Drake Is Kevin Durant’s Favorite Rapper

In a new interview with Genius, NBA superstar Kevin Durant shows love for some of the game's top MCs by reacting to various rap records that shout him out. The former MVP, recently acquired by the Golden State Warriors, also names Drake as his favorite artist.

It ain't nothin' new: rappers have always wanted to be ballplayers, and ballplayers have always wanted to be rappers. The crossover between music and sports is especially evident in hip-hop lyrics, with MCs shouting out their favorite athletes (especially hoopers) in their verses.

That's why it's no surprise that rappers constantly give props to KD: he's a 6-foot-11 scoring machine, with the ability to pull up from anywhere and drive to the basket with ease.

Rob Markman of Genius conducts the interview and recites lyrics from artists including Drake, Jay Z and J. Cole. Recently, Drizzy dropped a bar about KD on "Weston Road Flows," which goes, "A lot of people just hit me up when my name is mentioned / Shout out to KD we relate we get the same attention / It's rainin' money, Oklahoma City Thunder / The most successful rapper 35 and under."

Durant reacts to that specific lyric by saying, "[Drake] is my favorite rapper. When you get a shout out in a song, you look around and see if anyone else heard it. You feel, 'somebody recognized me.'"

KD continues, "Me and a lot of other people were wondering if Drake was coming back with some new music. When I have a game, he texts me or Snapchats me and we talk about stuff. I’m sure when he got in the booth, he was feeling it a little bit and put it in there. It went together nice. I guess he just wanted me to hear it as I was going through the album. Once I heard it, I was like, 'That was dope.'"

The youngest NBA scoring champ ever also touched on the Drake/Meek Mill beef. Durant tells Genius, "So going through that stuff with [Drake] and Meek Mill, it was entertainment for me because I'm such a huge rap fan. They both came with it."

You can view the entire video clip above via YouTube. It contains other interesting quotes from the Warrior's new starting small forward, who shook up the sports world on July 4 with his decision to join Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

In other Durant-related news, check out the newest colorways for his KD9 sneakers. Keep it locked to XXL for more news about both KD and Drizzy.

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