15 Songs For Basketball Warm Up

Move is a HipHop song by rapper Ludacris featuring fellow rappers Mystikal and I-20. Its music video has over 37 million views on YouTube.

The song was released on May 21, 2002, as the fourth single off of Ludracis’s album, Word of Mouf. It was very popular upon release and even reached number 10 on the Hot 100 as well as various rap and R&B charts during that year.

Since then, the song has become a staple of Hip Hop, especially Southern HipHop, and a popular song for sporting events. What makes Move a great song for warming up is its intensity and aggressiveness. 

Ludacris starts the song by loudly exclaiming for his opposition to move and get out of the way and follows it up by rapping that phrase as the chorus throughout. Fellow rappers Mystikal and I-20 add to the intensity by describing their annoyance at their opposition and all the ways they want them to move.

Move is not only a great way to start warming up but also a great way to get to that aggressive state of mind so necessary during basketball or any contact sport. 

Dirt off Your Shoulder is a Hip Hop song from East Coast legend, Jay-Z. Its music video has over 45 million views on YouTube.

Released on March 2, 2004, as the second single from his acclaimed, The Black Album, Dirt off Your Shoulder is produced by legendary producer Timbaland. It is one of Jay-Z’s most popular songs. 

Known for his braggadocious raps, this song is a bit different from all of Jay’s other brag raps as here he focuses on how unbothered he is by his enemies, their tactics, and their opinions. In fact, he’s so unbothered that he describes their words and actions as dirt on his shoulder and brushes it off when he sees it.

In the famous chorus from the song, Jay then directs his listeners, male and female, to brush off the dirt that’s on their shoulders. It’s a nice contrast to the previous Ludacris song as aggressiveness is necessary for basketball, but one also needs to have a cool head and a sense of self-assured confidence that Jay-Z epitomizes with this song.

Dreams and Nightmares is the intro song from Philadelphia rapper Meek Mills’ debut album of the same name. It has over 90 million views on YouTube.

The song, alongside the album, was released on October 30, 2012, and the song was produced by fellow Pennsylvanian producer The Beat Bully. Despite not being a single, Dreams and Nightmares is one of Meek’s best-known songs, and many in his fan base and Hip Hop fans, in general, consider it his signature song. 

An inspirational song, Dreams and Nightmares tackles Meek’s adulation and joy as he raps about finally achieving his dreams of being a successful rapper. His opening line is one of his most quoted lyrics stating “I used to pray for times like this, to rhyme like this.”

The song makes for a great one to get focused on as Meek’s rapping makes clear how much he’s wanted to be one of the greats. So, for any player who’s playing basketball or any sport not only for fun but to get to the very top and become one of the greats, there is no better song and anthem than Meek Mills’ Dreams and Nightmares. 

All I Do Is Win is a rap song by DJ Khaled featuring rappers T Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, and Rick Ross. It has 118 million views on YouTube.

The song was released on February 8, 2010, as a single from Khaled’s album, Victory. A popular song, it reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and has since been certified platinum. 

All I Do Is Win is a celebratory song about celebrating your wins and embracing your inner greatness. Due to its braggadocious nature and upbeat sound, the song has become an anthem for many different sports teams, with the most popular one being the professional basketball team the New York Knicks who used the song’s instrumentals as their player intro during their 2010-11 season in the NBA.

Since then, the song has been used by teams like the Miami Hurricanes and the Denver Broncos and has grown in prominence in popular culture with celebrities like Emma Stone and big YouTubers like Barack’s Dubs using it. Due to its popularity, Khaled released a remix of the song with additional guest vocals by rappers like Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, Fat Joe, and more.

Bodies is a nu-metal song by the American rock band Drowning Pool. The music video for the song has amassed over 177 million views on YouTube.

Released on May 14, 2001, it is widely considered the band’s signature song and is especially known for its opening which features the singer quietly singing the phrase “Let the bodies hit the floor” over and over again until the music explodes loudly.

Though the song initially suffered in popularity because of the September 11 attacks, it has since gained immense popularity and prominence due to the many memes that have originated from it. However, it is also a great hype-up song due to its aggressiveness and energy and is widely connected to Wrestling.

