How music remains part of Deion Sanders' brand decades after 'Must be the Money'
At the conclusion of many of his pregame speeches in the Jackson State football locker room, coach Deion Sanders yells out a catchphrase to get the team fired up.
"Now give me my theme music," Sanders says as the beat drops and the players bounce with excitement.
Last year, JSU's theme song was the 2013 hit "My Hitta" by Y.G. In the chorus of the song, Rich Homie Quan tackles the topic of loyalty, declaring that he's been "grinding outside all day" with his people, and that he won't go in with out them.
But recently, Sanders decided to switch to "Here I Go," by Mystical, a song that was released in 1995, long before most of the JSU players were born. He's choosing to set the tone for this season with a song that dropped during his first year with the Dallas Cowboys.
"We ain't no secret no more," Sanders said in an Instagram video. "Everybody knows who we are, everybody knows what we've got ... We're going to show that that we understand that we're the ones you want. We're the ones you're coming at. We understand that we're the ones that won the SWAC last year and you want to know what we're going to do, or what we're bringing so you're tuned in with your seatbelts on."
Jackson State has an experienced core that returns most of the players that led them to the Celebration Bowl last year. Add in Travis Hunter, the No. 1 overall college football prospect in the nation who has dynamic playmaking ability on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has a brand new deep threat in receiver Kevin Coleman, the second-highest rated recruit in program history.
And of course, there's Sanders the Pro Football Hall of Fame player leading the way.
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Music has been a part of Sanders' brand long before he took the job at Jackson State. His best known song is "Must Be the Money," which didn't make charts, but was part of his Saturday Night Live performance in 1995.
He posted a rap battle with Shedeur, his son, to his Instagram page last. month, asking fans to judge who won.
"Who had the chains? Who had the fame? The Hall of Fame, my game made my own lane," Sanders rapped.
Whether it's a new theme song for the team, writing raps to go line-for-line in battles against his son, or even stopping in a local record store to see if they have his single, music remains a theme in Sanders' social media presence.
Music was a part of Prime Time. It's part of Coach Prime, too.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Music still part of Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders' brand
