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Ex-Billionaire Kanye West Once Flaunted His Ridiculous Range by Using MLB Icon Barry Bonds as Inspiration

Published 01/16/2023, 7:30 AM EST

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Renowned rapper Kanye West has been the main subject of controversies as well as various media wrangling because of his harsh comments on various sensitive topics. And because of this, his accounts on Twitter and Instagram got removed owing to his oppressive and antisemitic remarks. The rapper is also known for flexing his creativity into songs by using big names in various industries.

Back in 2007, when he was still working hard to rise to the top and wasn’t a part of as many controversies as he is now, he flaunted his range by getting inspiration from the controversial MLB legend, Barry Bonds. It was his way of flexing his creativity into the world. 

How did Kanye West flaunt his creativity?

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The controversial baseball legend Barry Bonds hit the 756th home run of his career on August 7, 2007. By doing so, he broke what seemed like an unbreakable record of most career home runs by late legend Hank Aaron’s 755 home runs. 

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Exactly a week after Bonds became the disputable home run king, MTV reported that the rapper Kanye West had named one of the songs of his album “Graduation” after Barry Bonds. Apparently, the rapper thought that his record will go as big as Bonds’ name was at the time. The chorus of the song goes, “Here’s another hit, Barry Bonds.”

The song, Barry Bonds, featured the rapper Lil Wayne, received mixed reactions from fans after its initial release on September 11, 2007. Apparently, Bonds is or was friends with the rapper. As he once got clicked with the rapper and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian back in 2014. 

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Why is the baseball legend controversial?

In the spring of 2001, the former baseball player was continuously throwing balls out of the ballpark. Because of this, he got questioned about his newfound power over the diamond. 

Watch this story: From Alex Rodriguez to Barry Bonds – 5 top players who aren’t a part of the MLB hall of fame

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However, the book, “Game of Shadows,” reported about Bonds’ late-career home-run surge. It said the surge was because of performance-enhancing drugs. Later in 2004, the SF Chronicle broke articles about one particular company called Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative. The company was involved in providing steroids to some of the biggest names in sports. Since then, Bonds never got tested positive. But there have been many stories and cases filed involving him, and PEDs have made him a controversial MLB legend. Probably because of this, the disputed home run king is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Do you think Bonds should be in the HOF? Tell us your views in the comments below!

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Written by:

Rakshita Madan

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Rakshita Madan is an MLB author at EssentiallySports. She is an engineering graduate and is currently pursuing her MBA from NMIMS, Mumbai. Rakshita has experience in writing for more than four years now, with one of her writings even getting published in an anthology.
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Edited by:

Abhishek Kumar