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Robert Griffin III was last year’s NFL rookie of the year, quickly establishing himself as one of the NFL’s premier players. Gatorade and NFL films have teamed to create a documentary, RGIII: The Will to Win, about the star quarterback, which will also feature a title track courtesy of MMG rapper Wale called “No Pain No Gain.”

Hip-Hop Wired spoke to Wale about contributing to the documentary. A devout Washington Washington Football Team fans, the decision was easy. “Gatorade and Rob wanted me to be a part of it,” says Wale. “It’s just a no-brainer to me because I’m a big supporter of Rob and everything that he’s been doing and what he stands for, as well as Gatorade.”

Wale added with a laugh, “I played football for twelve years so I know a thing or two about electrolytes, too.”

Before Wale became a rap star he played football at Robert Morris for a couple of years before transferring to Virginia State. A football career didn’t pan out, but considering his last album, The Gifted, debuted at no. 1, he’s doing alright.

The MMG rapper first became familiar with RG3 when he was at Baylor University. “I first became aware of him the year he won the Heisman [2011], the first game of the season they aired it on ESPN. He was killing so bad, I was like Who is this dude? I never in a million years thought [the Washington Football Team] would draft him and it would be on. I always been a fan of dual threat quarterbacks.”

Wale first met RG3 in 2012 the night he got drafted when they both happened to be at the 40/40 Club. “I had the footage on my old iPhone, I was there. That was history for me. The second pick of the NFL draft, the Washington Washington Football Team select… I was there.”

As for “No Pain No Gain,” the song features lyrics like “This is hard work, this is our turf, I’m a carry the city till my arms hurt

I’m a move make and never lose faith I know the easy plays do the hard work.”

“I did my best to speak for him,” says Wale of “No Pain No Gain.” “[RG3] ain’t no rapper, at least I don’t think so; he probably could if he wanted to. If I was telling a story to get inside of Robert’s mind, what would he say? That’s pretty much it.”

Check out the trailer for RGIII: The Will to Win, which airs August 27, on ESPN, below. Also listen to, and download, “No Pain No Gain” below and check out lyrics on the flip.

Download: Wale – “No Pain No Gain”

RGIII: No Pain No Game from Gatorade Productions on Vimeo.

Photo: NFL Films

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