How Ex-Seahawks WR Nate Burleson 'Auditioned' for a Music Contract
Playing 11 seasons in the NFL, Nate Burleson enjoyed a pretty successful football career after being drafted in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Vikings.
But before he hung up his cleats, the former Seahawks standout had his sights set on music, auditioning for a rap contract at a party with the er Juvenile.
The O'Shea High School standout recently guest starred on the Scoop B Radio Podcast and discussed his musical "aspirations" with host Brandon 'Scoop B' Robinson. At the time, he was at the tail end of his career with the Browns.
“I went to a MGK concert series which lasts for a couple of days. I was deep in the cut. It took me about an hour to get there. I was with Andrew Hopkins one of my homeboys – a beast on media and TV. He knew MGK. We get there, I’m tipsy. I’m lit. There was a whole bunch of concerts, there’s food everywhere and at the end of the night, we were in the back where the celebs and athletes hang out and I saw Juve.”
A very successful artist, Juvenile hails from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has collaborated with the likes of Wyclef Jean and the Ying Yang Twins, but he is best known for the hit record Back That Azz Up featuring Lil Wayne and Mannie Fresh, which made its debut on February 24, 1999.
Back in February, the New Orleans native performed his hit record at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. A video of the concert went viral, which featured former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer, who made a campaign stop on campus.
“I was like Juve, what’s up man,” Burleson shared. “I’m a big fan bro and he was like, 'that’s what’s up. I know who you are.'
That’s when Burleson started rapping.
“So I started free-styling for him,” Burleson laughed.
As Burleson started rapping, his friend Andrew Hopkins started questioning him about his intentions and hilarity ensued.
“Like I was trying to get signed and Andrew was looking at me like, 'bro, what are you doing?!' I was like, ‘I’m trying to make it man! I gotta make it out here!’ And he thought that was so funny and looking back, there might be picture or video out there where he took it of me literally free-styling in Juve’s ear and Juve was so uninterested because he was lit! Can you imagine that bro?"
Burleson continued, "Andrew was like, 'you’re in the NFL! What are [you] talking about make it? You’re good!' I don’t know. I had to. I was trying to get signed bro! I was trying to put 400 Degreez Part 3 out!”
Obviously, nothing came of Burleson's hysterical efforts to get noticed as a rapper, but luckily for him, he landed on his feet just fine after hanging up his cleats.
Once he walked away from football in 2014, he ventured into broadcasting, working as an analyst for Good Morning Football on NFL Network. He's now widely regarded as one of the best analysts in the business working for CBS while retaining his daily gig working for the shield's staple network.
