LiAngelo Ball — the middle child of the Ball brothers, a California basketball phenom since their early teens — is releasing music that sounds like he’s trying to convince us that he’s on the porches of Baton Rouge with Boosie and Webbie grew up. Last week, the only Ball not in the NBA premiered his single “Tweaker,” released under the name G3, on a stream (a phrase I’ll be saying a lot this year). To almost everyone’s surprise, the combination of his sing-song flow and bouncy Mouse on the Track-esque beat, ready to be torn down by an HBCU band, is quite listenable – so much so that it’s become a meme .

In reality, “Tweaker” is probably funnier than it is good. His “woahs” and “ahhs” are catchy and it’s hilarious to imagine the Ball brothers sitting in their mansion studying Big Tymers tapes and 70th Street Carlos loosies. However, the inspiration for the retro sound is probably more conventional: the Ball brothers like YoungBoy and maybe a little Kevin Gates, both of whom are heavily inspired by Louisiana’s past. The most interesting parts of “Tweaker” were probably absorbed by osmosis, so I’m not willing to call it anything other than the first hilarious viral rap song of 2025. But with that said, I’d be freaking out if I didn’t mention the next snippet sounds like a step up.