LiAngelo Ball’s “Tweaker” Will Have You Bent and Swerving
The basketball player-turned-rapper’s new single is less embarrassing than you might expect.
I wonder what driving in a car with LiAngelo Ball must be like. Traveling anywhere with any member of the infamously shameless Ball family—which includes his two pro-ball-player brothers, Lonzo and LaMelo, and their livewire father, Lavar—is bound to be an adventure. But the way LiAngelo croons about it on the hook of his single “Tweaker,” released under the name G3, all I can picture is him screaming while doing donuts in a liquor-store parking lot. “I might swerve, bend that corner, whooooo-whoa!” the California rapper (and former NBA G Leaguer and Facebook reality show star) says in an accent that somehow channels Louisiana, Ohio, and Missouri. It’s the first inexplicable—and undeniable—meme-rap hit of the year.
That trans-regionality is what sticks out to me most. There are flourishes of Louisiana hip-hop stretching from the Big Tymers to Kevin Gates and Youngboy, but LiAngelo’s vocals also recall the frayed harmonies of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and the St. Lunatics. Listening to him rizz up tatted baddies, kick it with Memphis friends, and have jewelry drip-offs isn’t any more convincing here than it was when he and his older brother Lonzo dropped a whole mixtape together back in 2022, but it’s catchy as hell. And yet, his vocals and flow left me with so many other questions. Does LiAngelo have a favorite song from Free City or The Art of War: World War 2? Does he enjoy Kevin Gates’ “Changing Lanes” as much as I do? Oh to be a fly on the wall for this studio session…
I couldn’t tell you if any of the Balls have a future in music, but it seems like they’re making a concerted effort. A quick peek at the songwriting credits for “Tweaker” shows Lonzo’s name next to his brother’s, even though he doesn’t have a verse. And rappers like Boosie and Moneybagg Yo are already begging to hop on the remix. In the grand pantheon of basketball players-turned-rappers, LiAngelo isn’t touching Allen Iverson or Miles Bridges. But as far as nepo-baby rap music goes, “Tweaker” is a pretty wild ride.
