The Pacers newest signing, Alize Johnson, hasn’t been in the NBA for long. But that hasn’t stopped someone from making a song about him.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any crazier for newest Pacers player Alize Johnson, who has gone from being a 5’7″ high school point guard to being a 6’9″ drafted forward and signing his first NBA deal, it has.
Alize Johnson now has a hip-hop track named after him. Performed by Hott Zaaq, the rapper has titled the release, ‘Alize Johnson 2.0’ and focussed the track and its lyrics on the Pacers big-man’s rise to the NBA.
Johnson shared the track via Instagram where fellow rookies Landry Shamet and Lonnie Walker have already chimed in with their take on the track, produced by C Fre$hco, with Walker commenting, “This is cold 😅”.
Stating “Alize Johnson 2.0 > Mo Bamba”, Shamet commented in reference to the Shek Wes track, ‘Mo Bamba’ and was evidently more impressed with Zaaq’s efforts for the Pacers rookie. Shek Wes though has managed to amass over three million YouTube views for the Bamba track released back in January.
2.0, as it’s title suggests, is actually a follow up to 570JV‘s 2017 track, ‘Alize Johnson’, which featured Hott Zaaq. Not forgetting their roots, 570 is a reference to Johnson’s hometown, being the local area code for a number of areas of Pennsylvania including Williamsport where Johnson was born and raised.
The latest release also features a short interview with Johnson where he goes on to state that he’s held the NBA dream since third grade and sees adversity as something to just keep going through. The Pacers forward though surprised many at the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game after playing out two years for Missouri State, averaging a double-double in both years.
Next: Lance Stephenson and the balance of fandom vs success
Give it a listen, if nothing else you’ll at least learn the full and correct pronunciation of Alize.