John Cena: From the wrestling rings to the microphone, a hip-hop legend
Before becoming one of the most acclaimed professional wrestlers of all time, John Cena faced challenges in the world of wrestling. Despite being considered the future of WWE in the mid-2000s, he struggled to connect with the audience. It was on a bus during a European tour, while his colleagues were improvising, where Cena found a new facet. His freestyle amazed his colleagues and gave rise to a new character: “The Doctor of Thuganomics”. This persona revitalized his career, propelling him to stardom. But his improvisations on “SmackDown” weren’t just a gimmick; they were a reflection of who Cena was before the jorts and retro t-shirts. “He was a kid who liked rap, and then he became a wrestler,” commented his friend and rapper Esoteric (also known as Seamus Ryan). Those improvisations turned into the album “You Can’t See Me”, released on May 10, 2005. The album fused Cena’s ability for witty rhymes with an underground production. It debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and generated his entrance theme, “The Time Is Now”, which he still uses 20 years later, as he approaches his retirement match on December 13.Ryan, who befriended Cena when he was part of a rap group with the wrestler’s cousin, Trademarc, in the mid-1990s, added: “John is a hip-hop purist; he masters Gang Starr, Hieroglyphics, Black Moon, EPMD, Wu [Tang Clan], all the good stuff.”“His intentions were pure, and when he had the opportunity to merge both, he jumped in,” said Ryan.
Seamus Ryan
Bumpy Knuckles, whose real name is James Campbell, has long been recognized as one of the most authentic and respected figures in hip-hop, with a career spanning several decades and collaborations with hip-hop icons such as KRS-One, Queen Latifah, and Gang Starr. The New York rapper/producer recalled meeting Cena in the dressing room before the wrestler appeared on New York’s Hot 97 radio station with host Sway Calloway. At the time, Cena’s new WWE character had just begun to take off, but Campbell didn’t know him.“There were a lot of fools in the rap world when his album came out, and he probably could have worked with any of them,” Ryan said, referring to popular artists on the radio. “Instead, he chose Bumpy Knuckles, one of the most legitimate MCs of all time. That should tell you everything you need to know.”
Seamus Ryan
Campbell rated Cena’s rhymes a “4 out of 10”, but also said it could be a 10 if he worked with him. Afterwards, they both exchanged numbers and built a relationship, which extended to the creation of Cena’s only album. Cena had an interesting motivation for making an album. At the time, WWE had generic rap music that Cena didn’t find convincing or a proper representation of the music he liked growing up.“I was supposed to rap [on the show], and they wanted me to judge their lyrics,” Campbell said. “Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by his rhythm because there are many MCs who rap, but rhythm is very important. John had a rhythm that made me realize that I think this guy could be better than I thought.”
James Campbell
And so, the seeds of “You Can’t See Me” were sown. In the early 2000s, producer Jake One had just left college and was looking for his big break in music. He had production credits for artists like 50 Cent’s G-Unit and De La Soul, but was still hoping to turn his hobby into a career. Although he eventually worked with everyone from Drake and Wale to Future and J. Cole, his most recognizable song came from a CD of beats he gave to a professional wrestler for his debut rap album. “I had no idea who John Cena was,” said Jake (real name Jacob Dutton). “My manager was playing my beats for everyone, and Cena got hold of one of my beat CDs. My manager called me and told me that this WWE guy wants to use three of my beats. I didn’t take it seriously because a professional wrestler wanting my beats to rap seemed ridiculous to me.” The Seattle producer was paid $30,000 for three beats. Although that doesn’t sound like a life-changing sum, Dutton was still working a 9-to-5 job, where that would equal his annual salary. He didn’t know that one of the most recognizable themes in the history of professional wrestling came from that CD of beats.“Maybe I can make better music than the generic rap music they’re making for me in Connecticut [WWE headquarters],” Cena said in a 2024 interview with Shannon Sharpe on his podcast “Club Shay Shay.” “At the time, WWE was a rock ‘n’ roll company. They didn’t have any depth of field for hip-hop. I listened to my own music and remembered thinking, ‘I can do better than this.'”
John Cena
On March 17, 2005, Cena debuted his new song on “SmackDown”, “The Time is Now”, produced by Jake One. And the rest is history. Although the song has earned much more than the money Dutton was paid for it, the producer is grateful to be part of a crucial moment in Cena’s career.“He paid me with a personal check, and the deal with WWE is that you are not entitled to royalties,” Dutton said. “I had just graduated from college and needed the money. It just so happened that one of the songs he made ended up being a cultural phenomenon.”
Jacob Dutton
The producer said it’s common to work with an artist and never meet, but even he is surprised that he and Cena still haven’t crossed paths.“It’s one of those things that refuses to go away,” Dutton said. “I may have songs that have gone platinum or been played more, but, in popular culture, nothing comes close to ‘The Time is Now.’ I hear it everywhere, and that’s the coolest thing.”
