New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.'s superstardom has taken him places that few members of the Giants have ever gone before. Over the past weekend, Beckham found himself pitted in competition, not against a defensive back seeking to minimize his impact on the gridiron, but rather in the form of a rap battle.
Beckham appeared on TBS' Drop the Mic, and was pitted in a battle with 19-year old Canadian musician Shawn Mendes.
Only thing better than the rhymes was the @OBJ_3 touchdown dance. Missed it? Catch the full #DropTheMic battle against @ShawnMendes right now! pic.twitter.com/V3PlwxIuLS
— Drop The Mic on TBS (@DropTheMicTBS) April 23, 2018
Beckham was able to hold his own in exchanging barbs, particularly when he dissed Mendes' originality.
"Bieber also came down here to make noise," riffed Beckham. "I said, 'why the hell does Canada keep sending us these little boys?' No matter what you say, my ego won't burst. Because whatever you though, John Mayer did it first."
In a follow-up diss track, Mendes did not back down.
"Yeah, you said that I'm fake. I think millions disagree," responded Mendes. "How do they ever call you a Giant when you are shorter than me?"
Ultimately, Mendes was declared the winner - Something that surely earned Beckham plenty of grief from his teammates during the beginning of the Giants' voluntary minicamp on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, on the football side of Beckham's career, the perennial Pro Bowl receiver looked the part on Tuesday when he participated in stretches with teammates. After a somewhat tumultuous offseason where it appeared that the Giants may have sought to trade Beckham away, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said that he "absolutely" expects Beckham to be suiting up for Big Blue come the 2018 season.
"He’s an excellent player, he’s part of our team and he’s a very valued member of our team," said Shurmur in a report by Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. "Everybody that’s out here, I’m planning on them being here."
Although the Giants still need to iron out a new contract for Beckham, Shurmur stated that he and Beckham had a one-on-one conversation on Monday to ensure that they both saw eye-to-eye.
"We had a great talk yesterday. He came in and we sat down as we were getting ready for this mini-camp so we could talk about what we were trying to get accomplished. We’ve spoken on the phone. We text. It’s like any relationship. We’re very honest and open with one another, and we communicate frequently."
A new contract for Beckham would be most ideal, as, given the level of his rap skills, he is certain to earn more as a star wide receiver than he ever will as a musician.