Dame D.O.L.L.A. wants respect in the rap game: “I’m not a basketball player that raps, I’m a rapper”

Damian Lillard will forever go down in history as  to grace the NBA… and now he’s bringing that same energy into the music industry. Best known for his time on the Portland Trailblazers, the athlete set the bar as one of the two players in Trailblazers history (alongside Clyde Drexler) to become a six-time All-Star. As a result, he picked up the nickname “Dame Time,” directly correlated to his ability to make .

Recently, the star unleashed his highly anticipated fourth studio album titled Different On Levels (The) Lord Allows, reeling in all-star features from Raphael Saadiq, Snoop Dogg, BLXST, Mozzy, and more. The 12-track body of work arrived on the heels of his previous single “About That Time” with G-Eazy, P-Lo, and White Dave, which debuted on the Space Jam: A New Legacy Soundtrack. Additionally, Dame helped the United States team take home the trophy in the Tokyo Olympics. 

How does rapping help with your hooping?

How’d the name Dame D.O.L.L.A. come about?

Was “The Juice” inspired by the movie Juice?

Where was the video shot?

That movie showed me that your friends and the people around you — just because they’re around you, doesn’t mean they’re the people that’s really for you. You see everybody turning on everybody in that movie. I didn’t have friends like that. I’d seen stuff like that in real life, but that’s what turned me on to it being a real thing. 

Well, it’s the intro to my album. My first few albums I wrote in a small timeframe. It was rushed because I had so much shit to do. This one, I wanted to take my time and put it together the right way. I wanted to make sure it was strong and came together how I wanted it to. Time was passing, I was slowly putting songs together, recording, piecing the puzzle together. Now, we’re here.

That’s what D.O.L.L.A. stands for. It’s basically me expressing that. These songs are really a look under the hood. I’m sharing information about myself. Where I am now in my life, how I got here. Expressing why I feel that acronym fits me.  

I would say so. I’m pretty vulnerable with all my stuff. People can listen and they’ll know I’m telling a real story. This one’s the most vulnerable, I’m sharing the most on this one. It’s a lot of power in that.

I came to LA because I did a show with Cardi B on Facebook. I was doing an episode on her show where I was teaching her how to hoop. I had a couple days before I had to show up to it. I was in the studio and he came by the studio, we started working on it. It happened like that. We were in the studio together, they started playing beats and we started putting it together.

Lil Wayne. Mozzy. BLXST. Q-Tip. Snoop. Derrick Milano. Jane Hancock, she’s another artist from Oakland. 

Oakland means everything to me. I learned so much from Oakland, it’s where I grew up. My most traumatic and best experiences were in Oakland. It’s a big part of who I am. Why I’ve become who I’ve become. 

It was cool. I hadn’t done anything super Bay Area-related. Once I was a part of the movie and they asked me to be a part of the soundtrack, we were trying to figure out what direction to go in. They came up with that idea and it made perfect sense. It was cool because I know all of them too.  

It was cool. I like how they incorporated something connected to my real life for the character. I was happy to do that, they showed me a lot of love with that character. Even in the scene, I had a little moment. I was excited to do it and I was excited for other people to see it. 

Definitely. Basketball player/rapper/actor/boxer. I’ve been boxing for a long time.

No, I respect the sport too much.

It adds something major to my legacy as an athlete. The experience was really cool. Before, I thought, “It’s the Olympics, you go and play.” When I got there and we had the opening ceremonies, all these different times we were around other countries, you see how much pride they have about winning and beating the United States. Being there gave you a sense of pride. Maybe we need to tighten up and really realize they’re really coming for us, there’s a reason for it. It was cool to be a part of that and get a gold medal.