LiAngelo Ball swerved into a slam dunk with his NBA All-Star Weekend performance of “Tweaker” on Saturday (Feb. 15) at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The former NBA G League player got the crowd hyped just before the night’s 3-Point Contest with the melodic rap track that became an unexpected hit among Hip Hop fans and professional athletes in mid-January.
“Some dominate the court by attacking the rim, others dominate the stage by commanding the mic. But in my family, we do both. He’s blowing up the charts, and he’s just getting started,” said Lonzo Ball as he introduced Gelo. The lights went down as a players’ tunnel lined with dancers, artificial smoke and the glow of red pillars ushered in an edited version of the catchy chorus: “I might swerve, bend that corner, woah woah/ Hold on tight ‘cause I’ll tweak in this b**ch, start lettin' s**t go.”
This marks the 2018 NBA draftee's first time bringing the record to life on national television, although it is not his first time rocking a crowd. He caught a vibe when he performed the hit during the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders playoff game on Jan. 18. As previously reported by REVOLT, the song has earned Gelo a massive cosign from Lil Wayne, who jumped on the remix, as well as a partnership between his label Born2Ball Music Group and Def Jam and Universal Music Group. The deal is valued at up to $13 million.
Among the flood of reactions to the performance, someone tweeted, “Shout out to LaVar Ball. All his kids really made their dreams come true!” Someone else typed, “That’s huge for Gelo! Getting that kind of spotlight, especially on live TV, is a big step for his career. Lonzo showing support like that just makes the moment even more special.”
A few notable tweets offered some constructive notes to Gelo, too. One viewer wrote, “Not bad. He just needed some extra vocals on the chorus. Get a small choir or band hitting that chorus harder. Verses are whatever, but live you need to hit that chorus hard. But not bad for a first live show.” A second person commented, “Gelo song is catchy. He has to work on stage presence, which will come in time. Happy to see him flourishing!”
Gelo may be done playing professional basketball, but it looks as though his next chapter as a rising rap star already has the support to do big numbers.