Beyond Basketball: A conversation with Jamal Murray on hip-hop, meditation, Kentucky and family

Before the All-Star festivities this past weekend, BSN Denver had a chance to sit down with Jamal Murray for a discussion on everything but basketball. T.J. McBride and Murray talked everything from hip-hop, meditation and Murray’s family, to growing up in Canada, Kentucky and Coach John Calipari. Here’s part one:

T.J. McBride: Let’s start with music. I saw that you were a big J Cole fan and that is something I have identified with and something that people have not really talked about much. What is it about hip-hop and J Cole in particular that has really grabbed ahold of you and something that has been instrumental going forward for you?

Jamal Murray: He is a lyricist. He is deep. He has a good vibe and flow and he is more rapping about real stuff and real situations than just the typical stuff. I listen to his words a lot and write a lot of it down on whatever to kind of find the perspective that he comes from.

T.J.: So you are more of a 90’s hip-hop guy, right? A little more old school stuff? Because you were listening to Busta Rhymes back at Kentucky all the time. What is some other 90’s hip-hop stuff that you listen to?

Jamal: My dad raised me on it. Wu-Tang Clan, a lot of other old school groups and all of that, so I know a lot of the old school music and J Cole kind of has that newer school but old school at the same time so I like him a lot and he has been my favorite for a long time.

T.J.: So I’ll put you on the spot. What is his number one album right now that is your favorite?

Jamal: There’s not. There’s not. Just every song. Just every song. I know every song by heart.

T.J.: So you’ve listened to 4 Your Eyez Only all the way through, I’m sure, multiple times. What is your favorite track off of that album?

Jamal: There’s not a favorite track (laughs). I would probably say “Immortal”, “She’s Mine Part Two,” “Change.” Those are a couple of my favorites but, I mean, I like every song that he plays.

TJ: Are there any other hip-hop guys from the 90’s that you like? Is it mostly East coast or West coast?

Jamal: I don’t really know. I’m from Canada (laughs).

T.J.: So what is the hip hop scene like in Canada?

Jamal: Drake. Drake, Drake, Drake.

T.J.: Are you a big Drake fan then because of that?

Jamal: I mean, yeah, I like Drake. I like his stuff. He has a lot of stuff out and it is really whatever you want; rap, slow, or both.

T.J.: Going off of that, is there any new age hip hop that you are into? Is it like a Kendrick Lamar type of conscious hip hop that you are into?

Jamal: I say mostly J Cole in terms of how much I listen to him. I listen to a lot of stuff. Bob Marley, Logic, anything that is a little bit soothing and a little slower.

T.J.: Is there anybody, out of nowhere, that you can just drop a name on people that they would never expect that you listen to?

Jamal: I mean, you can go through my phone (laughs). You can see these playlists. I listen to tons of music but mostly just heavily J Cole.

T.J.: So a little bit more about Canada. What is the basketball culture like in Kitchener? There has not been a lot of talk being that you played so much AAU ball against U.S. teams and there was not a whole lot of Canadian emphasis outside of the Canadian National team. What was it like growing up in Canada and, in particular, the difficulties and differences you experienced?

Jamal: Well there was not a lot of media attention the first year or second year I was at Orangeville Prep, which was not really known yet. Me and Thon (Maker) took that with us and brought it to the states and played a lot of games there but now in Canada; they have their own league for high school. So they get looks there and a couple guys have already committed to D-1 schools. It has been growing up as a program but we definitely need the states to kick it off a little bit.

TJ: Are you and Thon still tight. Like do you still talk at all and have you been watching him with Milwaukee.

Jamal: Yeah, of course.

TJ: Another thing that really gets pushed under the radar it feels like, because your dad is obviously an enormous influence in your life, but you have talked about how your mom has really held down the fort and really made things stable at home. Care to talk about your mom and give her a shout-out?

Jamal: She is always supportive and she is always there. Whatever we need her to do she is there. She is like one of those good teammates, you know? That always does the little stuff that goes under the radar. Sometimes I come home and their food is ready, the place is clean, my brother Lamar is in bed or whatever it is. It is the simple stuff that makes everything a little bit easier; she does that. My clothes are clean, she gives me calls and messages every morning. She is very supportive and she understands what I’m doing and what I’m trying to do. My dad has to be with me a lot of the time just to help me out and she does a great job of taking care of herself and taking care of the family.

T.J.: Is your dad still coming around and does he still come to most of your games or is he still back up in Canada?

Jamal: It’s hard to be back and forth so he comes down for a long time and then goes back for a while so its back and forth. We try to balance it out.

TJ: One really cool thing that I wanted to talk about: Your dad. He even said that he stopped his life for you. To have that kind of support every single step of the way and to have someone to be in the gym with you and someone who was always pushing you and, not just there as someone who loves you and someone who cares, but he wants you to be the best you can be. How big is it to have that support system behind you?

Jamal: It is good. it is something that you need, especially someone who doesn’t look at just your positives but also looks at all of your negatives and what you need to work on. He is very detailed about it and he is my biggest critic and my toughest critic. When he is talking to me he is yelling a lot but I listen to it to know what he is saying and how he is saying it.

T.J.: One other thing; your dad had a really cool quote that I really liked that said: “I don’t want to give away all my secrets but the whole idea was to block out what he was feeling and that the pain was just temporary. Some kids get hit or cut immediately and it is worse for them than it really is. I tried to show him that pain is something that we all go through and it is a part of life. If you don’t get freaked out by it then you can get past it”. How much of the embodiment of that philosophy has gone into basketball for you? That seems like that is you as a person even.

Jamal: It has gone a long way. I’m always up and down but there are some things, like not getting minutes or not can’t make a shot, those things are all temporary. You can’t make a shot? You are going to make a shot sometime. Positive thinking, you know? If you don’t get minutes just make sure you make the most of your opportunity with your minutes. So when I go into a game I don’t think about when I am coming out or what I did wrong. If I make a mistake I just try to make up for it, know it is my fault, and keep playing. Keep a forward mindset instead of lingering back on what happened.

Stay tuned for Part 2 on Tuesday.