Former basketball star LiAngelo Ball has garnered much success to start ‘25 with the release of his new single ‘Tweaker’ which has landed him a multi-million dollar record deal and a spot at a big music festival. As the song’s popularity grew on TikTok, OH student body opinions were gathered from those who have listened.
“The beat… I feel that it captures the Y2K feeling even though I kind of don’t like what they do nowadays with that type of stuff,” said OH senior Yari Taylor.
There have been mixed opinions about it, but the song is reminiscent of the early 2000s hip-hop sound with a charismatic, catchy chorus and a southern-inspired beat.
“The song gives an old school feeling and to the younger people it was something they never really heard,” said OH parent Chris Ross.
For listeners of that era, it was very refreshing to hear this type of music again and let the younger generation get more familiar with it as well.
“I rate the song a 6.9 out of 10. it’s not really my style but not the worst,” said Ross.
“I honestly didn’t like the song but it was fun to sing and the more I heard it, the more I started to like it. Even though I don’t really like the song, I like the different flow,” said OH senior Mari Smith.
The contagious chorus has many people unable to stop singing or humming the song even out of the blue.
“Honestly, it’s kind of catchy in a way that sneaks up on you. At first, you’re thinking, ‘Really? This is the song everyone’s hyped about?’ But then you catch yourself humming it later. So yeah, I’ll give him credit—he made something that sticks, even if I didn’t expect it to,” said OH junior Andrew Shaw.
According to Billboard, after just one week on the charts, Ball’s new song is number six on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, and number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 as of writing this article.
“I feel like Rolling Loud kind of noticed that, you know? …In a way, they seek out for more than just talent. It was more about versatility,” said Taylor.
LiAngelo Ball has received great opportunities from the song trending up on the charts and he landed a spot on the lineup of Rolling Loud California, the world’s largest Hip-Hop festival.
“He has a passion for it… It also takes more than talent, it takes dedication,” said Taylor.
Ball has also recently signed a giant record deal with Def Jam worth up to $13 million, with an $8 million guarantee.
“He’s in the Ball family [who are] pretty famous for basketball and all that,” said Sauber.
Before Ball would sign big- time recording contracts, he was signing contracts to play professional basketball along with his brothers Lonzo and Lamelo Ball who are current NBA stars. Many NBA players said the song was on in every locker room, as well as many NFL players.
“Honestly, it’s probably a mix of the hype around LiAngelo himself and the song being just catchy enough to get stuck in your head. People love a good underdog story, and seeing someone go from basketball to music is surprising enough to get attention,” said Shaw.
For LiAngelo, rapping began as a hobby of his and when basketball wasn’t working how he expected it to, he put more energy into music.
“I mean, there’s a pretty good start, so if he keeps putting work into it… I think he could have a pretty decent shot at being something in the music category,” said Sauber.
Some OH students are in favor of Ball having a serious music career, but others think he’s a one- hit wonder.
“This whole thing feels more like a lucky fluke than the start of some serious music career,” said Shaw. “Just because one song goes viral doesn’t mean he’s the next big thing.”
He started doing podcasts and live streams with many people to help promote his music. Now Ball has found himself a candidate to be a rising star in the rap game.
Hi, it's my first year on the 42Fifty staff. I am a senior at Oswego High School and I play football for the Oswego Panthers. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
