All rights reserved. Did you have a similar mind-set yourself? Before Arron Afflalo and Kendrick Lamar were perfecting their respective crafts and performing in front of thousands on a daily basis, they were just two classmates at the same school. It’s interesting to hear you talk about making it. According to Orlando Magic forward Arron Afflalo—name-checked in Kendrick’s song “Black Boy ... Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton 31 years ago to … Pride, work ethic, and childhood fire that a lot of kids develop coming from that area, it’s still in me. The message I got from the song, although I was used as an example, was he had a really great point to making it out of tough circumstances. Do you think it can be tough for young players who come into the league with expectations thrust upon them while also having things handed to them without having to work through things? For me, it hasn’t changed. He got pretty good at it, too. Pronunciation: \uh-FLAH-loh\ Arron Agustin Afflalo (Spell Check) Position: Small Forward and Shooting Guard Shoots: Right 6-5, 210lb (196cm, 95kg) Born: October 15, 1985 in Los Angeles, California us. I guess that’s where work ethic comes from. Lamar literally says in his 2012 track, Black Boy Fly, "I used to be jealous of Arron Afflalo." Afflalo was also featured in a song by Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar. So because he gave me a basketball and not a mic … if he had given me a mic or a football or a pencil I might have been trying to be great at something else. I’ve always felt a lack of satisfaction of where I’m at. In the song “Black Boy Fly,” Lamar wrote: “I used to be jealous of Arron Afflalo… Lamar’s song titled “Black Boy Fly” heavily featured lyrics directly referencing Afflalo, tying together metaphors about how Arron’s basketball accomplishments contrasted the harsh realities facing their peers at school and in the city they called home. An addictive personality toward things that I love. Interest-Based Ads. What’s your first memory of feeling like there was something bigger for you than the normal everyday 9-to-5 job? Copyright © 2020 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Manage Preferences. Making Lamar’s lyrics in “Black Boy Fly” come to life like he was back at Centennial High, he scored 30 both times his team schooled the squad from Los Angeles. This was no ordinary business, however, as Afflalo was in the market of buying and selling donuts to his fellow high schoolers before classes began. @JoshMartinNBA I thought it was an absolutely great track. In the song “Black Boy Fly,” Lamar wrote: “I used to be jealous of Arron Afflalo… In the song ”Black Boy Fly,” Lamar wrote: ”I used to be jealous of Arron Afflalo. In the song “Black Boy Fly," Lamar wrote: “I used to be jealous of Arron Afflalo. My dad would make me play against older kids. It’s still fun. In typically detailed and autobiographical Kendrick Lamar fashion, “Black Boy Fly” takes us back to his days at Centennial High School, where he observed classmate Afflalo succeeding on the basketball court and in the classroom, poised to be the one to make it out of Compton. Kendrick Lamar, who was two years behind Afflalo at Centennial High School, was a different story. He’s always been a great person to listen to as a mentor. Kendrick continues to be a voice for his community and for the masses through his music. Honestly, kids that worry about struggles sometimes should really appreciate them. it will apply to data controlled jointly by the NBA and WarnerMedia as well as other data controlled by WarnerMedia. S the best that I genuinely do all day as a job to them this allowed Lamar to focus the! Halfway mark of the level of success I have in the NBA hip-hop superstar satisfaction of I. People in that community, but to people who deal with struggles in general time, he was only! 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