Basketball has been married to hip hop since the music and culture's inception in the early 1970s.
There's no greater feeling for basketball players than when they make silky smooth ball-handling moves that embarrass defenders, hitting a tough jumpshot or dunking while their favorite rap song blares through a boombox or arena P.A. speakers as people witness and scream in awe.
After missing the playoffs for 10 years, the shift in the Phoenix Suns Arena's identity has included a new sound focusing on hip hop driving the team and fan energy to the NBA Finals.
The pulsating rhythms of thunderous 808 bass lines with punchy snare drums, towering record samples, sauntering keyboard grooves and scintillating rapid trap hi-hats in the Suns in-game soundtrack has accompanied the team's meteoric rise toward the top of the NBA.