G3’s viral anthem has taken over sports teams’ locker rooms, racked up millions of views and notched him a slot at Rolling Loud California.
LiAngelo Ball attends GBK Pre-ESPY Luxury Lounge presented by MEND on July 10, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for GBK Brand Bar
When your two brothers are NBA stars, it can be tough to live up to the family name. The middle child of the Ball brothers, LiAngelo has been trying to find his footing professionally in hoops since going undrafted by the NBA in 2018 after withdrawing from UCLA.
2025 had a different plan for LiAngelo as it was the recording studio and not the basketball court that helped his profile explode over the weekend.
Gelo — who also raps under the alias G3 — released his “Tweaker” track on Friday (Jan. 3) via Born to Ball Music Group, which set social media ablaze, infiltrated sports teams’ locker rooms and took the rap world by storm with co-signs from Lil Yachty to T-Pain.
Fans felt the track was oozing with mid-2000s vibes so “Tweaker” fittingly made a nostalgic debut on WorldStarHipHop where it boasts nearly four million views.
The 26-year-old’s momentum even earned him a slot to perform at Rolling Loud California 2025 in March. There appears to be more heat on the way as another snippet has hit social media.
LiAngelo isn’t the only one of LaVar’s sons to pick up a mic as brother Lonzo, who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls, has released a pair of albums in the past.
It’s a special time for the Ball family with youngest brother LaMelo, Charlotte Hornets point guard, currently leads the Eastern Conference in fan voting ahead of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in February.
Learn more about LiAngelo Ball and his Kunica-produced “Tweaker” breakout hit below.
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Lil Yachty, Meek Mill & T-Pain Co-Signs
“Tweaker” and its catchy “I might swerve, bend that corner, woah-oah” bars are even earning the respect of G3’s peers. Lil Yachty posted a TikTok dancing to the track in a 2000s-coded outfit and T-Pain quoted Ball’s lyrics with a photo from the mid-2000s on X.
“Real hiphop 2025,” Lil Boat wrote.
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The Ball Family
As the patriarch of the Ball family, LaVar set the bar high and the spotlight shining on his family as he seemingly never met a microphone he didn’t like. LaVar, who had a brief NFL stint with the New York Jets, and wife Tina gave birth to three boys — Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo.
The family settled in Chino Hills, California, and LaVar promised his kids would all eventually play in the NBA together. While the Big Baller Brand CEO fell a tad short of his goal, Lonzo (27 years old) has battled back from knee injuries and has made over $100 million in the league as a current Chicago Bull and youngest brother LaMelo (23 years old) is averaging just under 30 points per game suiting up for the Charlotte Hornets.
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Sports Teams Embracing ‘Tweaker’ As Locker Room Anthem
“Tweaker” has quickly become a braggadocios anthem for sports teams to vibe with. Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell gave LiAngelo Ball a shout-out during his postgame interview as teammates bumped G3’s track.
It’s not only for hoops players as the Detroit Lions celebrated winning the NFC North division title on Sunday (Jan. 5) by dancing to “Tweaker” in the locker room. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown got his teammates involved in the singalong too.
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NBA Aspirations
Gelo had NBA aspirations like his brothers. After playing four years at Chino Hills High School, Ball emerged as a three-star recruit and followed in Lonzo’s footsteps at UCLA.
Per The New York Times, LiAngelo was suspended alongside two teammates for allegedly shoplifting during a team trip to China in 2017. Ball quickly withdrew from UCLA without ever playing in a game. He went undrafted by the NBA a year later in 2018 and began his journey by playing overseas in Prienai, Lithuania.
Following a stint in the Junior Basketball Association, Ball played a pair of seasons as part of the Hornets’ G-League team, the Swarm, in 2022 and 2023 before heading to Mexico where he suited up for the Astros de Jalisco.
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Lonzo Ball Clarifies His Co-Writing Credit
Lonzo Ball wants to keep the spotlight on LiAngelo. While Lonzo is reportedly credited as a co-writer of “Tweaker,” he just wants credit for the distorted neighborhood cover art. The Bulls guard also dubbed 2025 to be the #YearofG.”
The Chicago Bulls turned up to “Tweaker” in the locker room following a comeback victory against the New York Knicks over the weekend and the footage quickly went viral of Lonzo grinning ear-to-ear rapping his brother’s bars.
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Rolling Loud California 2025
Rolling Loud prides itself on bringing emerging hip-hop acts from your headphones to the stage and they didn’t waste any time inviting Gelo to the party. With “Tweaker” serving as the first major rap moment of 2025, G3 earned a slot to perform at Rolling Loud California on March 15 where he’ll have fans collectively swerving and bending that corner. Although he doesn’t have any projects out just yet, hopefully, there’s more music to perform come March.
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Weatherman Incorporates ‘Tweaker’ Into Snowstorm Report
Even the weathermen are getting in on the trend. During a live hit showing the impact of a snowstorm, a WSAZ3 reporter explained that drivers may “swerve bend that corner” due to the slick conditions, which probably went over the heads of 99 percent of the viewers in Huntington, West Virginia.
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Moneybagg Yo & Boosie Badazz Want In On the Remix
There’s been plenty of chatter about who’s going to be the first to freestyle over “Tweaker” or hop on the official remix. Moneybagg Yo and Boosie threw their names into the mix by firing a tweet to Gelo on Tuesday (Jan. 7). “@LiAngeloBall send me da open verse ima tweak,” Big Speaker wrote. They wont be the last to ask.
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Memes on Memes on Memes
Just about every hit these days comes with some sort of meme-ability and there was no shortage of memes, gifs and clips associated with “Tweaker.” Fans threw on their baggy NFL jerseys and loaded up NBA Live 2005 before pressing play on Gelo’s — or as some nicknamed him NCAA YoungBoy — breakout hit.
