dame dolla

Casey Holdahl

Playing in front of capacity crowds at arenas all across country is old hat for Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. But his next performance will be in front of a different kind of crowd, at a different type of venue and in a completely different trade.

Lillard announced today on his Twitter account that he would be holding his first full-scale concert under his nom de rap Dame D.O.L.L.A on July 15th, which happens to be his 26th birthday, at the Crystal Ballroom in downtown Portland. The show is the latest sign of Lillard's evolution as an artist, which started in earnest with his Four Bar Friday project, which grew into a regular Music Monday feature, then a music video that aired on national television and now a show in front of a live audience.

The 6-3 point guard/rapper has performed in front of small crowds before, most recently during an Adidas-sponsored trip to Manila, but has never held a real show with advanced ticketing at a legitimate venue. Lillard will be joined onstage by his cousin Brookfield Deuce, who has been featured on a number of Dame D.O.L.L.A tracks, with DJ OG One handling duties on the ones and twos, as the kids say. Lillard is also giving some stage time to local pastor Duoshun Pledgegure, who raps under the name Rose Ciddy and is a frequent participant in Lillard's Four Bar Friday series. And who knows, perhaps one or two of his teammates decide to test their rap skills under the bright lights.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day of the show and can be purchased at the Crystal Ballroom's website. There are only 1,500 tickets available, so if you want to go, you'd be wise to purchase asap.   

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Lillard, aka Dame D.O.L.L.A, To Play Crystal Ballroom July 15

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard is currently barnstorming through Asia as a part of the adidas "Take On Summer" tour. He's meeting fans, instructing young players, working on his dance moves and generally having a good time in one of the most basketball-obsessed places in the world.

A few select four bars from Lillard's latest offering...

Good stuff. "Shook Ones" is just the latest of Lillard's growing number of tracks, which include Soldier In The Game, Full Stomach, Why?, Free Bands, The Villains and last week's Isley. All of these tracks and more can be found on Lillard's Soundcloud page.

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Lillard's 'Music Monday' Goes Freestyle With New 'Shook Ones' Track

That sounds about right. Previous "Music Monday" releases from last year include “Soldier In The Game,” “Full Stomach,” “Why?” “Free Bands” and “The Villains.” Then there's non-Music Monday releases such as "I Wish I Could Tell You," "Heatwave," and "They Sleep," which, like "Talk To Em" was produced by Jahlil Beats, who also produced, among other things, the Rick Ross/Meek Mill hit "Ima Boss" and that Bobby Shmurda song whose name I can't put on this blog. And of course, there's "Bigger Than Us," the video for which currently has roughly 750,000 views on YouTube.

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Lillard's 'Music Monday' Is Back With New 'Talk To Em' Track

Neither Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard nor Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love were selected to participate in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game taking place Sunday night in Toronto. But instead of spending their time sulking, the point guard who plays in Portland and the power forward who grew up just down the road in Lake Oswego, aka The Brothers Hooper, hit the studio to collaborate on the new "Droppin' Dimes" track for State Farm...

It's not nearly as serious as Lillard's "Bigger Than Us" video, but every discography needs some good party tracks.

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VIDEO: Baby Dame DOLLA, Kevin Love Collaborate On New 'Droppin' Dimes' Track

Even though the Trail Blazers are not a part of the NBA's Christmas Day schedule, there's no shortage of ways to invite Damian Lillard into your home for the holiday.

Along with being featured in the new "Meet The Hoopers" ad for State Farm, Portland's industrious point guard, aka Dame DOLLA, has a new track, "Bigger Than Us," featured in a new "Listen In Color" ad for JBL Audio featuring Golden State point guard and reigning MVP Stephen Curry.

This might be the first time one athlete has provided the soundtrack for a commercial featuring another athlete. But "Bigger Than US" isn't just a jingle, as the track, which features Paul Rey, is Lillard's first completely original song. Though he's posted a number of tracks on his Soundcloud account, "Bigger Than Us" is the first time he didn't use the beat or hook from another song as a jumpoff, which is why it's the first Dame DOLLA track you can purchase on itunes. He's also posted a clip of the song on his Soundcloud page, which you can listen to below...

But wait, there's more! "Bigger Than Us" will also be Lillard's first music video, which is set to release on January 18. You can sign up to get notified as soon as the video goes live over at the JBL site.

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New Dame DOLLA Track 'Bigger Than Us' Featured On JBL Ad With Stephen Curry

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The worlds of music and sports, especially hip-hop and basketball, often collide in the pop culture landscape. Despite the common ground music and sports often share, it's rare for a music publication such as Billboard to reach out for an athlete's take on their preferences and guilty pleasures. But since he's earned praise from hip hop heavyweights from Ice Cube to Sway to Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest for his rapping talent, Billboard recently talked with Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard about the hip-hop scene and his influences growing up. 

In the interview with Billboard.com's Natalie Weiner, Lillard talks about his favorite rappers growing up, his pre- and post-game playlists and his own rap ambitions. Most wonder how Lillard juggles rapping with his busy basketball schedule. On that topic, the two-time All-Star point guard said this: 

SPOILER ALERT - Lillard also shares in the interview a common bond with his backcourt mate CJ McCollum, aside from their high scoring output: both are big fans of Taylor Swift's album 1989. 

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Lillard Shares Influences, Guilty Pleasure with Billboard

After taking a week off from releasing new music, Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (aka Dame DOLLA) dropped a new track on Monday in anticipation for his first EP that will be released later this month. For his latest effort "Heat Wave," Lillard raps over a sample of Martha Reeves and the Vandella's 1963 classic of the same name and recruits fellow Oakland native Tree Thomas for some bars. 

Similar to Lillard's past songs, "Heat Wave" visits the two-time All-Star's roots in Oakland and his path to superstardom in Rip City. A sample of the lyrics: 

Lillard also announced that his EP will be released on September 21, and the plan is to have the project available to fans via multiple streaming services. 

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Dame DOLLA Drops New Track, Announces EP Release Date

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