There's an old saying that all rappers want to be athletes and all athletes want to be rappers. More than a fair share have tried their hand at both but few are as impressive on the mic as they are on the court as Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard is.

Known as Dame DOLLA in the booth, the baller has racked up millions of plays on his SoundCloud and his latest track "Bigger Than Us" is Dame at most socially conscious. Spitting bars about race inequality, police brutality and other issues plaguing society, the hoops star preaches peace and love. It wasn't long ago when the NBA front office shied away from hip-hop completely but they clearly stand behind Dame's message as the video premiered during an NBA on TNT telecast on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Lillard takes rapping seriously and has already gotten more than a few major looks including appearing on Sway's SiriusXM show Sway in the Morning and performing live on stage at a Portland concert.

XXL caught up with Lillard and he talked to us about what inspired his upcoming album. "I wanted to put it out now because it’s stuff that I’ve already recorded so it’s stuff that I’m happy with," he said. "[It’s about] what I’ve experienced from my childhood ’til now so I think there’s a lot that’s worth sharing. I feel like my story, kind of my bottom to where I am now story is what I want to share, so that’s why I want to get it out there before the season."

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