The Last Dance contains rap music that was "insanely difficult to clear"

The New York Times

Rudy Chung, the music supervisor of the ESPN Michael Jordan documentary, considered using current-day rappers like Kendrick Lamar. But he and director Jason Hehir ultimately decided to use the hip-hop music of the Jordan era. The problem is that many hip-hop songs incorporate sampling of other artists' music, so Chung had to jump through many legal hoops. “A lot of these songs are insanely difficult to clear,” he said. “There was so much music we were interested in, but couldn’t get because of sample issues and legal issues.” The documentary, for instance, uses a re-recording of Kool Moe Dee's 1987 hit “How Ya Like Me Now" that doesn't include the impossible-to-clear James Brown sample of the original. As James Gordon points out, "Today, it’s difficult to imagine the N.B.A. without hip-hop. A 1989 documentary on Jordan, he points out, features music from Yanni and Berlin ("Take My Breath Away"). The relationship between hip-hop and the NBA, says Gordon, "has been a gradual evolution from Jordan’s early playing days." As LL Cool J put it: "I think it developed over time. Obviously, you have to be successful enough to come to the attention of people.” ALSO: The Last Dance soundtrack is now available on Spotify.