It was the theme song for the 2001 WWF SummerSlam and was also the same for the ECW wrestling company from 200 to 2008. As basketball is an equally aggressive sport as wrestling, not only can this song be used by players to hype themselves up before a match, but also to regain that aggressive intensity during or after a break to make sure they can get back into the game with no difficulty.

Break Stuff is also a nu-metal song by the genre’s figureheads, Limp Bizkit. The song’s video has amassed over 179 million views on YouTube.

It was released as a single on May 2, 2000, and features the band’s stereotypical aggressive rap-rock style characterized by the band’s virtuosos guitarist Wes Borland’s heavy riffs and lead singer and rapper Fred Durst’s iconic raps and howls. 

The song has since gained a notorious reputation for being the catalyst that set off the terrible and violent events during Woodstock 1999 which ended up seeing numerous injuries, property damage, and a lot of assault cases. However, this does not take away from the fact that Break Stuff is a great song to get to get into an aggressive and intense headspace which is a welcome mood to be in before and during a game.

Though Limp Bizkit has more popular songs, many consider Break Stuff to be the greatest and most representative of their style. It perfectly showcases the band’s riff-heavy and thunderous musical style while giving enough space for rapper and singer Fred Durst to vocally let go.

In essence, it’s a hard song not to lose your head to.

Remember the Name is a rap song by Fort Minor, the musical project of Mike Shinoda, rapper of Linkin Park. It has over 301 million YouTube views.

Released on September 20, 2005, the song also features the underground hip-hop band, Styles of Beyond. It is from Shinoda’s 2005 album, The Rising Tied.

The song has since gained a lot of popularity due to its inspirational nature, especially in its iconic chorus that equates success to 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill, 15 percent concentrated power of will, 5 percent pleasure, 50 percent pain, and a 100 percent reason to remember the name. The line has since become iconic not only amongst Shinoda’s fans but also among sports teams, fans, and fanatics.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Remember the Name would be a great and fitting song to start off one’s warm-up with as it puts you in a dedicated mindset, ready to tackle the physical pain which often comes with exercise. But what makes it unique is that it gives the listener the will not to give up and keep persevering regardless of what hurdles may come.

Forever is a collaboration rap song by rappers Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. It currently has over 351 million views on YouTube.

The song was released on August 27, 2009, and though it bills Drake as the lead artist, it eventually went on to be released on Eminem’s re-release of his album Relapse. It features braggadocious raps from all four artists.

The four artists put their best verses on show to showcase their lyrical skills while spouting out how and why they are the best at what they do. The song is a great hype song because you can hear just how hard each of the rappers is going in their verses from Drake’s young hungriness, Kanye’s energy, Lil Wayne’s calm charisma, and Eminem, who many think has the best verse, showing off his technical skills.

Forever is especially a great song for those playing basketball as it was written and released to be a tribute to the greatest basketball player of all time, Lebron James. The music video too showcases Lebron from his youth all the way up to his current antics as of the music video’s release in 2009. 

Stronger is an electronic-inspired rap song by controversial rapper and producer Kanye West. The music video has amassed over 432 million views.

Released on July 31, 2007, as the second single from his album, Graduation, Stronger is one of the best showcases of brag rap from perhaps the most braggadocious rapper of all time. Mr. West, who has at times equated himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and even God, delivers a powerhouse performance on the song. 

Produced in part by legendary French electronic duo, Daft Punk, who made the original song the song samples, it sees Kanye laying bare all the reasons why he is so much better than anyone else. What makes the song such a success is that Kanye’s arrogance is addictive.

No one can hear this song and not feel like they are the best at whatever they do. The robotic bass, Kanye’s brags, the booming drums, and the Daft Punk sample make it easy to believe the hype that Kanye sings about.

In essence, after listening to the song does feel stronger, making this song the perfect hype song for listening to before a basketball game.

The Pretender is a rock song by the popular rock band Foo Fighters. Its music video has over 526 million views on YouTube.

