On Wednesday (September 27), 33-year-old basketball icon Damian Lillard was traded from the Portland Trailblazers to the Milwaukee Bucks. Leaving the team he played for throughout his entire 11-year NBA career thus far, Lillard had requested the trade earlier this off-season, hoping to find an organization where he could win a championship late in his career.
Still, though, Lillard, the Trailblazers, and the city of Portland will always carry the cherished memories they share from his time on the team. So, when Lillard decided to send a message to the Trailblazer community when his departure was finalized, he did it the best way he knew how.
Hours after news broke of Lillard’s move to Milwaukee, he released a song titled “Farewell” under his hip-hop moniker Dame D.O.L.L.A. With the same ferocity and passion he provides on the basketball court, Lillard delivered powerful raps about his gratitude, but also his self-worth.
For most of his career as a professional hooper, Lillard has used Dame D.O.L.L.A. to live out his music dreams. Releasing five full-length projects since 2016, and collaborating with world-renowned MCs like Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, and more, Lillard has been able to establish an entirely new fanbase in the rap world.
When speaking to American Songwriter in a 2021 interview, Lillard expressed why he is so passionate about music as an art form, and how it is different from basketball in terms of building a relationship with an audience.
“The thing I love most about music is the feeling that I get when I connect with the artist,” he said. “Obviously, we all love the beat and the production and the bounce to music, I think everybody loves that. Or just the softness or the smoothness of it, if it’s not rap. But I think the best feeling for me, as a listener, is when the artist is—when I’m listening to an artist’s music and I connect with them.”
