I, Mack: Sir Mix-A-Lot On The NBA

Sir Mix-A-Lot may forever be linked to 1992 mega-hit “Baby Got Back,” but you’d be off-base in labeling him a one-hit wonder. One of hip hop’s ultimate DIY practitioners, he was a platinum-selling artist long before “Baby Got Back” introduced suburbanites everywhere to the glories of the big, bad booty. He founded his own record label, produced his own tracks, created a Seattle hip-hop scene from scratch and was among the first hip-hop acts to collaborate in the rock genre. These days, he is working on a new album due out next year and generally surveying a scene hugely influenced by the music he created two decades ago. Sir Mix will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all this week. Read our Q&A with him.

Sir Mix-A-Lot: Is it me or is the NBA starting to be too friendly? Everybody has a tattoo (or eight) and they give love after each free throw, smack the other guys on the butt and generally have a swell time while us stupid fans stab each other in the stands. What happened to the good old days when the players hated each other? Kermit Washington socking the hell outta some guy. Darryl Dawkins breaking the glass and humiliating the defense in the name of that particular dunk. George Gervin flipping up a finger roll on the baseline without even leaving the ground while young high jumpers fly out of the gym trying to swat that shit. Bill Laimbeer fouling everybody but the ref. The Celtics came to the court with a grimace that should have cost them a technical just on GP. That was basketball, man!