Derrick Rose is officially closing out his legendary career in the NBA, as he announced his retirement earlier this week. Throughout his 16-year journey, he has made a lasting impact not only on the court, but in the culture overall — and there are endless lyrics to memorialize his influence.
Fellow Chicago natives like Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco always showed love to the Bulls star, but even Philadelphia staples like Meek Mill and Lil Uzi Vert liked Rose so much that they both consistently referenced him in multiple releases. The “Windy City Assassin” is a known favorite amongst the Hip-Hop world, as he has been name-dropped in more than 1,000 songs, according to Genius.
Although the move is surely bittersweet for loyal Rose fans, the University of Memphis alum is at peace with his choice. “Knowing that I gave my all to the game, I feel confident in my decision,” he told ESPN. “Basketball was just the beginning for me. Now, it’s important that I give my all to my family — they deserve that.” Rose took to Instagram to announce his retirement with an emotional letter to his fans.
In honor of Derrick Rose’s long career and his newly announced retirement, VIBE compiled a list of rap lyrics that mention the 2009 Rookie Of The Year.
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“Want You Back” – Fabolous
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows Fabolous has always showed off his love for sports and chose to dedicate and entire half verse to Rose in his song “Want You Back.” He slides in basketball references, a double entendre with “bullsh*t” and the Chicago Bulls, and more.
“When you crossed me, you lost me, now if I was guardin’ Derrick Rose/ I would be more understandin’, but you ain’t Derrick Rose/ You was my number one, but, um, you ain’t Derrick Rose/ You tryna make a point again, you ain’t Derrick Rose/ You just on some bullshit, b**ch, you ain’t Derrick Rose,” he raps.
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“Derrick Rose” – Meek Mill
Image Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images Not only does Meek frequently mention Rose in his offerings, he even named an entire song after him to show his appreciation.
“I’m ballin on these n**gas like I’m Derrick Rose/ If they ain’t talking money, I don’t hear em though, if they ain’t talking p**sy, I don’t hear them h**s/ I’m a paper making, p**sy getting animal/ More money, more problems, so every check I get I’m buying more choppas,” the Philly spitter raps on “Derrick Rose” off of Dreamchasers.
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“Don’t Like” – Kanye West, Chief Keef, Big Sean, & Jadakiss
Image Credit: Cover art. Kanye West ended his iconic “Don’t Like” verse by shouting out a handful of Chicago legends, including L.E.P Bogus Boys, then-incarcerated rapper Bump J, Chief Keef, and Derrick Rose — who was on many people’s minds at the time because of his historic 2010-11 MVP season with the Bulls.
Ye spits, “Free Bump J, real n**ga for life (Ayy!)/ Shoutout to Derrick Rose, man, that n**ga nice/ Shoutout to L.E.P., Jay Boogie, right?/ Chief Keef, King Louie, this is Chi’, right? Right?!”
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“Furthest Thing” – Drake
Image Credit: Cover art. Drake cleverly drew a parallel between himself and Rose on his Nothing Was The Same intro. Around the same time, Drizzy took a year off from dropping the album to make sure it was perfect, much like how the NBA player missed the 2012 playoffs and entire 2012-2013 season to recover from his injury and ensure he was fully healed.
“A n**ga fillin’ up arenas, who the f**k could see us?/ I had to Derrick Rose the knee up before I got the re-up/ Yours truly, the boy, I just build and build more, y’all n**gas build to destroy,” the 6 God rapped.
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“N**gas In Paris” – JAY-Z & Kanye West
Image Credit: Youtube screenshot. Rose earned a moment in one of JAY-Z and Kanye’s biggest collaborations ever by being so synonymous with Chicago. On “N**gas In Paris” off of Watch The Throne, Hov bigs up Derrick and his own NBA venture by rapping, “(Ball so hard) B**ch, behave, just might let you meet Ye/ Chi-Town’s D. Rose, I’m moving the Nets, BK.”
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“Take Care” – Young Thug
Image Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET Young Thug knows a thing or two about success, and in his mind, if he has a player of Derrick Rose‘s caliber on his side, he’s winning.
“Trip on these h**s, make ’em panic/ I did ’em wrong and I meant it/ New Derrick Rose and I’m winnin’/ About these f**kboys, I’m relentless,” Thugger raps on “Take Care” from Beautiful Thugger Girls.
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“Put Em Up” – Lupe Fiasco
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images The Chicago alliance has always been great between Lupe Fiasco and Derrick Rose, as the former has previously said the latter is the best player in the league. It’s only right the emcee shows love to one of his favorite players.
“Put them up like a robbery, a Derrick Rose lob to me/ And watch and see I alley-oop it properly/ Football or volley-b, hock-el-y, or sock-el-y,” Lupe raps on “Put Em Up.”
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“Gangway” – G Herbo
Before G Herbo’s rap career blew up, he was grinding and releasing Chicago-centered tracks for his day one audience. Rose has been that guy for a long time, as he’s mentioned in one of Herbo’s early tracks “Gangway” for his specialty: jump shots.
He spits, “Team full of solvers and problems come with a shirt/ I from the side where they found Derrick Rose (Chi-Town)/ He made a name off jump shots, we was out there shootin’ poles (Bow)/ Hustle hard stackin’ 0s, we was tryna get the dough.”
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“Enemies” – Lil Uzi Vert
Image Credit: Cover art. Lil Uzi has name-checked Rose more than once, but in “Enemies,” he did a cheeky move by pairing the Knicks player with someone else who shares the same name, Amber Rose.
“You can not get this sh*t right here in the store/ I’mma ball like I am old Derrick Rose/ I be ballin’ like I am Amber Rose.”
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“Cold Hearted II” – Meek Mill
In one of his many Rose-referencing tracks, on this one, Meek Mill made sure to give props to the basketball player for his outstanding performances. On “Cold Hearted II” off of Championships, Meek references Rose’s incredible 50-point games.
“I was like, ‘And damn, I was feedin’ you, bro’/ All I did was keep grindin’/ Through the storm, n**ga, I’m like Derrick Rose on a 50-point night on a daily basis, n**ga/ For the love of the millions, royalty over loyalty, never get it confused.”
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“Rage” – Vic Mensa
Vic Mensa, another Chicago native, put a creative twist to his mention as he used Derrick’s last name to explain how he “rose from the trenches.”
“To technology, the problems we face, it’s so conflicted/ To take the burning road and just roll with the punches/ N**gas thought I was gone, I Derrick Rose from the trenches/ Same fences we jumped as a shorty still in the way,” he said on his emotional offering, “Rage.”
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“5.0 | Conversations” – Dom Kennedy
Image Credit: Cover art. When Dom Kennedy is feeling himself, he compares himself to Derrick Rose due to his confidence and trendsetting ways. On “5.0 | Conversations,” the California rapper spits, “I get my grind on, in different time zones/ Man, counting all this money got my mind gone/ I feel like Derrick Rose, in the rarest clothes, $400 for the jeans, I bought two pair of those, Y’all be sharing h**s, we comparing h**s.”
