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Cities slated to host the performance include Oakland, California, Brooklyn, New York, Portland, Oregon, St. Retrieved 12 April 2016 – via Twitter.Utilizing breakdancing, DJing, and a hip hop violinist, The Hip Hop Nutcracker is “a re-mixed and re-imagined version of the classic, smashing hip hop dance and Tchaikovsky’s timeless music together into a heart-stirring and inspirational holiday event,” as stated on its official website.Ĭurrently, in its seventh season, The Hip Hop Nutcracker is scheduled to hit 34 venues this holiday season, all the way up to Jan. "We used Basketball by And then hired him to do a new version all about D&D" (Tweet). Jermaine Dupri, Fabolous and Fundisha – Basketball". Jermaine Dupri, Fabolous and Fundisha – Basketball" (in German).
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The video game NBA 2K12 used the song during the introduction. I would do a live performance right after the game to fill the arena." Blow said, "When the song was peaking, the NBA started flying me around to do shows. Nevertheless, the NBA later took an interest in Blow's song and played it at games, as well as creating its own video that featured clips of every player mentioned in the song. Although Blow had wanted the video to include footage of the players mentioned in the song, the National Basketball Association would only provide clearance for use of still photos of Micheal Ray Richardson (who is not mentioned in the lyrics). The video included cameos by rappers The Fat Boys and Whodini.
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The music video for the song was directed by Michael Oblowitz, who had a $25,000 budget. The song's hook was sung by Alyson Williams, who later had hit songs of her own on the R&B chart. Blow said in 2013, "We wanted the guys we grew up watching who were all out of the league by the time the song came out, and the best of that time." The lyrics consist of rhymed couplets, a structure which has been described as "typical of early-1980s rap". Waring was primarily responsible for choosing which players would be mentioned in the song, but Blow specified that his favorite player, Julius "Dr. 1 sport for African-Americans and nobody has done it yet." Twenty-five famous basketball players are mentioned during the recording. According to Blow, the idea for the song came from his then-girlfriend (whom he later married), who told him, "You need to make a song about basketball, it's the No.
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