Former high school basketball standout and Facebook reality show star LiAngelo Ball is not the first musician that I expected to write about in 2025.
LiAngelo, the older brother of Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball and younger brother of Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, earned the coverage though.
While he had a great high school tenure his collegiate basketball career did not work out at UCLA. He had a few legitimate attempts with the Hornets in training camp and the G League, a brief look from the Pistons, and some flirtatious overtures from the Lakers.
But his basketball career never took off in the NBA, either. Fast forward a few years, though, and LiAngelo has made some waves in a different way. (Caution: The following song contains lyrics that might not be safe for work. It might also get you bopping your head, though.)
Now a musician who wraps under the name G3, his latest track “Tweaker” is legitimately good.
Already played in NBA locker rooms (including the Bulls and Cavs) as well as NFL locker rooms (including the Lions), this song has garnered more than 2.7 million listens on YouTube since it debuted on WorldStarHipHop.
It is the number one trending song on YouTube music (ahead of artists such as Tyler, The Creator as well as Lil Baby, Bad Bunny, and Drake).
There is a deeply nostalgic feeling to this track that is reminding many listeners of what hip-hop sounded like in the early 2000s, which is one of the reasons it is such an immediate hit.
The only appropriate way to listen to LiAngelo Ball’s new track pic.twitter.com/aR7J1AXD8P
— Michael Walchalk (@MichaelWalchalk) January 3, 2025
That liangelo ball snippet impresses me every time how do you make a song that sounds so authentically 2006
— THERAVADA (@THERAVADA) January 4, 2025
LiAngelo Ball bringing back the Bling Bling era of hip hop by himself and he will be remembered
— Sport (@BeenRichSport) January 5, 2025
New LiAngelo Ball got me feeling like: pic.twitter.com/KtYZxTdc6W
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 3, 2025
This new Liangelo Ball track woulda been ELITE Madden music back in the day pic.twitter.com/QNiSAc8fTE
— BLACK SABRE JR. (@ppolk72) January 2, 2025
