Swiperboy is retiring

Tennessee senior forward Renaldo Woolridge has developed a cult following under his alter-ego, rapper Swiperboy".

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if more people knew about his ability to spit a verse than get buckets. He has over 10,000 followers on twitter (as @Swiperboy) and has upwards of 100,000 views on a number of his 107 videos uploaded to youtube, which is quite a feat for a player that's never averaged more than 13.0 mpg and 3.4 ppg in three seasons, playing just eight injury plagued games in 2010-2011.

It makes his decision to quit rapping, which he announced on his blog today, all the more surprising:

After this release, there will be no more mixtapes from me. Now I know what you all are thinking, "Wow..did SB just give up on a dream and quit??"...No, thats not the reason. In all honesty I feel extremely under appreciated when it comes to the talent I was given for music. There are a lot of artists in mainstream america who are TERRIBLE, but have more shine than the sun reflected off a mirror in the middle of July has.... MEANING, if I have to stoop down and be "wack" to "make it", then I don't want that.

Now, if he was making this decision to focus on basketball, that would be one thing. Watch his videos. Its obvious he puts a tremendous amount of time and effort into his music. As an athletic and versatile 6'8" forward, he has the potential to be a very effective player in college.

But what is his ceiling as a basketball player?

He doesn't currently have NBA personnel fawning over him -- they don't pay attention to big men that average 3.4 ppg unless you play for John Calipari -- and playing on a Tennessee team that will be off the national radar this season is not a good way to up his exposure.

Making it in the NBA, or as a professional basketball player overseas, is incredibly difficult.

But making it in the music industry is even harder. You need a blend of talent, timing, successful promotion, and sheer luck to make it past being a youtube rapper.

Now, I listen to a lot of hip-hop, and while I wouldn't consider myself a leading scholar on the subject, I know more about rap that 99% of the population. Swiperboy is good. He is clever, he has a good flow and timing, and he uses clever punch lines. He also has a national profile as athlete at a major college and the corresponding following from a devoted and passionate fan base. Big breaks have been made out of less.

He's also a college student-athlete, with time commitments that -- hopefully -- force his music to take a back seat at times. And he's still been able to accomplish some impressive things.

The one thing I think we all can agree on is that there are some truly horrific "musicians" out there making a helluva lot of money releasing trash.

That doesn't mean that any aspiring musician should give up on their dreams. Here's to hoping Swiperboy doesn't give up on his.