Raise up: Petey Pablo anthem to North Carolina proposed as state hip-hop song

North Carolina has an official state dog – the plot hound. It has a state tree – the pine. And it has a state bird – the cardinal. But it doesn't have an official state hip-hop song — yet.

On Tuesday, state Sen. Natalie Murdock pitched an idea. The Durham Democrat filed a bill declaring rapper Petey Pablo’s censored version of “Raise Up” as the state's official hip-hop song. The 2001 hit calls on North Carolinians to celebrate their love for the state by “spinning your shirt around your head like a helicopter.”

Petey Pablo, whose real name is Moses Barrett III, is a Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist from Greenville.

The song is widely considered an anthem for North Carolinians. At University of North Carolina football games, the Tar Heels' marching band would play the song when the defense made a stop on third-down. In 2018, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they would play the song after every goal scored by the NHL hockey team.

The filing comes just one day after lawmakers filed a bill that, if passed, would establish a Wrestling Hall of Fame museum in North Carolina.

The bill was named after pro wrestler Ric Flair, who lived in Charlotte for years.