Associated Press
[Source: AP]
When rapper-actor Common was a kid, he carried towels and sneakers as a Chicago Bulls ball boy who was close enough to hear the squeak of shoes and the roar inside the arena.
Decades later, Common is helping set a different kind of tone for basketball: He has teamed up with his longtime collaborators to compose “Victory” as the official theme for NBA on Prime, the streaming platform announced Thursday. He worked with Karriem Riggins and James Poyser on the song, which will be a part of Amazon’s first exclusive season of NBA coverage.
Common said he drew some inspiration for the song by watching basketball.
“Basketball has a soul to it,” said Common, a three-time Grammy winner, who has also won an Emmy and Oscar. “It’s nostalgic but forward. The rhythm, the harmony, the movement, the teamwork, the star player. We wanted to capture all that in sound.”
After learning Amazon wanted him as a composer, Common said one of his first calls was to his mother to share the news. It was a moment he described as a perfect partnership from the start.
“You never know where God is going to lead you,” Common said. “You just got to stay open and be true to your craft, because now I feel like I’m part of the NBA in the way I’m supposed to be.”
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