Before the Knicks got a big opening night win against the Hawks two weeks ago, Sheck Wes performed outside of Madison Square Garden. He and Mountain Dew linked up to bring a rare performance back to his city. The Harlem native took over 33rd street for a moment.
“The NBA is big me for,” Sheck told SLAM before performing. “For me, being a big basketball fan, a big Mountain Dew fan, me and my friends used to like drink this all the time.”
The 20 year old used to hoop all around New York. He’s friends with Mo Bamba and he knows all of the League’s best young talents. And, as he detailed below, he’s starting to meet the rest of the NBA’s top talent.
SLAM: What are you expecting from the Knicks this year?
Sheck Wes: I ain’t gonna lie, bro, the Knicks, I’m behind them because they already have [Kristaps] Porzingis, but now you got [Mario] Hezonja? You got [Emmanuel] Mudiay and Tim Hardaway Jr. is consistent and he can get a lot of buckets, no lie. And you know, Kevin Knox. C’mon, bro like… We just need a sturdy system. It’s been a while since New York had a sturdy system.
SLAM: Who else are you looking at around the League right now?
SW: I’m not a big team guy. I’m a big player guy because teams always change. I’m a huge KD fan. I was a big fan of the OKC Finals team, so KD, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, it’s my favorite three. Giannis is a big favorite of mine. Of course, Mo Bamba. You know. You already know! I’m excited to see Mo grow, and I really want to see him dunk on people.
I always go to NBA games but I’m on tour too. Astroworld tour coming up, make sure you pull up. But yeah, I hope I can go see more games and go crazy, because I’m a real basketball player and fan.
SLAM: As you’ve gotten bigger, more NBA players have realized that you have the passion for hoops. So who else besides Mo have you been able to link up with so far?
SW: Man, a lot of people. I was cool with a lot of NBA guys before too. Like Gary Harris. Yeah, that was my boy from way back, when I was way younger, when I would pull up to Michigan State. I’d get to pull up to the practice. KD, that’s the homie, you know. LeBron. Kelly Oubre, Donovan Mitchell, JaVale McGee. Mad people, bro.
SLAM: You’ve got “Mo Bamba,” you’ve got “Kyrie.” What’s the next basketball song?
SW: I made a song about LeBron James, like way back, because I was like, “Why nobody ever make a song about LeBron?” You know? I was, like, 16. I got so many of these songs still tucked away.
SLAM: So there’s more to come?
SW: I don’t know, man. I just really wanted to really change the way people… I made a whole song about basketball. I feel like basketball and rap is about…
SLAM: Talk to ’em.
SW: I mean, I feel like that. When was basketball and rap [together]? Like, it’s been a minute, since Lil’ Bow Wow was out. You feel me?
Crossing the cultures of hip-hop and basketball. The NBA kind of helped with shaping what the athlete is and how an athlete should be, to the point where the influence is so big, the art influence is so big, we can cross cultures because music, sports, and fashion are the three biggest parts of entertainment and culture. And basketball is the most interesting sport. It’s up there with soccer now to me because it’s played everywhere. That’s why I love it so much and it can help calm me down sometimes, it can help turn me up.
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Welcome to the Life of Sheck Wes
Photo courtesy of Mountain Dew
