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iTunes Festival 2013 Day 19 - Kendrick Lamar

Source: Marc Broussely / Getty

Kendrick Lamar did work from the mound during Monday’s Los Angeles Dodgers home game. Unlike some of his rap counterparts, the To Pimp A Butterfly rapper he managed to throw the ball over the plate.

It sounds trivial to say he was able to keep it over home plate, but many people have had an issue doing just that. He walked MTV through his first pitch, and shared how it much to him as a Compton kid to take the mound:

“To play ball at the local parks in Compton and to come all the way to Dodger Stadium and throw them same balls on the field, [I’ve got] a lot of different emotions, man. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Here are five more rappers who threw out the first pitch at a major league game.

5. 50 Cent

The rapper-turned-mogul burst onto the hip-hop scene in the early 2000s. He was on the top of the world. He even made movies. It seemed like there was nothing he couldn’t do.

Then this happened.

In May 2014, Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent, was asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a NY Mets game. As a native New Yorker, he was honored. The seemingly athletic Jackson stepped on the mound, wound up and fired the pitch towards home— at least he tried to.

He missed wide-left by like 20 feet. Horrible isn’t a bad enough word to describe that atrocity he threw, and it became a hilarious moment. 50 took it in stride and laughed it off, but it was bad. At least he has his million-dollar businesses to fall back on, now that his pitching career is ruined.

4. Nelly

Nelly was tasked with throwing the first pitch in August 2013. He got to the mound and fired towards home. The result wasn’t so great— it was way outside. The rapper, allegedly, was a pretty good baseball player — he was a two-sport start in St. Louis, but baseball was his best sport. He decided to quit playing baseball when he noticed that rapping could actually pan out. Truth is, his pitch was so bad that it’s hard to believe he was ever a “baller.”

3. Wale

Finally, a rapper who can pitch! Wale was invited by the Washington Nationals to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2013. The Grammy-nominated rapper stepped up confidently to the mound and fired a strike. He lived up to his athletic pedigree.

2. Macklemore

Macklemore got his chance to throw out the first pitch in 2012. The Seattle Mariners invited the rapper to show his stuff. The Seattle native not only threw a strike, but he had fun on the mound. He waited until he got the sign that he wanted from the catcher.

1. Drake

Drizzy Drake was invited by the Cleveland Indians to throw out the first pitch in 2011. The Toronto native claims he played baseball as a kid. He stepped up the mound and threw a looping strike. While it was over the plate, there wasn’t very much juice behind the pitch.

Hey, at least it was light years better than 50’s pitch.

Kendrick Lamar’s First Pitch at the Dodgers Game [VIDEO]  was originally published on theurbandaily.com