For the first time since 1991, NBA All-Star Weekend is heading to the Queen City, as Charlotte will host the league’s annual midseason break.
The faces of All-Star this week will be Hornets owner Michael Jordan, Charlotte native Stephen Curry, and the Hornets’ lone All-Star, Kemba Walker. The point guard out of UConn grew up in New York, but has adopted Charlotte as his new home and embraced the city fully.
Walker will be a free agent this summer, but has stated his intentions to stay in Charlotte beyond this year should they make the financial commitment he desires. This week, he gets to be one of the main hosts for All-Star and ambassadors for the city, a role he’s taking very seriously.
Uproxx spoke with Walker this week as he discussed his partnership with JBL on their Sounds of the City campaign, the song he worked on with Rapsody and 9th Wonder, and what it means to have All-Star in Charlotte. Plus we got some recommendations for folks coming into town and discussed his favorite music out right now.
With the league coming as a whole to Charlotte for All-Star, I wanted to get Kemba’s guide to the city a little bit. So, what are your favorite spots in the city to go for food, for entertainment, and anything else you think people need to check out while they’re in town for All-Star?
For me, Charlotte is not huge, so a lot of the stuff is right uptown, right where the arena is. For the most part, I like to go to the Epicenter, which has a variety of things. Restaurants, clubs, bars. Pretty much everything. Movie theaters over there. It has a lot of different places that you can go to. But, yeah, for the most part, everything is right there. Uptown.
Do you have a go-to restaurant for when people are in town, that you like to take them to?
In Charlotte, yeah. It’s a place called Nakato, which is a Japanese restaurant. It’s a little further out of the city, but that’s one of the places that I love to go to. It’s one of my favorite spots out here.
What does it mean to you to be playing in the All-Star Game in Charlotte, and just for the city to have a chance to host this weekend and be on the stage?
It’s exciting. It’s exciting. For the city to have this opportunity, I feel like because we don’t get the national television games a lot or things like that, so, to get this kind of recognition, I think it’ll be good man, especially for the city. A lot of good things are going to come to the city from this weekend so I’m super excited. The city deserves it. This is a city who’s had great runs, basketball wise, in the past. Some legendary players have come through this city and organization. So, yeah, it’s very exciting.
You’re a New York kid, and obviously, there’s a different dynamic in Charlotte than in The Bronx, but what do you like most about the city, and what’s allowed it to become home for you?
I think for me, is the pace of the city. It’s not too fast. New York is a pretty fast place. I’m more low key. I’m more quiet, so I think I’m more slow-paced. I guess I could use the word normal. I get a chance to be pretty normal, I guess, I’m able to go out and actually enjoy myself, and not really feel overwhelmed by people because that’s not the kind of guy I am. I’m not a big fan of attention. I’m not. I love to be able to go out and just be able to be myself. Like I said, just not be overwhelmed. So, I think that means a lot to me.
You worked with Rapsody and 9th Wonder on the track for The Sounds of the City campaign with JBL. What was that experience like, and just coming up with the whole concept behind it?
It was pretty dope. It was pretty dope. They’re two great, great, great people. Really intelligent, really just know what they’re doing with their careers. It was really exciting, especially when I first got a chance to hear the beat that 9th made. I got a chance to hear the lyrics that Rapsody made over the beat. I was just really impressed. I had a great time. I had a really great time with those two awesome people.
Growing up in New York, it’s a hotbed for basketball and hip-hop. What does music mean to you, and what makes basketball and hiphop such a seemingly natural fit together?
Music means a lot to me. I love it. I love to move to the music. It just puts me in a great place. Even when I’m not playing basketball, I love listening to music. Then when I’m getting ready to play basketball, I have to get this type of music to get myself ready and mentally prepare to go play a game. As far as music and basketball, I think it just goes hand in hand.
I think a lot of basketball players, if they didn’t play basketball, they would have loved to have been rappers. I think a lot of rappers, same thing. I think a lot of rappers, if they didn’t rap, they would have loved to play basketball. Yeah, man. It just goes. It just flows together.
What artists or albums are heaviest in the rotation right now, for you, when you are driving to the game or warming up and getting ready for a game?
Right now, heavy in the rotation is Hoodie SZN [by] A Boogie, and The WIZRD [by] Future. So, those right now are in the heavy rotation. I can’t listen to anything else right now but those two albums.
Is there anything you listen to that might surprise folks?
I don’t think so. No. Nothing surprising. No, I don’t think so. [laughs]
