“You gotta put yourself out there” - How Hip-Hop shaped Jarred Brooks’ personality

Reigning ONE strawweight world champion ‘The Monkey God’ Jarred Brooks is known for his sublime wrestling ability and relentless aggression in the Circle. But outside of fighting, the 30-year-old Warsaw, Indiana native is also a master on the microphone, known to put together a rap or two for his opponents to get inside their heads.

Brooks considers himself a lyrical specialist, able to string together multiple bars without much effort. And it’s all because of the profound impact that rap and hip hop has had on his life.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Brooks talked about how hip hop has shaped his personality, and what music means to him.

‘The Monkey God’ said:

“I would say as far as rap, it was more of you gotta put yourself out there. Like Eminem, he was putting himself out there more than he wanted. And he was even calling out guys in the United States Congress. He just really didn't care. So, that's what really pushed me into being fearless in whatever I do.”

However, Brooks also says that not every rap he makes actually works, even using a legendary wrestler slash rapper as an example. He added:

“And things work and things don't work. Like if I was an asshole, and people didn't like me, like, that's another thing. John Cena, he didn't get that. He was about to be fired from the WWE because he couldn't find a character. My best character is myself.”

Will Brooks create a rap for his next opponent? We’ll have to wait a few days to find out.

ONE strawweight world champion ‘The Monkey God’ Jarred Brooks faces BJJ icon ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci for the ONE flyweight submission grappling world title at ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Prime Video.

The event broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, August 4th.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action, live and absolutely free, on Amazon Prime Video.