Air West is Eazy-E's Boyz in the Hood
Air West is LA Playaz, like a cut to your cranium, dopest form of pick up hoop on da planet...straight to your brain, don't let yo-self get dunked on at A/W foo.
Chris "Ghetto Bird" Young running the action like Dr Dre mixes beats, he knows who’s who.
Air West hoop games are as hard as gangsta rap, dudes ball as nasty as NWA rapped.
This league don't care what you wear, it's all about bustin MF on the court, like you just don't ca-are.
Bored as hell, 7 pm and I wanna get ill. So we go to that spot where our homeboys chill: a warm, vibrant, and bouncy wood floor in a secret south LA gym near USC.
If these gym walls could talk, they'd spit tales of blood sport of the leather Wilson variety. Spectator benches whisper to you, they come alive relating that this is LA's premier proving ground.
Cuz one team wins, allowed to stay on; rest y'all made to step off man. Sorry, y'all just got drowned.
Pro ballin dudes might pull up in they 64 impala, tryin to get they skillz up they holla. Playaz just practicing to make dat hoop dolla.
Keion Kindred, 100% CPT, just like legendary rapper Eazy E - platinum trainer, platinum record producer, never broken by the streets, both only know how to bring that heat.
Keion videos dudes ballin all game long, thinking of ways to improve these guys games of the street. Why does he do that, his rationale to offer and critique? Cuz consistency equals currency when it's game and dollars you seek.
Garret Nevels at A/W brings his resume of hoopin' for Palisades High and U of Hawaii. This 6-2 guard is straight shootin fools up lately overseas in Spain. Garrett breaks down his comp by the dribble, shoves em off they mark. He makes em lose right quick, sorry dude, yo lights just went dark.
I watch helpless teams trying to keep up with "G Money" Nevels. Comp slips down by 5, then 10, opposition can't even kick their defense in.
They know not when when is, even when "when" is lookin them in the face. Young bulls beat by Nevels, wishing they won and made those A/W defensive ends.
Why I like G-Nevels, his jumper like a shiny "nina 9", that splashy elbow out, legs extended, eyes locked on the rim.
If you not playing good D, than you gon get beat down NWA style, straight outta Compton, and all that is left is to say...that was him.
G-Nevels speak on it, "I come ready to play here, have a great time. I look forward to going against those NBA guys."
Yup, I feel you 100, Nevels.
Wap, wap, wap all night long from Nevels. Competition feels his game, they lose and feel much pain. It's heard like a slug to their chest, and goes a lil something like this:
"Cuz the boyz n tha hood are always hard
You come talkin' that trash we'll pull your card
Knowin nothin' in life but to be legit
Don't quote me boy, cuz i ain't said ish."
I remind Chris Young when we see Kwame Alexander, that KA reminds me of Mr Big Stuff. We both agree, our dude rocks this MF, like three the hard way.
Tell us your mentality at A/W Kwame my man, "I come here thinking about how I'm going to get better. We all get that super workout here. I'll often chill with Keion in the morning and train, get my mind right before I head in there."
KA is Dope. This Moreno Valley cat gets my utmost respect, Kwame tryin to improve guys younger than him. I see him taking them aside, offering them hints. He gets his own mind right, then loves everyone else enough to help get their game tight.
Gotta respect that about how guys are always helping each other at Air West. Eazy E, tells us how A/W feels:
"Went to the park to get the scoop Knuckleheads out there, cold-shootin' some hoops.”
Yup, you see many magical moments at A/W. It's like the first time I heard NWA in the 80s when Eazy E was a revolutionary of his time.
C-Young and K-Kindred deserve props for setting this league up, if only you could see it as I do. It liberates your sense of what is possible in hoop.
It's hard to go back to watching other basketball games, it's like a rush of endorphins experiencing A/W.
Just as my brain heard NWA all those years ago, Air West has been the only thing to ever, I mean ever replicate that feeling, cuz dope reps dope. 100%.