The NBA has been playing to a hip-hop beat for nearly 50 years

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AND ALANIS THAMES
AP Sports Writers

Just as a movie soundtrack helps viewers follow the action of the narrative through each plot twist, hip-hop has done the same for basketball via the NBA. Over the past five decades, the genre has inserted lyrics, beats and culture into the sport’s DNA. Now, as hip-hop reaches its 50th anniversary, the two are intertwined like a colorful, crisscrossed ball of yarn. It’s created a seamless historical comingling between hip-hop artists and NBA players because many have lived similar rags-to-riches stories, making for a natural brotherhood on and off the court.