More Than Words: 4 Rappers With A Pretty Solid Sports Background

More Than Words: 4 Rappers with a Pretty Solid Sports Background

In rap, a lot depends on pacing – and so does in sports. This might be one of the several
reasons there are so many rappers out there with a solid sports background. Rhythm and poetry
(this is what rap actually means) is a term that can be applied to sports, too, making it possible
for 50 Cent and other musicians who are also good athletes to perform well in both areas. If you
wonder who, check out our list below.

Tauheed Epps

Tauheed Epps attended North Clayton High School where he played basketball. He graduated
second in his class and later went on to Alabama State University, on a sports scholarship,
where he continued to shoot hoops. During his season at Alabama State, he played in 24 of the
team’s 29 games, and he was a good player, according to his high school coach.
Tauheed Epps turned into Tity Boi first, starting his musical career under this moniker, that he
later changed to 2 Chainz.

Olubowale Victor Akintimehin

Olubowale Victor Akintimehin attended Robert Morris University and Virginia State University on
football scholarships, then transferred to Bowie State University. Ultimately, he dropped out of
school due to “academic reasons” – but he retained his love for football throughout his career. In
the mid-2000s, he recorded his first song called “Rhyme of the Century” that was followed by a
record deal and started his road to fame under the moniker Wale.

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, never officially
competed in any sports but this doesn’t make him any less athletic. Actually, he is trained in
several martial arts. In an interview, he revealed that he has “a black belt in karate, two black
belts in styles of a samurai sword, kendo, and aikido, and the equivalent of a black belt in
Chinese woo-shoo”.

Horst Christian Simco

Horst Christian Simco was the second of four children in his family. During his childhood in
Copperfield, a suburb 25 miles from Houston, he was obsessed with basketball. Later, he
became a shooting guard at the Langham Creek High School’s basketball team, and later he
played at Hibbing Community College in Hibbing, Minnesota, but only for a month before
dropping out in 2003.

He started rapping in 2005, rapping over other artists’ beats and handing out his CDs at various
malls in Houston. He also made the most of social media, releasing songs, freestyle videos, and

sketch clips on MySpace, YouTube, and WorldStarHipHop. Ultimately, he became well-known
under the moniker RiFF RAFF.