Chance the Rapper has managed a meteoric rise to hip hop and pop royalty without a label deal, but he’s close to singing on as club ambassador for the Chicago White Sox, ESPN reports. The rapper, who often sports a Sox cap, designed three new logo hats for his hometown baseball team. He’ll also throw the first pitch at the home opener tomorrow.
If the new gig is confirmed, Chance will join a very exclusive league: paid celebrity fans of professional sports teams. The only other member of this club is Drake, who’s been contracted as the Toronto Raptors’ Global Ambassador since 2013.
The move is intended to market the Sox to Hispanic and African-American youth, according to a league exec quoted by ESPN. Going pro as a fan sounds like a good deal for Chance, but ESPN also observes:
The White Sox’s involvement with Chance comes after five straight seasons of being in the bottom third of Major League Baseball attendance, whereas the crosstown rival Cubs are among the hottest teams in baseball.
Meanwhile, the official Sox Twitter account has already started showing Chance the love.
These hats got us doing front flips.
See what we did there, @chancetherapper? pic.twitter.com/ea6M0sNrxn
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) 6 avril 2016
