Baby Boy Da Prince's life was turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina.

But the rapper, like many in New Orleans, found comfort in the Saints' return to the Big Easy and wanted to thank them for the much-needed morale boost they gave the city. Baby Boy found the perfect toast to the NFC South champions when he converted his hit single "The Way I Live" into an ode to the historically struggling NFL team.

"I try to put the past behind me and we've got these Saints doing their thing and they uplift me to the highest levels," Baby Boy said. "The spirit of New Orleans is so high right now and that's because of the Saints."

Baby Boy said he wrote the lyrics to the remix, which mentions several Saints, including Joe Horn, Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, Charles Grant and Deuce McAllister, in about 30 minutes.

"It's a good song, something that has a little local flavor to it," McAllister said. "It's something that probably gets the fans more excited than the players."

The Saints version of the song, which lifelong fan Baby Boy recorded about six months ago, has become a sensation in New Orleans as the Saints prepare to host a second-round playoff game for the first time in franchise history on Saturday against Philadelphia.

He recently released an updated version of the song with a new first verse that mentions the playoff berth and super rookie Marques Colston, who wasn't in the original Saints remix.

"It's crazy, everywhere I go people are singing the song -- people know the song," Baby Boy said. "There were so many people of all ages who are really loving the song. Even the older people really, really feel the song. If you didn't know me in New Orleans before, now you do."

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SAINTS COMING BACK

The catchy tune opens with a shoutout to Saints owner Tom Benson, a man vilified in the wake of Katrina amid speculation he might try to move the team.

"The Saints coming back. Tom Benson where you at," Baby Boy drawls before launching into the song's hook. There's no word yet on whether the owner has any plans to do his famous parasol-assisted "Benson Boogie" to the rap in Miami if the Saints get to the Super Bowl.

The 21-year-old Baby Boy, whose real name is Chancelor Smallwood, said his home was destroyed in the storm and he spent more than a year living in a FEMA trailer before it was rebuilt.

He said rapping about the horrors he experienced in the days after Katrina would have been too painful, so he chose to focus on the Saints triumphant return instead. The original "The Way I Live" is the first single from his upcoming CD called "Across the Water" which is scheduled for a March release.

"New Orleans Saints No. 1 on the field. Katrina couldn't stop us and that's real. Beating these teams is no big deal. This is the way we live," he raps on the hook to the song.

"It was a lot of tragedy," he said. "A lot of shooting, a lot of killing, a lot of stealing was going on and I lived through that. To move on I felt like this song was something I had to do. It benefits me and it benefits the city and the fans and the team."

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LOVE FROM THE PLAYERS

He said he's gotten a lot of love from the players for the song and that Grant, the Saints 290-pound defensive end gave him the best compliment. Grant is the only defender to be mentioned by name in the song: "Charles Grant a monster how he bust through the line."

"He told me: 'I like how you explain my position and how I do my position,'" Baby Boy said. "I appreciate that. That's what's up."

Baby Boy covered all aspects of the game in his song and even has a reference to kicker John Carney, a 17-year NFL veteran. As the oldest player on the Saints roster, the 42-year-old Carney was amused to hear his name in a rap.

"It was funny," he said. "You know, I imagine maybe there'll be a few more songs written during our playoff stretch. But it's exciting. It's fun and I guess someone's paying attention to our media guide."

The Saints aren't the only team who had a rap recorded in their honor this year as New York rapper Jim Jones recorded a remix of his chart-topper "We Fly High" for the Giants.

The hook on that song is: "New York Giants fly high, you know it. Super Bowl, no lie, we focused."

Baby Boy, a longtime fixture on the New Orleans rap scene, didn't see a need to compare his work to that of Jones since the Giants were eliminated from the playoffs last week.

"We're going to win. We're going to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl," he said. "They're going home. We still in the playoffs. That's what that is all about."

The Saints remix only addresses the Super Bowl once, but McAllister noticed the reference.

"He talks about us going to the Super Bowl, going all the way," McAllister said. "Hopefully we can perfect that script for him."

Whatever happens with the Saints playoff run, Baby Boy already feels lucky that he's become a small part of their season.

"I feel like me being associated with the Saints is the biggest thing I think I could have ever accomplished in my life and I'm very proud of that," he said. "I love it. I just love it."

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