Jay-Z picks Nets song winner

"Jay-Z courtside with S dots on/Rocawear shirt/Along with a roc charm/Roc Jeans And of course he got rocks on/And when his diamonds hit the light its/Looks similar to sprite when it hits the ice/so Obey your thirst/Drink sprite."

The shout-out laden verse came from M-Bars—real name Michael Barnes—a 22-year-old rapper from Manhattan who beat 700 other entries to win the theme song contest. As a result, Barnes will perform the song, "Going Hard," live on the court during halftime of the Nets final regular season home game against the Knicks on April 19 at the Continental Airlines Arena. He’ll also get to meet Jay-Z.

Barnes will also get the chance to record the song at Baseline Studios II in Manhattan, and the song will be posted on the Web site of hip-hop station HOT 97. "In ’Going Hard,’ M Bars completely captured the intensity of Nets basketball and the flavor of our game experience," Jay-Z said in a statement. "He obviously put a lot of time into the song and demonstrated a lot of talent. We’re a hot team and this song best matches our passion and energy."

"I’m a huge Nets fan and Jay-Z is my idol so I wanted to make this song really stand out," M Bars said. "It’s such an honor to be recognized by Jay-Z and I can’t wait to perform at the game."