Even though the coveted MLB All Star break, which is a vacation of sorts for the players, took place in the heart of Dixie down in Arlington, Texas, a few city slickers came int town from around the country and left an unprecedented mark on All Star weekend that undoubtedly will continue to be the part of the festivities for years to come.
1. MLB’s 2024 All Star Preview Feat. Gunna’s “Wun of Wun”
We hear Hip Hop at the stadiums when we go to the games, whether it’s the players’ walk ups or in between innings, the music is heard, but as the feature track for Major League Baseball to preview the most important game besides the World Series? If this was the first time, it certainly won’t be the last.
2. Vlad Jr. Gives Teoscar Hernández Home Run Derby Chain
You can’t get much more Hip Hop than this. Vladdy Jr. is shown putting the ostentatious Derby Chain around the neck of the 2024 Home Run Derby winner Toronto Blue Jays star Teoscar Hernandez. The crowning, or “chaining” if you will, looked very similar to the viral moment when Jay-Z put the Universal Flag chain around the neck of Jay Electronica at the 2013 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. And the bling? With all due respect, nobody is putting a chain around the neck of the winner of NBA’s Slam Dunk contest.
3. The Dunks/Slabs Seen At The Players Alliance “Game Changers” Celebration
Dunks were popularized and have been a large part of Texas culture for decades, especially in the inner cities such as Houston, where there are “slab clubs” or car clubs that are home to these exquisitely built vehicles. For The Players Alliance, the organization of former Black professional baseball and softball players who use their platform to create opportunities for their community in baseball, to have the slabs on display at their “Game Changers” party shows the unapologetic, cultural inclusion of Black and Brown people in Major League Baseball. With ATL legend Lil Jon as the DJ of the night and Hip Hop/radio personality Ed Lover pulling up to show love, the culture was definitely in the building.
4. Kid Mero, Eladio Carrion, Deion Sanders And More In The 2024 Celebrity Softball Game
Participants such as TV host Kid Mero from the famed Desus and Mero series, Mr. Primetime himself Deion Sanders. former NFL star turned reality star Terrell Owens, Latin rap celeb Eladio Carrion all added to the Hip Hop element of Saturday’s Celebrity Softball Game.
5. Adolís Garcia’s “El Bombi” Medallion
Sports figures and celebrities of all kinds are known for rocking gaudy jewelry, especially at special events and what’s more special to baseball players than the All Star Game? Well, “El Bombi made sure that he had the biggest piece in the stadium when the Rangers OF donned an iced out “El Bombi” piece, complete with rubies and diamonds to accentuate the baseball on a two-toned Gucci link. So Icey.
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