstar so closely connected to the hip-hop industry chose a path that most rappers would consider weak, unassertive, and cowardly.

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