If you are familiar with the infamous rapper E-40, then you are probably familiar with his smash hit, “Choice (Yup)” Warriors Edition. In his piece of true American art, Earl Stevens, also known as successful rapper E-40, sings about his love and devotion for The Golden State Warriors. Earl released this single the summer of 2015, when the team won the NBA Championships. Earl began his love for the Dubs during his youth, where he grew up in Vallejo, California, a mere 30 min from the team’s home court. Due to his close proximity and devotion to the Golden State Warriors, Earl remixed one of his songs for the team.
In his song, Earl describes all of the things that the Golden State Warriors can and cannot do, labeling theses successes or failures with a loud “nope” or “yup” at the end of the verse. Some might think that this rap is elementary at best and holds no true value as a musical piece. But Earl spent an enormous amount of time and effort on this version, making sure the world knew the true skill and glory of Dub Nation while preserving the quality of the song.
He first asks, “did it happened in one day?” then answers himself with a simple “nope.” And he is correct. Earl released his song during the summer of 2015; right after the Warriors won the NBA Championships. The first time the team had done so since 1975. So no it did not happen in one day, it actually took about 14,600 days.
During the song he also calls out some of the most well-known and skillful players on the team. He asks “Steph Curry with the shot?” and respectfully answers himself “yup,” and according to his field goal percentage statistics, 52.9% of the time that is true. Curry is also the season’s points leader, averaging 32.2 points per game, 3.2 points above the runner up, James Harden.
Another star player that Earl commemorates is Klay Thompson, a member of an elite duo including him and Curry, dubbed “The Splash Brothers.” In his verse, the rapper asks, “Under pressure, is he chokin?” followed by “nope.” Klay Thompson is the third most played member of the team, averaging 31.6 minutes each game. Even under the pressure of playing over half the game, Thompson is still able to deliver and assist his team to victory.
Andre Iguodala, the reining NBA Finals MVP, was also lucky enough to be mentioned by the esteemed rapper. Earl asks the world, “hustle like Iguodala?” and answers himself “yup.” However, most of the world should answer no to that question, because when put to the test, they wouldn’t be able to hustle as well as he can. Iguodala manages to steal the ball an average of 1.5 times a game, the second-most on the team. The player also has an assisting average of 3.7, which is the third highest on the team.
Towards the end of his masterpiece, Earl mentions a key component of Dub Nation and a vital contributor to their success, the Oracle Arena. The arena, situated in Oakland, California, holds almost 20,000 fans and has sold out 123 consecutive times since 2013. The Golden State Warriors are considered to have one of the best home court advantages throughout the NBA. When the team won the first game of the 2015 NBA Championships, an expert audiologist compared the Oracle’s decibel level to listening to a chainsaw or the engine of a jet plane. Dub Nation’s cheering reaches volumes that could result in hearing impairment, and caused the arena to be nicknamed “Roaracle.”
At the end of the day, hailing from the greatest area in the world with a NBA Championship under their belt, a league record of 24-0*, and a supporter as well respected as E-40, the Golden State Warriors are officially the best team in the NBA. Because as Earl said, “Fool, this is the Bay!”
*as of 12/11/15, number of wins are subjected to increase as the season goes on.
