O.J. Simpson has been one of the most polarizing figures in pop culture, but rappers have continued to show him love over the years in different ways. His sports career and personal life, namely the infamous murder case (officially listed as the People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson) involving his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ronald Goldman have all been well-documented. On April 10, O.J. Simpson died at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer.
In 2016, there were two special televised programs that profiled O.J. Simpson in new and creative ways. FX premiered The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, a miniseries that detailed the case that rocked the world in 1994. He was acquitted after an 11-month trial. That same year, ESPN premiered O.J.: Made in America, a five-part, eight-hour documentary focused on Simpson’s entire life up until his imprisonment for robbing Bruce Fromong, a sports memorabilia dealer, in Las Vegas in 2007. For that crime, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2008. He served nine years and was released on parole in 2017. Four years later, he was granted early discharge from parole, leaving his legal issues behind him.
When it comes to hip-hop, O.J. Simpson, who was once an NFL player with the Buffalo Bills, has been connected to the culture through the many rappers that name-drop him as well as the trial in their rhymes. Let’s also not forget the rap song “Get Juiced,” O.J. made after he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Jay-Z famously mentioned the Hall of Famer on the 2017 track “The Story of O.J.”: “O.J. like, ‘I’m not black, I’m O.J.’ …OK”
In 2023, O.J. addressed Hov’s lyrics, and revealed the MC misquoted him. “Well, first of all, [Jay-Z] didn’t say it right,” O.J. said. “When Johnnie [Cochran] was talking to me about it, and all that was going on was ‘Black, Black, Black,’ I said, ‘Man, f**k being Black. This is me. This is about O.J.,’ you know?”
Here’s a look back at some more rappers including Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Future and Tyler, The Creator, among others, that name-dropped O.J. Simpson in their lyrics over the years.
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“The Story of O.J.”
Jay-Z
“O.J. like, ‘I’m not black, I’m O.J.’ …OK”
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“Natural Born Killaz”
Dr. Dre Featuring Ice Cube
“I’m down with Dre like A.C. is down with O.J.”—Ice Cube
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“Picture Me Rollin”
Tupac Shakur
“Free like O.J. all day”
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“The Hop”
A Tribe Called Quest
“Now that I got that out my system/Watch me stab up the track as if my name was O.J. Simpson”—Phife Dawg
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“O.J.”
50 Cent Featuring Kidd Kidd
“Put on my O.J. gloves and watch me kill this s**t/Beat the case then come home and go back from doing some different s**t/I’m pullin’ off a O.J., off, off a O.J./I’m pullin’ off a O.J., I’m killin’ these b***hes”—50 Cent
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“Juice”
DJ Esco Featuring Future
“It’s personal, free ’em now/Murder trials, O.J. Simpson/White on White, O.J. Simpson/Double murder, O.J. Simpson”—Future
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“Go DJ Freestyle”
Kendrick Lamar
“A baller slash killer like O.J. Simpson”
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“OJ”
Jeezy Featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss
“Kinda hard when you’re sleeping on Dolce/Wake up drinkin’ Rosé/Killin’ that White b***h, O.J.”—Jeezy
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“Luper”
Earl Sweatshirt
“Fixed a plate of eggs and bacon, glass of O.J. Simpson”
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“These Are Our Heroes”
Nas
“From O.J. to Kobe, uh let’s call him Tobe/First he played his life cool just like Michael”
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“O.J. Simpson”
Guilty Simpson
“O.J. Simpson pimpin’, I’m like Pippen/I left the Bull s**t to rock it”
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“Pronto”
Freddie Gibbs
“Did it on the top flo’ with a light blonde h*, yeah/Yeah, I hit it and forget it, bloody murder/O.J. in the white Bronco, yeah”
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“I Shoulda Won a Grammy”
RiFF RAFF and Action Bronson
“O.J. Simpson, I’m the head honcho/Could’ve played for Toronto, but they found a dead body in the back of my Bronco”
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“Marvin’s Room (Remix)”
Lil Wayne
“I O.J. Simpson-ed that p***y”
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“Cuffin”
Cam’ron and Vado Featuring Gucci Mane
“Like O.J. Simpson, I just wanna stab her/Like OJ da Juiceman, I’m flyer than a sparrow”—Gucci Mane
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“Virginia”
Clipse
“See, plenty my partners feelin’ like O.J.”
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“Stronger”
Kanye West
“Since O.J. had Isotoners”
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“Blow”
Tyler, The Creator
“Got stretch marks like she got four kids/Her legs can’t close like the four-door hinge Bronco/That O. J. killed the White w***es with”
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“Gods, Earths and 85ers”
Poor Righteous Teachers
“Like O.J. Simpson be sleeping with the enemy”
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“Hood Mentality”
Ice Cube
“I wanna be like Barry Bonds, I wanna be like O.J. Simpson”