Ice Cube and Fat Joe will continue to show their love for the L.A. Dodgers and New York Yankees, respectively, by performing at the second and third World Series games.
Hours before Friday’s Game 1 opening pitch, Major League Baseball announced that the hip-hop pioneers will be taking the stage in front of their respective hometown crowds during the Dodgers-Yankees World Series showdown.
South L.A. rapper Ice Cube has been tapped for a pregame set on Saturday’s Game 2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. South Bronx emcee Fat Joe will serve as the opener during Monday’s Game 3 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Ice Cube, formerly of N.W.A and “Straight Outta Compton” fame, has been a longtime supporter of the boys in Dodger Blue and made L.A. sports apparel part of his signature look. He is set to perform “special World Series editions” of his hits “Bow Down” and “It Was a Good Day.”
Joe, who has narrated promotional material for his beloved Yankees, will perform “custom versions” of his hits “New York” and “All the Way Up.” Game 3 will be the first in the 2024 postseason series played at Yankee Stadium and the first time a World Series game has been played at the venue since the Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the Fall Classic in 2009 — the year the team’s new stadium opened.
“Both stars are lifelong fans of their hometown teams and are excited for the opportunity to get their fans ready for this year’s World Series matchup,” MLB said in a statement. The performances will take place following the national anthem each night and will be shown during Fox Sports’ exclusive pregame coverage.
The league on Friday also debuted a promotional spot titled “Empire State of California Love,” pulling from both states’ unofficial anthems to tout the postseason games between the two storied franchises. The 30-second spot features the 2009 song “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys mashed up with Tupac Shakur’s 1995 anthem “California Love” featuring Dr. Dre. It plays over postseason highlights of Dodgers Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts and Yankees Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
Meanwhile, other celebrities are getting involved in Game 1. Dodgers superfan and Grammy Award-winning country musician Brad Paisley will perform the national anthem and “Breaking Bad” star and avid Dodgers fan Bryan Cranston will deliver the late Vin Scully’s all-important directive, “It’s time for Dodger baseball.” World Series champions Orel Hershiser (1988) and Steve Yeager (1981) of the Dodgers will throw the ceremonial first pitches.