Call it “Like Kurtis.” Bow Wow, with help from Jermaine Dupri and Fabolous, has remade Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball” for the soundtrack to his upcoming film “Like Mike.”
The rappers will gather in Los Angeles next week with director Chris Robinson (Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg) to shoot a video for the single.
Like the movie, which stars the 15-year-old rapper as an orphan who becomes an NBA star when he finds a pair of Michael Jordan’s old shoes, the “Basketball” clip will find Bow Wow on the court with several hoops elite, although a spokesperson for the movie could not confirm which players.
“We’re moving from the ’70s to the ’80s to the ’90s to 2002,” Bow Wow said of the video’s concept. “You’re going to see me in the M.J. shorts real tight with the socks up to the knees.”
Although the spokesperson said a track list is still being finalized, the “Like Mike” soundtrack is due July 2, 10 days before the movie hits theaters.
Bow Wow will perform the new song when he hits the road with B2K, IMX and Jhene in late July on the Scream 2 Tour, an outing he promised will be far better than last year’s inaugural run.
“We’re about to do an ‘NSYNC on y’all,” Bow Wow said at Tuesday’s BET Awards press conference. “I’m going to be flying, and we’re doing 3-D. It’s going to be bananas. We’ve got weeks and weeks of rehearsals. This is for real.”
Bow Wow said several hot acts asked to join the tour, but he stuck with B2K because of his history with them. Aside from opening for him last year, they appeared in his “Ghetto Girls” video.
“They’re like family,” he said. “They’re my age. I get to set down and bond with them. They are so busy now, they haven’t had a chance to just buckle up with their homey.”
