Lamont Butler raps 'Wildcats' for country music star Jelly Roll

On Friday, Grammy-Award winning artist Jelly Roll visited the Kentucky men’s basketball team before rocking out in Rupp Arena later that night. Little did Jelly Roll know, he was in the presence of a fellow musical talent.

Kentucky guard Lamont Butler, whose artist name is HBMont, didn’t miss his opportunity to introduce Jelly Roll to some of his work. After practice, Butler played his single, “Wildcats,” for Jelly Roll, who bobbed his head along with the rhythm.

Big Blue Nation should be familiar with the tune. Butler rapped the song during his walkout at Big Blue Madness in October while his teammates hyped him up from the hardwood.

Butler certainly gives them plenty to smile about in the song, with almost every bar referencing a player on the team or anecdote about his new life in Lexington, Kentucky. It seems the Bluegrass State is treating Butler well thus far.

Lamont Butler played his song "Wildcats" for @JellyRoll615 (via m.summers8) pic.twitter.com/VsemM7UTkl

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) November 8, 2024

Lamont Butler cooking in the studio and on the court

In Kentucky’s season-opening win over Wright State, Butler tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists while shooting 6-12 from the field. After the game, Wildcats head coach Mark Pope raved about his fifth-year senior’s performance.

“Lamont, of course, is just a menace out there all the time,” Pope said. “He’s always such a threat. It’s almost like, I’ve been the opposing coach going against Lamont Butler and every time you bounce the ball as a coach you kind of hold your breath and say — ‘He didn’t take the ball that time. That’s a win, right?’

“When you can be like, ‘Hey Lamont, you just handle all of these ball screens and let me figure out the rest of the game,’ it’s pretty great. It’s a real great gift and that’s going to be important going forward because I’m not that smart of a coach.”

While Pope was humble, as usual, after the game, Butler made a bold claim about the Wildcats.

“I feel like we’re a little underrated,” Butler told KSR. “We have a lot of good players, but a lot of us come from — we have some mid-major guys, some guys who haven’t maybe been on the top radar. I think what’s going to surprise people is our connectivity and the pace that we play. 

“Coach Pope’s offense is amazing and I think that defensively, we’re underrated, too. We have a lot of great defensive players and a lot of length, so I think it’s going to be tougher for people to beat us. We just have to go out there and show them, that’s all it is.”