Straight Outta Cooperstown: Hip-Hop Meets Baseball in These Mashup Cards

Earlier this month, it was announced that Marvel comics would be recreating comic-book covers with inspiration from classic Hip-Hop albums. Now, in the latest mash-up of pop and Hip-Hop culture, the faces of Rap stars have found themselves in the world of classic baseball cards. Similar to the concept behind the iconic Yo! MTV Raps trading cards of the ’90s, the idea behind this project is the blending of a well-known and beloved format with some of Hip-Hop’s biggest personalities. Thanks to the innovation of creatives Cori Johnson and Zac Milner, the biggest MCs of past and current generations have been masterfully integrated into vintage-styled trading cards from a wide range of MLB teams.

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Originally published on their very cleverly titled Tumblr page, Straight Outta Cooperstown, the cards are only available in digital format but are nonetheless visually stunning. Not only are the MCs’ faces inserted into the poses of baseball players, but Johnson and Milner have combined their stage names with the names of players, based on similarities (for example, Ice Cube became Jim Rice Cube) AND each card features lyrics from the MCs laced with base-ball specific references (“how the fuck can I stay out the pen when it’s one, two, three strikes and you’re in?”). Other featured MCs include Rakim, DMX, Eminem, Andre 3000, RZA, Kool Moe Dee, Ghostface Killah, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar, Big Boi, Queen Latifah, Jay Z, Dr. Dre, and several others. Check them all out here.

Related: Study Analyzes Who Gets More Rap Lyric Shout-Outs: Jordan, Kobe, LeBron Or Curry?