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USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Indy 500 pole winner Robert Shwartzman has a rap song. We rated it.
Indy 500 pole winner Robert Shwartzman has a rap song. We rated it. Robert Shwartzman became a popular Google search topic Sunday after the IndyCar rookie shocked the racing world by qualifying for pole position in this weekend's Indy 500. And those who searched long enough came across one little obscure fact about the 25-year-old that certainly got our attention here at FTW: he's also a rapper... Kinda. Under the moniker Shwartzy, the Russian-Israeli driver has just one song from what I can tell -- a 2023 track called ACTIVE -- but the recording quality is actually not bad. One can only assume he plans to release more music when he isn't so busy putting Prema Racing on the IndyCar map. Now, look, as someone who also records music on the side, I'm not here to judge another rapper... or, er, actually, that's exactly what I'm here to do. But not for the attempt, only for how good it is. I gave ACTIVE a listen, and it gets a solid C- from me. Depending on what you prefer in a good song, the rating is either too low or too high, which is exactly why it's perfect. The beat is good, which does the heavy lifting for ACTIVE, and the hook is somewhat catchy, which completes half the battle in making something that doesn't stand out for all the wrong reasons. Those elements alone make this good background music. But the harder you listen, the harder it is to... well, listen. Shwartzy is basically doing a bad impression of modern rap songs carried by melodies more than actual lyrics (even the ad libs are familiar), which can make some lyrics hard to understand and disguise the cheesy song-writing in the parts you do decipher. And though he eventually finds his footing towards the end of his lone verse, it starts with an awkwardly choppy flow that occasionally misses the beat. Overall, it's not terrible, but after qualifying for the Indy 500 pole, it's easy to see why he hasn't put out more music. Shwartzman might have a brighter future behind the wheel than he does behind the mic.
Fox Sports
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
Indy 500 polesitter Robert Shwartzman flows on and off the track
Robert Shwartzman made headlines this past Sunday after becoming the first rookie to win the pole for the Indianapolis 500 since Teo Fabi did so in 1983. The 25-year-old Russian-Israeli driver had never competed in an oval race, outran and then outlasted a host of INDYCAR veterans en route to achieving the feat. But Schwartzman doesn't just excel on the track. A well-documented music lover, the INYDCAR rookie is a published songwriter — most notably dropping his rap song "ACTIVE" in 2023 under the name "Shwartzy." According to a previous interview he did with "Autoweek," he developed his love of music from his father. "The music thing came a long time ago from my dad," Shwartzman said in the interview. "My dad was educating me quite a lot in music, mainly classic. Nowadays, it's rare you can see any teenager or a youngster listening to classic music, where at some stage I also was like, 'Dad, what is this?' It's boring.' But at some point I got my ear into that. I realized how the melody is structured, how everything is structured, that that's where it all comes from. Then I started listening to some different artists like from when I was a kid. I liked rock, heavy metal, some pop songs and stuff, but like a mix." While Shwartzman is new to the INDYCAR, he has been on Formula One's radar for years. He has driven at nearly every level of the European single-seaters, winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship for PREMA in 2019. Two years later, he was the runner-up to current Formula One points leader Oscar Piastri in Formula 2 (also for PREMA). He has been an F1 reserve driver for Ferrari in recent years, tested a Formula E car for DS Penske and co-drove with Robert Kubica in the World Endurance Championship. While he's the only driver in this year's field to have released a song, he's not the only athlete to have a rap career on the side. Below is a list of several familiar names that have stepped into the booth: Shaquille O'Neal Damian Lillard Deion Sanders Kobe Bryant Dana Barros LiAngelo Ball Roy Jones Jr. BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep Marcus Ericsson calls winning 2022 Indy 500 'a dream come true' in letter to fans From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
