LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are identified for his or her electrifying performs and celebrity Stephen Curry, however now the staff is pioneering a contemporary gameplan: mixing sports activities and leisure in a method no NBA franchise has earlier than.
As the primary and solely NBA staff with its personal file label, Golden State Leisure, the Warriors are increasing their attain with “For the Soil,” a brand new album launched this week. The challenge that includes the Bay Space’s prime music artists — from E-40, Too Quick, Saweetie, G-Eazy, Goapele, LaRussell and Larry June — arrives simply in time for the league’s All-Star Recreation weekend in San Francisco.
“A basketball team with a record label is unheard of until now, which is a testament to the Warriors and the Bay,” mentioned P-Lo, a Filipino-American rapper who produced “For the Soil,” a collaborative launch between Golden State Leisure and EMPIRE, a distribution and publishing firm. He’ll carry out stay throughout an NBA All-Star tipoff social gathering on Thursday at Thrive Metropolis, a 11-acre group gathering area surrounding the Chase Middle.
“This is about innovation, bringing a new idea to the table,” mentioned P-Lo, a lifelong Warriors fan who has labored with artists resembling Yo Gotti, Saweetie and Kehlani. He is no stranger to the franchise, using his convertible automotive as a part of the Warriors championship parade, celebrating the staff’s title in 2022.
“We’re here to break barriers while I’m trying to process it all,” he added. “I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
Warriors guard Gary Payton II mentioned he plans on listening to the album.
“For me, to be the first team to have a music company, or production company, it’s kinda cool,” Payton mentioned. “P-Lo is running it, and getting it done. I know there’s a lot of talented Bay Area artists behind it, so it’s something to look forward to and be excited about.”
P-Lo performed a key position in bringing collectively the Bay Space’s prime artists, contributing to all 9 tracks on the album. He started the method late final summer season, collaborating with native expertise to craft a well-rounded challenge.
“P-Lo can produce, rap and bring all these artists who are like family to him,” mentioned David Kelly, an govt with the Warriors. He spearheaded the launch of Golden State Leisure in 2022 earlier than the staff received the championship that 12 months.
A number of NBA groups have partnered with artists through the years: Drake because the Toronto Raptors’ international ambassador, Jay-Z as a former minority proprietor of the Brooklyn Nets, and the Miami Warmth collaborating with DJ Khaled, who carried out at video games. The Atlanta Hawks have additionally embraced their metropolis’s rap scene, working with T.I., 2 Chainz, and Quavo.
However an NBA staff with its personal file label and leisure division? That’s the place Kelly noticed a chance for the Warriors to interrupt new floor. He mentioned making a label, intersecting hip-hop and basketball made sense.
“It’s just kind of authentic and natural to the culture,” mentioned Kelly, who joined the group in 2011 and presently is the chief enterprise officer of Golden State Leisure. “It seems like a lot of times people try to force them apart or mesh them together that don’t make sense. But if you grew up a part of both, they naturally intertwine.”
Kelly first pitched the concept of the Warriors having a file label to then-president Rick Welts earlier than bringing it to the staff’s proprietor, Joe Lacob, and co-executive chairman Peter Guber. He mentioned the Warriors’ management embraced his imaginative and prescient, and he hopes extra professional groups will observe go well with.
“It’s seeing the culture being presented in a way that’s true and reflective on a grand international scale,” mentioned Kelly, a former Chicago-based rapper, whose stage title was Capital D. “Hopefully this is the first of many for Golden State and the culture.”
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AP Sports activities Author Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report in Dallas.
