Rapped up in the moment: Scranton-born Jets rookie receiver goes viral with Eminem freestyle
Aug. 24—Scranton-born football player delivers a mic-drop moment for the NFL — literally.
New York Jets wide receiver Jerome Kapp's parents, Nancy and Jerome "Jerry" Kapp, are Scranton natives and his grandparents and extended family still live in the city. This week, the athlete went viral with his performance of Eminem's freestyle from the hip-hop artist's semi-autobiographical film "8 Mile."
Kapp, whose family moved to Berks County when he was an infant, is the grandson of Scranton residents Jack and Maurita Kapp and Clem and Elaine Jacklinski. His standout act appears on the latest season of "Hard Knocks," a reality television series on HBO's Max that follows an NFL team through its training camp and preparation for the upcoming season.
Tuesday's episode featured the camp's annual talent show, called the "rookie show," in which team members perform for each other. For his talent, Kapp chose to recreate the iconic "8 Mile" freestyle, which comes at the end of the film. During this scene, Eminem's character, aspiring rapper Jimmy aka "B-Rabbit," finally defeats a rival group in a rap battle by pre-empting his opponent's potential insults and exposing the other rapper's privileged background.
As soon as Kapp uttered the gritty, explicit opening lines, it thrilled his teammates. Many of them rapped along with him on some of the most famous parts ("You went to Cranbrook, that's a private school" and "This guy's a gangster? His real name's Clarence."), before the players, including quarterback Aaron Rodgers, gave him a standing ovation.
Disclaimer: Video contains explicit language.
Audiences at home loved the performance just as much, causing the clip to go viral. Many fans online were calling for him to earn a roster spot simply because of his showmanship. Kapp even received praise from the "Rap God" himself, when Eminem reposted the clip on X on Thursday night.
"My phone has been blowing up (since the episode aired), so I can't even imagine what my son's phone is like right now," Kapp's mom said. "He told us a little about the 'rookie show' and he said he thought it went well because (the players) went crazy. ... We couldn't have imagined how viral it was going to go. It's been crazy. I can't believe this happened."
Kapp, who's known to friends and family as "Jerry," is a graduate of Boyertown Area Senior High School and Kutztown University, where he went on to become a key part of the school's offense, according to jetpress.com. Her son has always been athletic and a hard worker, Nancy Kapp said, and while he has never performed in a public setting like his rookie show rap, he's always been "a social kid, who gives 110% to everything he does." Whether it's something as simple as a two-minute talent show act or the magnitude of playing on an NFL field, Kapp always goes above and beyond.
"He's so determined and works so hard. It's just in his blood," Nancy Kapp said, noting her three other children, Abby, Ashley and Jake, are also athletes.
It has been quite the ride for Kapp, who lives in Barto, this month as he also played with the Jets against the Cleveland Browns during the NFL Hall of Fame game Aug. 3, where NFL hall of famer and fellow Kutztown alum Andre Reed sought him out to meet him and pose for a photo.
While his future in the NFL is uncertain, his mom stressed how incredibly proud she, her husband and their whole family are of him. She hopes Kapp is enjoying the ride.
"He has so much pressure on him right now but we keep reminding him to live in the moment and enjoy every second that he can," she said.
Stream "Hard Knocks" on Max.
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