Hoop Life is a mixtape by American rapper Lil B. It was digitally released on June 1, 2014, through Lil B's own record label, BasedWorld Records. The mixtape mainly features basketball-themed songs.[1][2][3]
The song, "Fuck KD", a diss track to Kevin Durant following their feud, was released on March 8, 2014 along with an accompanying music video.[4] Notably, the mixtape was released the day after Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder was eliminated from the 2014 NBA playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs.[5][6] The music videos for the tracks "Fuck KD", "Gotta Make the NBA", "Katy Perry", and "Hoop Life" were also released throughout March, April and May 2014.[7][8][9] On December 7, 2020, a sequel to Hoop Life was released using YouTube[10] titled "Hoop Life 2." Hoop Life 2 was later made available for streaming platforms on November 30, 2020.[11][12]
Reception
In a positive review, Billy Haisley of Deadspin praised Lil B's handling of basketball related themes and topics, though pointed out that some unrelated songs on the project were derivative of his previous work: "...Hoop Life is a typical Lil B mixtape, from the celebrity songs to the ignorant, crass, and often great cooking songs to the positive and explicitly #based ideological songs... Other tracks, however, uphold the narrative promise of 'Gotta Make the NBA'... the "player on the come-up" stories have the most depth".[13] Phil Witmer of Vice considered Hoop Life an "essential" Lil B mixtape, acknowledging the basketball concept and dubbing the production "Bay Area-styled post-hyphy that's as warm and inviting as a summer day"[14]
The diss track "Fuck KD" was singled out for particular praise. The Fader considered the track "better than it needed to be"[15] while also praising the songs "NBA Live" and "Real Based".
In 2021, the song "Ski Ski BasedGod" was widely used in the viral "devious lick" TikTok trend where students would record themselves stealing or vandalizing items from their schools.
