Who needs Drake?
The Syracuse Orange men’s and women’s basketball teams will not be the only individuals in the spotlight come Friday’s Orange Madness event. Rap artist Jadakiss will be joining the festivities on October 21. It’s a none-too-often treat for Orange fans at the season-opening event. Wale was the last major performer to join Orange Madness, but that was all the way back in 2012.
Jadakiss is not just another performing visiting Syracuse, however. He’s actually a long-time SU hoops fan himself, making this a special visit for him this Friday. He briefly spoke with SLAM magazine about his fandom back in 2012:
SLAM: I saw you at the Big East Tournament reppin’ for Syracuse, how long have you been a fan of them?
Jadakiss: All my life. When I was a little kid I wanted to attend Syracuse. I played ball as a youth, played in high school, but once I realized I wasn’t going to make it I followed rap. That was always my NCAA basketball school of choice. I try to stay close with the players, they’re living out my dream being able to go there and play for Coach Boeheim.
He proceeded to talk about how he’s never switching from the Orange, with the exclamation “Syracuse until I die, baby!”
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Jadakiss is likely to grace the crowd with a few songs. And while we don’t know which ones, we’d like to take a guess at his five most appropriate songs for the occasion:
1. “What You So Mad At?” (2004’s “Kiss of Death”): Coming off last year’s apology tour, it’s the biggest question we may have still have for college basketball. So what better way to kick the season off?
2. “So High” (2015’s “Top 5 Dead or Alive”): A special nudge to the drug mentions in the NCAA’s report that resulted in sanctions. Moving on...
3. “Things I’ve Been Through” (2009’s “The Last Kiss”): This one’s for us, the Syracuse fans, of which Jadakiss is one. We don’t need to recount what we’ve been through. We all know we’ve been there.
4. “Put Ya Hands Up” (2001’s “Kiss Tha Game Goodbye”): Special request from Jim Boeheim after a potentially aggravating practice on the defensive side.
5. “Realest in the Game” (2015’s “Top 5 Dead or Alive”): Ode to Jim, who if nothing else, is as honest as they come. Realest in the game? Quite possibly.
