Jay-Z applauds LaVar Ball: ‘That man has a vision of his own’

Add Jay-Z to the short list of celebrities publicly supporting LaVar Ball and Big Baller Brand.

Jay-Z bought three pairs of Big Baller Brand ZO2 sneakers when they first came out in March. That’s because for the Brooklyn-born rapper turned businessman, LaVar Ball’s struggle with Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour is all too familiar.

Hov had the same issues starting his record label, Roc Nation, in 2008. Roc Nation today manages music artists and athletes alike, including Kevin Durant, Robinson Cano, Skylar Diggins, Dez Bryant, CC Sabathia, Victor Cruz, and Ndamukong Suh.

As the public forms split opinions on the polarizing father of three talented basketball players, including the Lakers’ No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball, Jay-Z knows where he stands.

In an interview with Elliot Wilson and B. Dot on the Rap Radar podcast on Tidal, Hov unpacked why he supports LaVar Ball despite some of the controversial comments he made.

“That man has a vision of his own,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I support him?

“LaVar Ball, he said ‘I’ma start my own company.’ Everybody else said, ‘You should sign with Nike!’ Now, he may go about things wrong, he may have a big mouth, he may rub everything — but I bought three pair. I didn’t get them, I didn’t get them, but that man has a vision of his own. Why wouldn’t I support him? Why wouldn’t I support him? He feels like he could move culture and his son got a big enough game, got a big enough brand that they can do it. Nike had to start somewhere when we, us, want to start our own s—. That s— is puzzling to me. I sit back and I’m like, ‘This makes no sense.’ Why can’t he start his sneaker? ‘Oh, these dumb sneakers are terrible.’ They wasn’t any more terrible than — I don’t want to, I’m not being negative toward anyone. I’ve seen some bad sneakers from Under Armour, I’ve seen some bad sneakers from — I’ve seen bad Michael Jordan sneakers, horrible.

“Michael Jordan is obviously the greatest at making (sneakers). And at some point he was selling through Nike, and at some point, he broke away. He started building the Jordan Brand. And I’m sure that was difficult. And I’m sure people at that time was like, ‘You playing yourself. You’re going to leave Nike?’ Man, all due respect, f— Nike. And I don’t mean personally. I mean f— the thing. Everyone has this reverence toward these things. I’m sure when we started Roc Nation, everyone said (to join) Universal or Def Jam. We built the brand. We are culture. Nothing moves without us. We just continue to give it away. And it’s cool, we can still participate. Nike still works with Jordan. It’s just the nature of our relationship has to change.”

Ball has drawn backlash for his misogynistic comments in recent weeks. He had a female referee replaced during an AAU game before saying she needs to “stay in her lane,” a phrase he used before when arguing with Fox Sports reporter Kristine Leahy.

That’s as bad as it gets for a basketball father who has uttered plenty of hot air in addition to those comments. He once said he could beat Michael Jordan 1-on-1 in his prime, got under LeBron James’ skin, and said his son is better than two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

That’s a lot to unpack, I know. But if Ball has been good at anything, it’s been marketing his sons. Big Baller Brand will do as well as any of his three sons do, and if they go as far expected, the Balls could be set up for the foreseeable future with a clothing line of their own.

Hov respects that and supports it, and wishes more people would, too.

Talking to TMZ, Lonzo Ball said commented on Jay-Z’s support of his Big Baller Brand shoes. “I’m just thankful, man. I appreciate it.”