COMPTON, CALIFORNIA:

Westside Boogie’s first connection with retired NBA guard Brandon Jennings wasn’t about music or basketball — it was about fatherhood.

“That was our introduction,” Westside Boogie said at Vision: West 2024, where players and artists from the same hometowns came together to explore identity. “Me, DM’ing him, trying to get a basketball coach. Because I wanted my kid to be a dog like him.”

But their connection ran deeper than the sport. Growing up in Compton, Westside Boogie saw Jennings as proof that making it out — and making it big — was possible. “I always idolized somebody like Brandon, who can make the best out of their situation and still be a survivor,” he said.

Jennings knows firsthand that basketball is just one part of the journey. “Music and basketball, it works hand in hand,” he said. “We’re both doing things outside of it — music, basketball, fashion, different things.”

For him, the moment he realized he was more than just a hooper came when he chose to skip college and play overseas. “That’s when it became business. That’s when I was able to see something different in my life, take on a risk, a journey, that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to handle at 19.”

For both, identity isn’t just about where they came from — it’s about pushing boundaries, taking risks, and owning every step of the journey.