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Pre Game Playlist: Pro BMX Rider Nigel Sylvester Is "Obsessed With Music"

By David Heim 

Some people need music to perform certain tasks; like driving. One must cue up his or her perfect playlist before hitting the road. Same goes for professional BMX rider Nigel Sylvester.

“Before I ride, I got to make sure my iPod is set to the right song,” Sylvester said. “I’m obsessed with music. Music is so important to me, whether it’s when I wake up in the morning and I’m getting ready with my day, I’m driving in my car, on my bicycle, whether I’m home just trying to decompress and cool out for the day. It’s always a certain song or album or tune that’s accompanied to my mood.”

But what song is accompanied to Sylvester right before he rides?

“On top of my brain, ASAP Ferg ‘Dump Dump’—throw that song on before I ride, I get hyped up just to go tear whatever up,” Sylvester said.

Like the rest of us, Sylvester enjoys a good concert too.

“Recent, I’ve seen—Travi$ Scott was really good, he has a lot of energy,” Sylvester said. “I like when people leave everything out on that stage. You can really connect with them.”

Music has even had an influence on the young rider, more specifically the work of a pretty prominent rapper.

“Jay-Z ‘Can I Live'—that’s my favorite song of all time,” Sylvester said. “What he spit in that song, the time he wrote it, where I am right now currently as a rider—can I live? Can I just do what I do? Can I just love this bike ride? Can I just express myself how I feel necessary? That song just connects me on so many different levels and it doesn’t just apply to bike riding, it applies to my whole life.”

See more Pre Game Playlists here

David Heim is a fan of the New England Patriots and New York Yankees. He’s also a contributor to CBS Local Sports and can be reached at david.heim@cbs.com or on Twitter @davidheim12. 

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