- LiAngelo Ball's Song 'Tweaker' Is a Hugely Popular Rap Hit
LiAngelo Ball's new song 'Tweaker' has become a viral sensation, and now the former UCLA and G-League basketball player has landed a massive new record deal.
According ESPN's Shams CharaniaBall has signed a deal with Def Jam and Universal Music Group for a guaranteed $8 million, and the deal could rise to $13 million.
Additionally, Ball will have his own label, Born2Ball Music Group, and will own all of his music.
Ball's new song, released under the name G3 Gelo, has amassed more than 15 million listens on Spotify since it was released on the music streaming platform on January 3.
And the track is also proving to be a big hit with NBA players, as its brother Lonzo was seen dancing with the song the Bulls locker room. His younger brother LaMelo and his Hornets teammates also had the task of completing the letter of the song's chorus during a Hornets social team video.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were also seen playing the song in his locker room right after it came out.
LiAngelo Ball is seen warming up for the G League's Greensboro Swarm in 2022
Donald Trump took credit for Ball and his companions being released from a Chinese prison
Ball is seen speaking to the media after being arrested for shoplifting in China while at UCLA.
Ball's status as a successful rapper comes eight years after he and two UCLA teammates were detained (and briefly jailed) in China on suspicion of robbery before a game there.
Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were released the next day and Donald Trump, then in his first term as US president, took credit for freeing the trio.
“It wasn't the White House, it wasn't the State Department, it wasn't Father LaVar's so-called people in China that got his son out of a long prison sentence: IT WAS ME,” Trump tweeted.
The arrest of the players came a day before Trump arrived in China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the US president told reporters that the pair had a “great conversation.”
Ball's father, LaVar, told the 'today's program at that time there was no reason to thank Trump.
“I don't say thank you just because someone said they did something,” LaVar said. 'And if they did, really, do you really need to come up to me and say, 'Boy, you better thank me?'
LiAngelo and his teammates were then suspended from UCLA, leading to a nomadic basketball journey that began when LaVar cut his middle son from the team.
Along with his younger brother LaMelo, he played in Lithuania and in the JBA league founded by LaVar Ball, before playing in the NBA G-League and in Mexico.
Ball also had stints with the NBA's Pistons and Hornets, but never appeared in a regular-season game (he played for the latter in the 2022 preseason).
Now, however, LiAngelo seems to have found his calling in music.