Hip-Hop Icon Chuck D Named Music Ambassador For MLB Hip-Hop 50 Celebrations

Hip-Hop Icon Chuck D Named Music Ambassador For MLB Hip-Hop 50 Celebrations

by | Aug 19, 2023 | THE THREE SPOT

On August 11th, 2023, Major League Baseball launched a business partnership with Mass Appeal’s Hip-Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium, home of the 27-time World Series champion, New York Yankees. The stadium is located in the Bronx, which is well-known as the birthplace of rap music, one of the core elements of hip-hop culture.

 

With this one-year partnership continuing into the 2024 season, Baseball along with all 30 teams will provide baseball and rap music fans a variety of things such as content creation, merchandise and other exciting giveaways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the marriage of the music genre and culture to the city of New York.  

 

The choice to be the music ambassador for this year-long extravaganza turned out to be an easy one if you’re a hip-hop fan… Chuck D, leader of the iconic group Public Enemy…

 

 

One of the more recognizable voices of the hip-hop generation, Chuck D has always been an ambassador to this music, so adding the title music ambassador, which will include his overseeing special content and programming, allows Major League Baseball to educate its fanbase to the overall impact of the music and culture while enjoying the historical game of baseball and its impact on African-Americans. It kind of brings Jay Z’s partnership with the NFL to mind.

 

Chuck D showed his humility as the first rap artist to work exclusively with MLB

 

“As a longtime baseball fanatic, I am beyond honored to be the first hip-hop artist to work with Major League Baseball in this exciting new way – connecting sound and culture to the stories of the game, said Chuck D. “Thank you MLB for adding me to the lineup… and the pitch is on the way.”

 

Chuck D’s love of baseball is not just for today’s game or just the MLB. He is a student of the game with knowledge dating back to the Negro Leagues. Just last year he took to social media to honor the Philadelphia Stars.

 

 

Look for Chuck’s exclusive content on all of MLB’s platforms; MLB.com, MLB.TV and the MLB Network as well as social media handles like @MLB and @MLBLife. The cerebral rapper‘s resumé shows that Baseball got the most-qualified man for the job. Besides producing iconic albums…

 

  • In 2013, Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • In 2020, Public Enemy received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.
  • Just this year, Chuck D released “We Wreck Stadiums” which is a collection of songs honoring some of baseball’s players from the past and their impact on the game of baseball and society.
  • He developed and executive produced “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World,” a four-episode documentary series covering the evolution of the music genre and its significant impact on society and the World. It premiered on PBS in 2023. 

 

With his love for baseball cards, Chuck has also taken up drawing. Check out his illustration of the old Shea Stadium — formerly home to his beloved Mets. (He hated the Yankees!)

 

 

Congratulations to Major League Baseball, hip-hop and Chuck D for this partnership and taking the game of baseball and the elements of hip-hop to new heights as we celebrate 50 years of the culture. 

Public Enemy’s Chuck D Highlights Negro Leagues’ Tribute To the Philadelphia Stars

Public Enemy’s Chuck D Highlights Negro Leagues’ Tribute To the Philadelphia Stars

by | Aug 13, 2022 | 5TH SLOT

The essence of MLBbro.com is to make sure that baseball fans understand and not forget the contributions of black players in past history of the sport and how well they are flourishing in today’s game.

Decades before MLBbro icon Jackie Robinson accomplished the amazing feat of crossing the color barrier in Major League Baseball, he was one of many black baseball players in their own way going back to after the Civil War by traveling around the country taking on teams in the mid to late 1800s. 

It was in 1920 when the National Negro League started that formed into seven different leagues of Negro League history over a 30-year period where the path to the major leagues really took shape. Sadly, this era is overlooked particularly in Philadelphia where the Philadelphia Stars had much success in the Negro Leagues starting in 1934 under the leadership of Ed Bolden.

Chuck D of the iconic Hip Hop group, Public Enemy took to social media to show the mural honoring the Philadelphia Stars located in West Philly on Belmont and Parkside Avenues. This is where the stadium they played in was located but back when the Stars played, it was known as 44th and Parkside. In 1943, the Stars began playing their Monday night home games in Shibe Park up in North Philly. This stadium was home to the Philadelphia Phillies and The Philadelphia A’s but neither of those teams played at home on Mondays. 

 

 

The Oscar Charleston mentioned in the video managed the club from 1941 to 1942. He’s one of the four players in the Hall of Fame who are attached at some time of their career with the Stars. The others are Biz Mackey, who played from 1933-1935, Jud Wilson, who played from 1933-1939 and even managed the team in 1937. Satchel Paige who stands far and away the most famous player in that franchise and arguably the Negro Leagues played two stints with the Stars in 1946 and 1950.

 

 

However, none of these players is donning a Philadelphia Stars hat on their plaque which makes murals like the one Chuck D is showing all the more important. But that’s not the first time that this Negro League team was honored in the city of Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Phillies honored the Stars on Jackie Robinson day on April 15th, 2021, with a Philadelphia Stars display at their home field, Citizens Bank Park in the Suite Level Lobby of the stadium. 

 

 

The display shows graphics highlighting the Philadelphia Stars from the era with a special information panel providing the history called “The Story of the Philadelphia Stars.” The unveiling also honored Jackie Robinson on his special day celebrated throughout the majors. Along with Robinson, two other local players named Judy Johnson from the Hilldale club and Roy Campanella, who played for the Baltimore Elite Giants and Philadelphia Stars before becoming well known with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Sadly, when Robinson finally made it to the Major Leagues in 1952, more and more players followed him and started starring in the National and American Leagues. That left the Negro League franchises in financial turmoil including the Stars, who disbanded after the season the same year. In 1958, the Negro Leagues finally went under and folded. 

The good news is that the city of Philadelphia will continue to keep the Stars legacy alive. The old stadium named Penmar Park where the Stars played now has a memorial celebrating the history of the franchise, which is amazing in the era where franchises are potentially moving to different cities and building stadiums.