John Cena, the WWE superstar-turned-actor, recently shared insights into his rap career.
According to Billboard, during an appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay, John Cena reflected on his youth in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and described how he channelled his teenage rebellion through hip-hop.
“I was one of five boys, and I had a lot of angst with how the household was being run. I was a rebel. That music found me at the right time,” Cena recounted.
According to Billboard, he mentioned that tracks like NWA’s “F–k tha Police” resonated deeply with him, seeing the police as symbolic of his own rebellious spirit.
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Cena also discussed his decision to pursue rap music despite WWE’s rock-dominated focus.
“At the time, WWE was a rock and roll company. They didn’t have any depth of field for hip-hop, and I listened to my own music being like, ‘I could do better than this,'” he explained.
This led to his 2005 debut album, ‘You Can’t See Me’, which achieved significant success, peaking at No 15 on the Billboard 200 chart.
In his interview, Cena revealed his top athlete-rappers–Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Master P–and shared his personal ‘Mount Rushmore’ of rap, featuring Rakim, Jay-Z, Nas, and Eminem, according to Billboard.
He acknowledged that his list might stir debate, emphasizing the subjectivity and personal nature of music.
“We all have our bias. We all have our favourites. That’s what makes music special. That’s what makes creativity,” Cena said.
He also credited Tony Yayo of G-Unit as the inspiration behind his famous ‘You can’t see me’ hand gesture, a detail he previously shared during a 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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(With inputs from ANI)
