HIP HOP (1996-2011), age 15, beloved by by his assistant Lil Hip Hop and his helpers the Hare Raisers. Loving mascot over the years for Allen Iverson, Eric Snow, Matt Geiger, Aaron McKie, Larry Hughes, Coach Larry Brown, Eric Montross, Clarence Weatherspoon, Tyrone Hill, Kyle Korver, Chris Webber, Samuel Dalembert, Kevin Ollie, Shavlik Randolph, Willie Green, Andre Igoudala, Louis Williams, Coach Maurice Cheeks, Elton Brand, Coach Doug Collins, Marreese Speights, The Sixers Dance Team, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, as well as many others.
Hip Hop enjoyed nothing more than entertaining 76ers fans during halftime and time-outs by performing acrobatic slam dunks off of trampolines. He also liked wowing the crowds by dunking over an item or a person, such as a motorcycle, or a Sixer dancer, a fan, or even a ladder.
On his off days, Hip Hop also enjoyed giving back to the Philadelphia community by appearing at various Sixers publicity events and fundraisers.
He was inevitably killed off by a fanbase that collectively hated him though, and hated him for quite some time. On the Sixers forum, newsixersowner.com, Philly fans who hated the existence of the rabbit-looking mascot flooded those inter-webs with hate mail directed towards the NBA’s self-proclaimed “coolest mascot,” begging he be killed off immediately by franchise ownership. Eventually, he was.
There is no wake or funeral scheduled at this time to celebrate Hip Hop’s fifteen years on the NBA sidelines because again, to reiterate, with the exception of Lil Hip Hop and the Hare Raisers, everyone else who ever encountered him seemed to hate him rather passionately.
The same cannot be said for the way Hip Hop felt about those in the Sixers community though, which is the real shame of it all. Rest in Peace, Hip Hop.