Jacob Dutton
“YOU CAN’T SEE ME” is more than “The Time Is Now”. Cena, along with Trademarc, delivered a 17-song album full of bravado and arrogance. Unlike the rap performances of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, where the music felt inauthentic and artificial, Cena exuded the elements of the culture, from the four-finger rings to his witty rhymes and an ear for production.“I’ve never met John Cena in person, and I haven’t spoken to him since he bought the beat,” he said. “That’s fine, but I’d like WWE to give me a plaque or something because that song should be platinum by now.”
Jacob Dutton
During the creation of “You Can’t See Me”, Cena worked with several pillars of the underground rap scene. The first step to collaborate with artists who ate, slept, and breathed hip-hop was to demonstrate that he was not exploiting the culture.“[Hip-hop] was a part of me,” Cena said on “Club Shay Shay.” “When I was able to show that on television, it resonated with the audience. … I was raised in the ‘Boom Bap’ era of the East Coast. I love the wordplay. I love the poetry. That’s what I based my character on.”
John Cena
Murs, a lifelong wrestling fan, collaborated with Cena on the remix of “H-U-S-T-L-E” in 2004, before Cena released his album. Murs met Cena at a mutual friend’s apartment.“I’ve seen my fair share of bad, tasteless tricks as a fan of black wrestling, but Cena reeked of authenticity and someone who understood and cared about the culture,” said Murs, a long-time pillar of the California underground hip-hop scene.
Murs
“Cena was sitting there,” Murs said. “It wasn’t a fancy place by any means, but here was a WWE superstar just hanging out on the couch. We talked for a while and really hit it off. I asked him if he wanted to be on the remix of ‘H-U-S-T-L-E,’ and he said yes. He didn’t charge for his appearance and got the verse back to me in 48 hours. I think he might have gotten in trouble [for not asking WWE for permission] for the song. But he was serious about making this happen.”
Murs
Besides working on songs like “Flow Easy” and “Bad, Bad Man”, Campbell and Cena spent a lot of time together, from riding their motorcycles from Long Island, New York, to Boston, meeting influential hip-hop luminaries like fashion designer Dapper Dan, or simply listening and talking about music.“I wasn’t just rapping for the sake of rapping,” Campbell said. “I was immersed in the culture but still wanted to learn. His desire and eagerness to be authentic, to stay authentic, and to be seen as authentic in hip-hop was real.”
James Campbell
But what Campbell is firm about is that he never wrote a verse for Cena.“I was taking him to the neighborhood, yes, John Cena was hanging out in the neighborhood, and I asked him to introduce me at S.O.B.’s before my show in New York. I kept him close to the things I would do and the places I would go,” Campbell said.
James Campbell
Ryan, who is featured in the album’s ode to Boston sports teams, “Beantown”, said the final product exceeded the expectations of a professional wrestler looking to make a hip-hop album.“Everything I did with John Cena was rapping on records with him and being his comrade in making sure he was seen as real hip-hop and not what I think the WWE thought of the culture,” Campbell said.
James Campbell
The album received moderate praise, and RapReviews rated it 7.5 out of 10:“He had a voice, a delivery, and wrote his own rhymes like everyone else,” Ryan said. “If you didn’t know he’s a 17-time world champion, he’d sound right at home with the kind of hip-hop we create. After all, he was influenced by the same artists as us, and his dedication to whatever he sets his mind to is immeasurable.”
Seamus Ryan
Unfortunately, that time has already passed.“You Can’t See Me may have been a well-planned and carefully calculated marketing strategy, but at the same time it screams the passion of a man who loves to rap as much as he loves wrestling,” the review said. “For that reason, you haters can stop hating, because Cena’s time really is now.”
RapReviews
And that was the end of Cena’s “Doctor of Thuganomics” version and the beginning of “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect.” Today, Cena says he doesn’t consume hip-hop music like he used to. Since then he has “moved away” from the culture and has focused his attention on ventures such as acting. Now, at 48 and nearing the end of his career in the ring, Cena has traded his retro t-shirts and freestyle styles for Hollywood suits and scripts. But make no mistake, “You Can’t See Me” will remain a triumph and a pivotal moment for Cena’s career. And while he may no longer be involved in hip-hop, Cena will always remain authentically hip-hop.“Here, I had a persona that connected with the people who were watching, but then, slowly, the people who were watching changed and there started to be more children and more families coming to these events,” Cena said in the WWE documentary series “Ruthless Aggression.” “I said this is it. We’re changing right now. I remember going to [former WWE CEO Vince McMahon]’s office and saying, ‘I have to stop rapping.'”
John Cena
“I don’t think WWE ever told him to act like hip-hop, I think John presented himself that way,” Campbell said. “They just let him do his thing until it got to the point where the product and the audience were changing and he had to do something different. He started playing the game, and he did it well, like legendary shit. You can’t question his hip-hop authenticity with me. Nobody can tell me anything bad about John Cena.”
James Campbell
