Attending a basketball game at KO is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The atmosphere is intense as the crowd’s roars anticipate the superstar players running onto the court with a burst of energy and unmatched confidence. Yet, there’s something that makes the KO basketball-viewing experience different.
As the players storm the court, the expected sounds of bouncing basketballs and squeaky shoes are absent, buried under the sound of the near-deafening warm-up playlist over Hewett Gym’s loudspeakers. Being an obligatory home game audience member by now, I’ve attended dozens of basketball games over my years at KO, and this music truly defines the team. The blend of hip-hop beats and empowering syllabic lyrics establishes a strong symbiotic relationship between motivated players and lively audience members.
Now, as a column dedicated to music reviews within the KO community, I am both invigorated by the idea of reviewing the basketball team’s warm-up playlist and surprised that I hadn’t come up with said idea sooner. If you’re new to The Record Room, it’s my independent music review column that I publish monthly, each issue adopting a focus on an individual, group, or, now, team inside KO’s community.
This article, in particular, is somewhat uncharted territory for me, as I have never before felt this immense pressure to appease quite an influential team and its large population of fans. However, Mr. Levine’s AP Political Science class has taught me that free speech in publications is, indeed, protected by federal law, so I’ll press on with the playlist review.
The playlist, very aptly titled “ko playlist,” was surprisingly difficult to obtain, requiring extreme patience and constant nagging of my trusted source, senior player Nathan Raap. This holy-grail link led me to the 37-minute-long playlist consisting of just 13 songs, featuring artists like Gunna and Lil Uzi Vert, with a heavy inclusion of Lil Baby titles in the mix.
According to inside sources, the team starts every game with Lil Baby’s “Life Goes On” featuring Gunna and Lil Uzi Vert, followed by a shuffled mix of the rest of the playlist. If you’re wondering how they manage to do that before a game, don’t ask me because I have no idea. Do they shuffle the entire playlist over and over until they happen to get “Life Goes On” to kick it off? Is there a complex method that I am not privy to of queuing the first song and shuffling the remainder? Again, I clearly have no idea.
Regardless of that mystery, “Life Goes On” is, to me, an effective hype song. While the lyrics are more centered on adultery and lavish living, the words within the song don’t really matter in situations like these; instead, it’s the instrumentals. The song features layered arpeggios composed of synths and heavy basslines that establish a powerful tone for the backdrop of the rappers’ precise flow. In all, the song does a good job of setting up a spirit of dominance and excitement among teammates and crowd members alike.
While I am not able to dissect every single song on the playlist in this article, I will be selecting just a few more at random to dive into briefly.
The first of my randomly-selected titles is yet another Lil Baby song (don’t worry, this isn’t the last of them), this one titled “Heyy.” The track features Lil Baby’s signature style of fast-paced lyrical delivery concerning topics within the range of relationship status, wealth, and physical possessions. While the lyrics to “Heyy” begin with a tragic story of Lil Baby’s “favorite [person]” cutting him off for supposedly no reason, they evolve into what one can (maybe) consider an anthem of empowerment, as Lil Baby discusses a new focus on monetary profit, being a leader, and making his way to the top from a place of misfortune. Besides the lyrics, “Heyy” features more of Lil Baby’s typical musical style, including syncopated drum beats and a subtle minor piano track buried beneath them. Overall, where this song shines is in its chorus, and though it takes a while to get there, it certainly pays off to be yet another stimulating track on the playlist.
The next song that made an appearance in my shuffle was my personal favorite and one that I’ve recognized season after season, the song being Lil Baby’s “All In.” “All In” is, to me, one of Lil Baby’s more impressive works, as it really leans into unconventional instrumentals and establishes the effectiveness of Lil Baby’s rap style and cadence. The song begins with a proper intro consisting of a solid piano melody and a producer tag, followed by a series of trap-based percussions and Lil Baby’s meticulous on-beat delivery of lyrics. Giving your best performance, living with no regrets, and respecting others are all prominent themes of the song’s first verse alone, accompanied by direct references to basketball through mentions of floor seats and layups. All of this to say, this song is very fitting for the circumstances.
However, what I like most about “All In” isn’t the lyrics and it isn’t the verses; it’s the chorus. The chorus of “All In” makes itself quite known through the transition from Lil Baby’s fast-paced triplet pattern to sustained single-syllable chunks of words to slow the song down. As said, this draws more attention to the chorus, but it also makes the song a well-rounded one through its varied styles and cadences. Conclusively, I would have to say that “All In” is my favorite song off the playlist, though they all do a proper job of setting the tone right before a tense game.
So, we’ve established that I like the playlist, and the word on the street is that the student section does too. But what about the players themselves? Aforementioned “trusted source” Nate chimed in to give his opinion. “I feel like the songs help us get hyped up for the game,” he said. “They’re sort of the building block–a good start. If we really want to get in the right headspace, we have to make our own energy as a team and work to get each other ready for the game.” Senior player Jacob Joseph agreed, commenting that the playlist gets the team excited. “Most of [the players] know some of the lyrics,” he said, “and the songs are upbeat and energetic.”
In conclusion, it’s clear to see that KO’s boys basketball team has done well in curating a playlist that not only gives them motivation and energy to play but one that also piques the interest of the crowd and prepares them for an exciting display of skill. With that, I hope you have enjoyed this month’s issue of The Record Room, and, as always, reach out if you have any suggestions for next month. Thank you for reading!
