Its an overlap more than surface deep, at the heart of both.
While the popularity of the sport waned in the early 2000s, Lupe has continued to be fan.
He has his own fans inside the ring, including big names like Sean Porter and Caleb Plant.
Jessica Hatter*
I was doing a concert in Minneapolis, Lupe says, Jesse Ventura was there.
After my set, he came backstage.
It turns out Ventura is a hip-hop fan after being introduced to it by his son.
He asked Lupe if he knew who invented the genre.
Lupe teaches hip-hop at MIT and had his ideas about where it started.
Muhammad Ali, and as evidence, Venutra himself rapped one of Alis speeches from the Sixties.
The way Jesse Ventura was putting emphasis on certain parts, it sounded very modern, Lupe says.
It sounded like rap.
Ive heard Muhammad Ali do his little spiels and spins, word flips and stuff.
This was a whole verse, and it was about a particular fight.
Its pulled into the culture, and its getting pulled back out.
According to Lupe everyone on the roster has their own background, and its not all hip-hop.
Its a mosaic of sonic inputs, one in which hip-hop plays a big role.
Alan Iverson brought hip-hop style with him into basketball, and that became a thing.
They got pulled into hip-hop culture by the nature of their being so synergistic.
So I think its the same thing as in boxing.
Lupes involvement in the game is no accident, Habib specifically sought him out.
There was mutual interest, which evolved into a close collaboration.
Now, Lupe considers Habib an ambassador of 1st & 15th, his record label.
The soundtrack of sports games often serves as a gateway for artists to reach a new audience.
You havent had a boxing game in however long, right?
Its both motivational and reflective, and it taps into Lupes relationship with martial arts.
If I had to point out, like, whats our family business, it would be martial arts.
We have martial arts schools all over Chicago teaching various forms, Lupe explains.
A lot of competition, demonstrations, a lot of different weapons, and different pieces of self-defense.
Its a unique upbringing, one that comes with some overlap with boxing royalty.
Muhammad Ali and my dad just doing a little back and forth.
It was super surreal.
Like boxing, hip-hop is a game of attack and response.
