NFL Investigating Rap Song Allegedly Made By Kansas City Chiefs' Larry Johnson; Johnson Denies Song Is His
Published: Friday - September 14, 2007
Words by Liz "Red" Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs' Larry Johnson Photo: viewimages.com
After the NFL revealed Friday (September 14) that it was investigating whether a rap song, which uses explicit language, was the work of Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, the football player has come out to dismiss the allegations.
According to the Associated Press, in the song, which is performed in voice similar to Johnson, the "f" and "n" word are used, and also blasts Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson -- suggesting it was made during Johnson's holdout before he signed a five-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $19 million and nearly $28 million in the first three years.
"Carl Peterson, the GM's running it. They see me, they want to treat me like I'm running it. I wouldn't give a f--- if I'm not coming back. I'd rather play for another team because I'd rather be a running back," the man on the track says.
On Friday, Johnson spoke to the AP, denying that he had any involvement in the creation of the track and said he that the rest is in the NFL's hands.
"Basically, I've had ongoing problems with people impersonating me on MySpace pages," admitted Johnson. "I've alerted the NFL security about the raps on the internet that supposedly have been rapped by me, which they are not. It's in NFL security's hands and I'm pretty sure they'll take care of it to the best of their ability."
To uncover the mystery behind the song, the AP spoke with James Tinberg, owner of Basement Entertainment, whose rap group SBL (Same Blood Line) Mob has the MySpace page where the song was hosted before it was taken down. Tinberg first told several Kansas City-area news organizations that Johnson was at a recent party where he freestyled for about 10 minutes. He then said that the freestyle was recorded, edited and turned into a three-and-a-half-minute song.
But, he said that the words said by Johnson were moved around and formed into the rap listeners heard. "It wasn't his words in order," Tinberg said. "It's so simple to move it around, it's just a couple of clicks. It's like Photoshop with music."
Since then, Tinberg has changed his story, telling the AP that the rapper isn't Johnson at all, but someone imitating the athlete's voice.
When asked about his previous statement, he said he lied and that he "used the media" as a publicity stunt to promote his label.
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