Basketball stars become hip-hop singers． It's true． In NBA, hip—hop music is very popular． Many of the players, like Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, write rap (说唱) words when they travel on planes from one city to another． Some of them even have rap radio shows and others perform (表演) in music video．
When some of the younger stars play basketball, they even try to look like hip—hop singers．
"Hip—hop is just part of their culture," says one player． "All of us grew up listening to rap and playing basketball, and rappers grew up doing the same thing．"
Master P． is a famous rap star who wants to become a basketball player． Two NBA teams have invited him to join them． They enjoy listening to his music． An NBA player has become a rapper． He has made four successful rap albums (专集)．
NBA has a closer connection to hip—hop than any other sports league．
