With the 2024 NFL season kicking off for Detroit tonight, Ryn Scott, aka West Catholic High School alum Ryan Scott, has released a rollicking tribute to the boys in silver and Honolulu blue.
‘The Kings of the Jungle’: Ryn Scott’s ‘Lions’ was born out of a lifelong love for the Detroit Lions. (Courtesy Photo)
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In a single season, the pent-up grief and bitterness of a lifelong Detroit Lions fan can turn into sanguine musical inspiration.
Growing up in Grand Rapids in a family of diehard Detroit Lions fans, Ryan Scott experienced the pain, tears and frustration of rooting for a football team that too often dashed hopes and fell short of expectations.
But after a 12-5 campaign in 2023 that saw the Lions come within just a scant few points of getting to the Super Bowl for the first time ever, the hip hop artist known for “captivating lyricism” was compelled to create an uplifting theme song for the 2024 season that kicks off tonight (Sunday).
“I grew up watching our Thanksgivings either be ruined, or blessed by Lions’ wins, at my grandparents’ house. I remember watching my uncles huddled around the old square TV wishing and hoping for a special year,” said Scott, who attended Grand Rapids West Catholic High School and moved to metro Detroit 13 years ago.
“We haven’t had a lot of good years, which is the reason I wanted to release this new song now. This could be the year and I feel that deeply.”
‘This Could Be the Year’: Scott has high hopes for the 2024-25 campaign. (Courtesy Photo)
So, his single, “Lions,” released last week under the stage name and recording moniker Ryn Scott, proclaims that it’s “time to make history” while touting stars such as quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and coach Dan Campbell, along with mentions of past legends Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders.
“Honolulu blue got the boys on a crusade,” he raps. “Used to be underdogs, now they’re all runnin’, now everybody that we play knows we’re coming; they used to be talking, now they’re saying nothing; the circle of life comes around, ain’t that something; Lions, the kings of the jungle, we ruffle their feathers.”
The anthem, he continues, is “for Calvin and Barry, ma and dad and grandpa, grandma, my uncles, my cousins, friends, the state I come from, this is for every one of you haters.”
Scott, who released his debut album, “Peaks & Valleys” in 2022, has since performed at numerous venues and festivals. He even worked with former Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson on the song, “Lionblood,” to promote Burleson’s clothing line at the time.
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“I gravitate to any sound that moves me and makes me feel something. I grew up on everything from Bob Seger, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Burton Cummings, Stevie Nicks to Big Sean, Mike Posner, Eminem, B.o.B, Yelawolf, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Jon Connor to folk artists like Mumford & Sons and Caamp, to my grandparents always playing country at the ranch,” he said.
“So what comes out of that is a little bit of everything. My style fluctuates between rap and hip hop, to pop, with a little hint of country pop. You never know what you’re going to get.”
As a football fan these days, Scott — who attends a couple of games at Ford Field every year — sees great promise in “this new Dan Campbell era,” impressed by how it’s pumped up fans and given them hope.
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“I’ve always been a Lions fan, but I think it truly hit me when the family and I moved out to the metro Detroit area. It’s just different out here,” he said. “You realize how much the city depends on the Lions. You see and hear the passion from the people. It’s bigger than football.”
Of course, Scott wasn’t around when Detroit Lions defensive back Jimmy “Spiderman” Allen helped spur the team to a 4-0 start in 1980 thanks to his recording of the regionally popular rendition of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” — though the team only managed a 9-7 record overall that season.
Considering the current talent on hand — and the Lions’ two-win playoff run last season — there’s more than a good chance that Scott’s “Lions” could portend much greater things for the gladiators in silver and Honolulu blue, starting with tonight’s victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
And while most fans at Ford Field will croon the Lions’ official and traditional fight song, “Gridiron Heroes,” with gusto throughout the game, Scott’s tribute to the team also aims to secure a special place in the pantheon of Detroit football’s musical history.
“Crazy to see how far it’s all come,” he said. “The goal (of “Lions”) was to create something for the people here in Michigan that we could be proud of, and bring some energy and love to our team.”
Indeed. One Pride. Go Lions!
VIDEO: “Lions,” Ryn Scott
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