Released on August 21, 2007, it is one of the Foo Fighters’ most popular songs. It peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is their third most popular song on the main Billboard charts.

Sometimes, inspiration comes not from within but from being in opposition to those who would rather see us fail than even a modicum of success. The Pretender is a song about rising against such evil influences in order to become the best person one can be and to show all the naysayers that not only are they wrong but just how wrong they are.

Powered by the band’s powerful, thundering music and Dave Grohl’s inspiring voice, The Pretender is a great song to listen to and feel like one can tackle all the problems in the world. This inspirational anger the song provides has done much to make it a success and done even more for that success to continue.

Listening to it before a basketball match or practice is sure to make the listener soar above their opposition or even their peers as they live what the lyrics talk about.

Welcome to the Jungle is a hard rock song by the legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses. It has over 539 million views on YouTube.

It was released as the band’s second single from their debut album on September 28, 1987. It is widely regarded as one of the band’s most iconic and popular songs.

Unlike many other songs on this list, the lyrical content of Welcome to the Jungle is not inspirational at all. In it, lead singer and writer Axl Rose talks about coming to Los Angeles, the titular jungle of the song, and finding what a decadent and despondent city that it actually is contrary to the mecca of art and entertainment many believe it to be.

But what makes the song a great one for hyping you up is the sheer energy and tenacity that the band’s music, alongside Axl’s growls and soaring vocals provide. There is a reason why the band was once called the most dangerous band in the world, and listening to the song, the listener is bound to feel pretty badass and dangerous themselves. 

We Will Rock You is a rock song by the iconic English rock band, Queen. It currently has over 554 million views on YouTube.

The song was released on October 7, 1977, and is especially iconic for being almost completely acapella except for stomping and clapping, with the guitars coming in thirty seconds before the song is set to end. Written by the band’s lead guitarist, it is by far the band’s best-known song.

Due to its acapella nature alongside the stomping and clapping it invites, the song has become a popular stadium anthem at sporting events around the world. However, what separates the song from other chants is that it is pretty inspirational on its own regardless of being performed at a large event.

In fact, one could listen to it by themselves, with only singer Freddie Mercury’s voice in their ear, and still find themselves hyped up and inspired. Thus, it is a great song to listen to before playing a basketball match.

Pump It is a pop rap song by the American hip-hop group the Black Eyed Peas. It has over 755 million views on YouTube.  

Released as a single on January 16, 2006, the song was a huge success and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is also known for sampling Dick Dale’s 1962 song, Misirlou, which is best known for being featured in the movie, Pulp Fiction.

Carrying over the electricity and energy of Misirlou, the Black Eyed Peas deliver a fast-paced and hyper song about being better than everyone else. The sample alone is enough to make anyone feel hyped after listening to it, but the group’s raps alongside Fergie’s singing make this a must-listen before any sports game. 

Eye of the Tiger is an inspirational song by the American rock band, Survivor. It has over 858 million views on YouTube. 

The song is perhaps best known for being the theme song for the 1982 film Rocky III. As the theme song of an inspirational movie, it comes as no surprise that the song is inspirational too.

With lyrics that talk about overcoming adversity and facing challenges head-on with the titular Eye of the Tiger, one would be hard-pressed to find a more inspirational hype-up song. It’s precisely those qualities that have immortalized this song for almost half a decade.

The song also remains popular for being used, either straight or as a parody, in movies or television shows when a character needs to overcome adversity. 

Lose Yourself is a rap song by the prominent American rapper, Eminem. It currently has over 1.2 billion views on YouTube.

Released on October 28, 2002, as part of the soundtrack for Eminem’s semibiographical film, 8 Mile, it has sustained its initial success by simply being one of the most inspirational songs of all time. 

Widely recognized as one of Eminem’s best songs, it not only nabbed the rapper his first number 1 Hot 100 single but also won an Oscar for Best Original Song. These accolades only cement the message of the song, which urges the listener to pursue their dream, letting them know that if they are true to themselves, and lose themselves in their art form, his being music, they are bound to become successful.