Few things stir emotion and drive into the hearts of young men and women more than a passion for music and a passion for athletic greatness. They drive you to early mornings, long hours and late nights. They drive you to push for that extra hour of practice, to perfect that last set of beats or to make that last free throw. But when it comes to choosing which path to walk and which passion to follow, the answer no longer has to be one or the other.
The world around us is one that is as fast-paced and ever-changing as ever before. The realms of sports and music are no different and are even faster in many aspects. In music, much like sports, your time within the circle can be directly proportionate to how long you can stay relevant, and crossing over between the two was once considered a ‘relevance death wish.’ However, in today’s world many icons have walked the line between the two, performing crossover after crossover to fulfill their potential in both arenas and redefining the title “culture icon” as we know it, even when faced with attacks on their dedication.
Since 2008, when he came into the league, no one has questioned that Philadelphia Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson has the potential to wreak havoc in the NFL. However, injuries have hampered Jackson’s Hall of Fame-potential over the past few seasons, and many have questioned his toughness and dedication to the Eagles and the sport altogether. For anyone who knows Jackson, his passion for the sport of football is one that is rarely matched, but there is one more passion equal to that of football, and that is music.
Jaccpot Records is a recording studio started up by Jackson, along with veteran producer L.T. Hutton. Since starting up his recording studio with Hutton, there have been two places in the world that anyone looking for Jackson would go: either the Eagles facilities or Jaccpot Records. Jackson has received a lot of ridicule over the past seasons as he has been battling injury after injury, freeing up more time for him to work on his music instead of his rehabilitation. There lies the problem. For many former players, like former Eagle Herm Edwards, it is acts like this by Jackson that put him in the category of wasted talent as he continues to push himself to be a jack in two trades and not a master in one.
But it is that kind of “old school” mentality, in Jackson’s words, that make these crossover culture icons look like confused men with commitment issues. In decades past, that might have been true. Many icons got where they were by choosing a single passion and perfecting it, like Michael Jordan, instead of choosing to chase the label of pro athlete and culture icon separately in which case you end up with Dennis Rodman.
Jackson is not the only aspiring crossover artist in today’s pop culture world. While not as dedicated to his crossover act just yet, even the King himself, LeBron James, has cross-over aspirations that were clearly seen right after winning his first NBA championship when he dropped some rhymes at a nearby karaoke club in celebration. Whose beats was he dropping? None other than another king of the crossover, former Alabama State point guard Tauheed Epps: you probably know him as 2 Chainz.
In the end, passion is something that can move your life in ways that you never thought possible. It does not matter if you are a single-passion soul, like Michael Jordan, or one with a number of passions, like Jackson, James and even 2 Chainz. The important part is how you decide to chase those passions. Will it be with all you have? Or will you choose to abandon one dream to fully fulfill another?
