MillionFace

I know I have been spending a little too much time on Micheal Phelps, but I just can’t seem to get over him, give me a week or so before his larger than life persona wanes from my subconscious self.

The ties between hip-hop music and competitive swimming at its highest level aren’t as tenuous as one might expect. But Michael Phelps has let it be known that he habitually listened to hip-hop while psyching himself up to race

Thirty years ago, after all, the original smash rap single, “Rapper’s Delight”, referenced water sports in the lyric, “After school I take a dip in the pool’.

According to a recent New York Times profile: “The music transforms him. His goofy grin dissolves into a glower, his eyes turn cold as ice. The hip-hop beats have a hypnotic effect on Phelps, who sometimes, after a race, is unable to recall the songs that locked him into his groove.”

Phelps has referenced the Miami-based rapper Rick Ross and New York’s preeminent hip-hop artist Jay-Z as two of the artists he prefers for motivation.Also Outkast, Young Jeezy and Lil’ Wayne are on heavy rotation on Phelps’ iPod as well.

The playlist that Phelps provided to Yahoo.com during his historic Olympic turn reads as follows.

1. “Overnight Celebrity” - Twista

2. “Burn” - Usher

3. “Roses” - Outkast

4. “Till I Collapse” - Eminem

5. “Smile” - G Unit

6. “A Milli” - Lil’ Wayne

7. “Hustlin” - Rick Ross

8. “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” - Jay-Z (featuring Lil Wayne)

9. “I Got What It Takes” - Young Jeezy

Once again, have fun Mike, enjoy that hip-hop music, texting with your buddies and wearing your cap backward