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Move over, Drake. Get out of the way, Kendrick Lamar. There's a new hip-hop artist on the scene with a diss track that has music fans around the world talking — WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi!
The former Intercontinental and tag team champion released a track on social media Friday titled "The Sultan," which is both a tribute to the late Iron Sheik, who passed away in June 2023, and a diss track about Hulk Hogan, a man for whom Sheik had a legendary (if fictional) hatred. Rapping over an instrumental version of Fat Joe and The Terror Squad's iconic track "Lean Back," Rikishi posted the track on X (formerly known as Twitter) to explain the story behind the song.
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Hip Hop music has always been apart of my life. When I started my wrestling journey, I always had a tape playing in the car on the road from city to city. As I start this new adventure in music, I wanted to pay homage to the hip hop and reggae artists that motivated me throught... pic.twitter.com/ORwG3CN0nR
— RIKISHI FATU (@TheREALRIKISHI) May 3, 2024
Rikishi said that music has always been a big part of his life and that he always had a tape playing in his car while he travelled on the road. He became close to The Iron Sheik while Sheik was his manager during his short-lived run as The Sultan, and Rikishi eventually played "Lean Back" for Sheik, who was apparently a big fan of due to its Middle Eastern influence. Rikishi thanked the people who helped him put the track together, before posting another message to his X account teasing more music, writing "No one's safe!!!! #RikishiRapTunes."
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The rivalry between Hogan and Sheik was as notorious as it was untrue, as revealed during their "argument" on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2008. It was demonstrated again when Hogan posted a lengthy message on his Instagram account paying tribute to Sheik after he passed away.
