Some of the best times hip hop name-dropped MJ

A great barometer for how popular an NBA player is can be answered in one simple metric: Has he been name-dropped in a hip hop song?

For example: How relevant was Rajon Rondo in the early-2010s? Relevant enough to make it onto Tyga’sRack City.

No one has blended himself into hip hop lyricism like MJ -- and we aren’t just spewing conjecture, here’s proof.

Here are five good ones:

1. Baby Phife's Return, A Tribe Called Quest

Yeah, you know my flava/Rip this whole jam apart/Fuck around and have your heart/Like Jordan had Starks

2. Let ‘Em Have it L, Big L

Facts on tracks, I recite well/Everybody wanna be like Mike, but Mike wanna be like L

3. It Was a Good Day, Ice Cube

Get me on the court and I'm trouble/Last week fucked around and got a triple double/Freakin' ****** every way like MJ/I can't believe today was a good day

4. What if?, Jadakiss

What if hate ran through me?/And what if Portland would've drafted Jordan, instead of Sam Bowie?

5. ***** in Paris, Jay-Z

I'm liable to go Michael/Take your pick, Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Game 6

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