Michael Phelps and Inspirational Rap Songs

If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll know I love inspirational quotes and songs. Last month I wrote a post detailing some of my favorite inspirational rap songs.  Over the weekend I came across a featured article on Yahoo! (it was on the front page) which explored the topic of what music Michael Phelps listens to:

In nearly every camera shot of Michael Phelps on dry land, he can be seen with iPod headphones dangling from his ears. The earbuds are a ubiquitous presence in the ready room and on the starting block; they’re just as much a part of Phelps’ ‘uniform’ as goggles and a swim cap. About two minutes prior to the start of a race, Phelps sheds the iPod along with his warm-ups. So, what is he listening to?…

Phelps listens to hip-hop music on his [iPod]. He says it helps motivate him before a race.

Phelps has said that “I’m Me” by Lil’ Wayne has been on his playlist in Beijing.

Other artists that populate Phelps’ iPod include: Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Eminem and Outkast….[he] usually keeps things rap-centric. Phelps doesn’t speak much about the specific songs he’s listening to, but he did tell NBC in 2004 that Eminem’s “‘Til I Collapse” was on his most-played list at Athens.

Sweet. So Phelps gets pumped to the same music that I do. And judging by the fact that my last post on the subject is the most read post of all time on this blog, I figured a lot of other people get inspired by rap songs. With that said, I thought it’d be cool to break down some of the songs Phelps listens to. After all, his 8 gold medals (7 world records, 1 Olympic record) in Beijing give him the most golds of any athlete in Olympic history and the most gold medals in a single Olympics. Phelps is now spoken of as the greatest Olympian of all time.

Let’s start with “I’m Me” by Lil’ Wayne. Here’s the my interpretation of what Lil’ Wayne is saying [I have no idea how Phelps would interpret the words or how they make him feel, so this is my best guess]:

“The hottest… under the sun…”

I’m the best and the hottest one around.

“Ain’t nobody fucking with me man”

Nobody is going to mess with me, especially because everyone knows I’m the best.

“Fuck up my dreams, somebody gonna die tonight”

Don’t get in my way. I dream big and there’s only 1 outcome in my mind.

“Yes, I’m the best! And no, I ain’t positive, I’m definite”

I know in my core that I am the best. It’s not really even a question. It is a statement of facts.

“I know the game like I’m reffing it”

I know all the rules. I know everything about what I’m doing.

“Baby I’m me, so who you? You’re not me, you’re not me
And I know that ain’t fair, but I don’t care”

I am me and it’s probably not fair that no one else is on my level, but that’s the way it is.

“I am a missile like a scud”

I hit my targets and goals. Phelps is a missile in the water. Don’t get in his way.

“And you all have witnessed, but I have not finished
So keep your mouth closed and let your eyes listen”

Don’t talk trash to me (good job Team France, he really needed that extra motivation). And even when you think I’m done, I’m still going to keep going. So just sit back and watch me do what I do because you ain’t seen nothing yet.

“I’m rapping when you sleep, I was rapping when you were in jammies”

While you rest, I work. I’ve been doing this since you were still an infant and I put in all the hours I can.

“I’m a monster I tell you”

I’m scary good. I am a beast.

“Ain’t nothing gonna stop me so just envy it”

You’re not going to stop me. Nobody is.

The next song was Phelps’s most played song in the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he”only” got 6 gold medals and 2 bronze medals. That song is “Till I Collapse” by Eminem:

“Cause sometimes you feel tired, feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.

But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.”

This is pretty simple: DO NOT GIVE UP. EVER. And when you start feeling like you’re going to quit, pull that deep energy out and push through it. Get it done.

“Till I collapse I’m spilling these raps long as you feel em
Till the day that I drop you’ll never say that I’m not killing them”

Until I die I’m going to put it all out there and no one is ever going to be able to say that I did not give it my 110%.

“Your coming with me, feel it or not you’re gonna fear it”

You might not realize it yet, but it’s scary how good I am.

“Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth.”

My legs need to be falling off and the world needs to be melting down for you to stop me.

“This is your moment and every single minute you spend trying to hold onto it cause you may never get it again.”

Embrace what you are doing, because right now is your moment in life.

“You hate it but you know respect you’ve got to give me”

You might not like me, but you know who I am and the respect that I deserve.

“What is he thinking? How not to go against me? Smart.”

Is he really challenging me? It appears that he is showcasing the worst possible way to try to beat me. Not very smart of him.

“But I’ll never be served my spot is forever reserved”

I earned my spot and it’s going to be there forever.

“I will not fall, I will stand tall, Feels like no one could beat me.”

Failure is not an option. I know who I am and I know I am unbeatable.

It’s cool to think about how inspiring music can be and how powerful words are. It was an absolute pleasure watching Michael Phelps dominate in the Olympics and witnessing all of his electrifying races.