With a stop in the Bay Area to wrap up preseason, perhaps there's no better time and place for Damian Lillard to drop his full-length hip-hop debut under the moniker Dame D.O.L.L.A. Titled 'The Letter O' for Lillard's homes of Oakland, Ogden, Utah (where he attended Weber State) and Oregon, features guest appearances from heavyweights Lil Wayne, Marsha Ambrosius, Jamie Foxx, Juvenile, Adrian Marcel and Raphael Saadiq.
The announcement came along with a longform feature and music video on Bleacher Report. Written by B/R's Bonsu Thompson, the piece looks at Lillard's rise from Oakland to mid-major college hoops to eventual lottery pick, Rookie of the Year, All-Star and franchise player in Rip City. But it's Lillard passion and talent off the court that will set him apart from other players who have flirted with the music industry in the past, writes Thompson:
The coverage of Lillard's announcement wasn't limited to Bleacher Report and social media, however. At Genius.com, an online archive of lyrics and "crowdsourced musical knowledge," Lillard debuted the lyrics to the Ogden-inspired "Wasatch Front." Billboard also took notice of the point guard's dive into hip-hop.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Lillard's release here on Trailblazers.com.