LiAngelo Ball’s musical talents have been the talk of the NBA this month, and the middle brother of basketball stars Lonzo and LaMelo Ball has reportedly parlayed that momentum and buzz into a major recording contract.
Ball’s song, ‘Tweaker,’ has gone viral in the sports world after its initial release on Jan. 3, gaining traction on TikTok and Instagram before making its way to arenas and locker rooms throughout the country. According to Chart Data, ‘Tweaker’ sold 94,000 units during its first full week of release in the United States and the song’s video had nearly 8 million views on YouTube as of Monday.
Ball was also announced last week as part of the lineup at Rolling Loud in Inglewood, California, which bills itself as the world’s largest hip-hop festival. Ball is scheduled to appear on Saturday, March 15.
Ball performs under the stage names, ‘Gelo’ or ‘G3’ and older brother Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls has already declared 2025 to be the ‘year of G.’ Here’s more information on LiAngelo Ball and his burgeoning musical career:
What is LiAngelo Ball’s song?
Ball last played professional basketball for two games with Astros de Jalisco in Mexico earlier this year before leaving the team due to injury. Since then, his focus appears to have turned towards his music. ‘Tweaker,’ initially released on Jan. 3 via the WorldstarHipHop YouTube page, had nearly 8 million views as of Monday afternoon.
Prominent hip-hop artists and singers like Meek Mill, T-Pain and Lil Yachty, as well as stars of the sports world like Dawn Staley, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard, have all given positive reviews for the song in interviews or on social media. The praise for ‘Tweaker’ revolves around Ball’s sound, which has been compared to mid-2000s rap songs.
In a matter of days, Ball’s catchy chorus of “I might swerve, bend the corner, whoah-oh-oh’ become an arena staple for some teams.
The Cleveland Cavaliers even played ‘Tweaker’ over the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse public address speakers after they beat LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 5. The Detroit Lions also celebrated their win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 by playing ‘Tweaker’ inside their Ford Field locker room.
LiAngelo Ball basketball career
The middle brother between Lonzo and LaMelo Ball was slated to play for UCLA after graduating from Chino Hills High School in 2017. But he and two teammates were arrested for allegedly trying to steal sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store in Hangzhou, China before the Bruins’ overseas season opener against Georgia Tech. Ball was suspended indefinitely and eventually left the program without ever appearing in a regular-season game at UCLA.
Ahead of the 2018 NBA draft, Ball played for Prenai of the Lithuanian Basketball League along with younger brother, LaMelo. LiAngelo Ball finished the season averaging 12.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.5% from the three-point line. He then went undrafted by the NBA.
LiAngelo then resurfaced with the NBA G League’s Greensboro Storm, an affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets. He played for the Swarm during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He averaged 4.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 13.1 minutes in 31 NBA G League games for the Swarm. He also signed training camp deals in 2020 (Detroit Pistons), 2021 (Hornets) and 2022 (Hornets) but never made a regular-season roster.