Lonnie Lynn Jr.[1] (May 24, 1943 – September 12, 2014), nicknamed "Pops", was an American professional basketball player and spoken word poet.

[3] He would play basketball "in the street from early morning until night" while growing up;[4] his neighborhood used peach baskets nailed to lampposts as goals.

[3] Lynn played as a center on the basketball team at DuSable High School alongside his younger brother, Russell.

[6] Lynn received 25 athletic scholarships to play college basketball and had desired to attend Michigan State University.

[8] Lynn attended Michigan State University for a brief time but withdrew after he experienced academic and personal problems.

[13] He was also selected in the fourth round of the 1966 North American Basketball League (NABL) draft by the Battle Creek Braves.

[9] Lynn unsuccessfully worked out with the Chicago Bulls and attempted to join the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA) but was prevented by the Hawks who owned his rights.

[3] Lynn was released by the Rockets on December 11 at the decision of newly appointed head coach Joe Belmont.

[3] Lynn also developed a drug and alcohol addiction because of a sudden withdrawal of the pills he received from his basketball trainers.

[3] After the birth of his first son, Lonnie Rashid (later rapper Common), Lynn left his family because he felt that his bad habits of drug and alcohol use meant "it would be better for everyone" if he was not around.

[3] He initially received free drugs from dealers who wanted to use his status; he eventually lost his apartment, car and jewelry while trying to support his habit.

[3] Lynn packed his belongings into his car and collected Brown and Rashid but did not share where he was going; he instead claimed that he had a house he wanted them to see.

[3] They stopped at a motel in Madison, Wisconsin, where Brown escaped while Lynn was sleeping and informed police that she had been abducted.

[3] Lynn was subsequently contacted by Jim Brown, a friend of Haywood, to run the Colorado branch of his Amer-I-Can program.

[28] On his son's records, Lynn shared opinions, experiences and wisdom to a younger hip hop audience in spoken word poetry format.

Many of these appearances, in particular "Pops Rap" on Resurrection, feature Lynn discussing the hippie ideals that have found their way into hip hop culture.