Tony Khan’s battle rap partner samples Nakamura’s WWE theme in new song
The rap and wrestling revolution continues.
A couple years ago, AEW used the controversy around a few bars of one of Platinum Max Caster’s entrance rhymes to bring in popular hip-hop artist Lil Uzi Vert for an untelevised angle at their Grand Slam show in Queens.
The then-heel Acclaimed didn’t like Tony Khan’s criticism of Caster’s rap, and challenged him to a battle. Khan brought Uzi out as his second. They let TK handle to the rapping, but we found out that the “XO Tour Llif3” rapper was down for a wrestling collabo.
With the release of their long-awaited album Pink Tape, Uzi’s solidified their wrestling cred. That’s because among its 20+ tracks is one called “Nakamura”, which is built around samples of Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE entrance theme, “The Rising Sun”.
“Nakamura” isn’t filled with wrestling references like some of Westside Gunn’s work (and hopefully Uzi & team worked out the clearances with Stamford in advance to avoid some of the issues the Griselda impresario’s had to deal with in the past). But they do call themself “the king of the ring” in one verse. Later, Uzi namedrops Shin himself, saying they “feel like Nakamura jumpin’ off the top”.
Aside from the samples, your opinion of “Nakamura” will probably depend on your tastes in hip-hop. If you’re an old head like me, it’s not gonna get as many plays as Gunn’s The Fourth Rope. But if you’re you’re a younger fan, or just more open to how the genre’s evolved, “Nakamura” might stay on your playlists.
Either way, it’s nice little shout out to our beloved pastime from a very popular artist.
Source: Cageside Seats
