LiAngelo Ball—the middle child of the Ball brothers, who have been California hoop phenoms since their early teens—is putting out music that sounds like he wants to convince us he grew up crooning on the porches of Baton Rouge with Boosie and Webbie. Last week, the sole Ball not in the NBA premiered his single “Tweaker,” released under the name G3, on a stream (a phrase I’m going to have to say a lot this year). To the surprise of pretty much everyone, the combination of his singsong flow and the bouncy Mouse on tha Track-style beat ready to be torn down by an HBCU band is pretty listenable—so much so it’s become a meme.
In reality, “Tweaker” is probably funnier than it is good. His “woahs” and “ahhs” are catchy and it’s hilarious to imagine the Ball brothers sitting around their mansion studying Big Tymers tapes and 70th Street Carlos loosies. The inspiration for the retro sound is probably more conventional, though: The Ball bros just like YoungBoy and maybe a little Kevin Gates, both of whom pull heavily from Louisiana’s past. The most interesting parts of “Tweaker” were likely absorbed through osmosis, so I’m unwilling to call it anything other than the first hilarious viral rap song of 2025. But with that said, I’d be trippin’ if I didn’t mention the next snippet sounds like a step up.
