While many would think a NBA star wouldn't have time to write hip-hop rhymes, Ron Artest is just the opposite. He is very serious about his rap career. Bringing home the 2010 NBA Championship was a big milestone for the Los Angeles Lakers forward, and immediately following the Lakers win in Game 7 he leaked the single 'Champions.'

'Champions' was recorded by Artest in June '09 and after finishing the track he wanted to release it right away, but was convinced to do otherwise. In an interview with Vibe, Artest spoke about how life ended up imitating art. "The song came out dope and I wanted to put it out right away. But Polow the Don and Interscope were telling me to wait until I win the championship. It's bugged out that most of the things I wrote in the song came true in game seven. Yo, 'Champions' has been my biggest song to date!"

Now that he has the championship under his belt and the single out, if Artest had his way he'd drop a remix enlisting some of today's hottest rappers. "Actually I'm trying to get T-Pain on the remix," he told Vibe. "Also I want to get 50 [Cent] and Game ... it sounds crazy but that's my plan. That's what I'm working on right now. I can't really say nothing else about it."

Accustomed to working as part of a team, it's no shocker that Artest was open to receive coaching from hip-hop veteran rapper/producer Dr. Dre. "Me and [Dr.] Dre wrote a brand new verse for the song but depending on the remix if we can get Game, 50 and T-Pain on the hook than we'll decide what we want to do with it. Dre was just coaching me and telling me the verse was stupid. Right after the game, I went straight to Dre's studio and recorded that new verse."

With a busy schedule as one of the star players for the L.A. Lakers, Artest knows that having a successful rap career is going to take time and dedication, but he feels that once he gets his big break the sky is the limit. "I think with my music career after I get one hit it's going to snowball and I'm going to keep it going with the hits. The hardest part is taking off."

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