How the Knicks and hip-hop united New York
Key takeaways
- In 1973, the last time the Knicks won the NBA championship, hip-hop was created in the Bronx.
- It begins at 10 a.m., when Fat Joe, or "Joey Crack," a diehard Knicks fan, rolls up Broadway on a float, rapping "Lean Back" with bluster; beside him are Yonkers rap group The LOX, Fabolous, Mary J.
- Rap music in New York City is both reverential and irreverent, a fusion of grit, swagger and vulnerability.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images Jayson Buford Multiple Authors Jun 20, 2026, 07:07 PM ETEmail Print Open Extended Reactions IT'S 2 A.M. IN New York City, eight hours before the Knicks' championship parade is to begin, and the Wu-Tang bus sits outside of a subway stop near City Hall. It's the first sign of many today that hip-hop is intertwined with this Knicks team and the hustle culture it represents.
In 1973, the last time the Knicks won the NBA championship, hip-hop was created in the Bronx. There was no ticker-tape parade back then; rap was still in its infancy, created by DJs spinning records by hooking their wires up to lampposts. Now, hip-hop is mainstream, and its legends and the legends it has lost will be a key part of today's celebration of the Knicks, a team that will be honored in the city's rough concrete, studio apartments and imperial buildings for the rest of their lives.
It begins at 10 a.m., when Fat Joe, or "Joey Crack," a diehard Knicks fan, rolls up Broadway on a float, rapping "Lean Back" with bluster; beside him are Yonkers rap group The LOX, Fabolous, Mary J. Blige, Ja Rule and Havoc of Mobb Deep. Havoc's rap partner, Prodigy, died in 2017, so Joe helps him perform the classic "Shook Ones, Part II." A few minutes later, backup point guard Jose Alvarado, another Puerto Rican from New York, raps "Many Men (Wish Death)" by 50 Cent, a song about paranoia when your superstardom is within reach and adversaries will do anything to prevent you from reaching your goals. At the same time, fans cheer reserve guard and practical folk hero Tyler Kolek as he performs a karaoke-like rendition of 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P."