By: Melissa S. Wollering
It was the year “In da’ Club” topped the charts. 50 Cent showed up to a magazine photo shoot sporting the recently revived Milwaukee Brewers Glove Logo from head-to-toe. One picture and six years later, retro logo Brewers merchandise is still enjoying a popular rebirth. The only thing bigger would be if Tupac Skakur walked in my door alive and well on a Sunday afternoon and started watching pro football with us.
Then again, maybe now he would prefer to watch the MLB divisional playoffs. You see, America’s favorite pastime has increasingly inspired one of America’s most original music genres with songs like Nelly’s “Batter Up”, Lil’ Bow Wow/Lil’ Wayne’s “Hardball” and Paul Wall’s “Break Em Off”. List your old favorites below; but we’ve got a new one you’ll want to add to your playlist. “Heir to the Throne” doesn’t just reference baseball. It honors a Prince who will likely remain King long after he leaves the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
“Creating “Heir to the Throne” was so much fun,” says Prote-J, the track’s writer and performer. “My manager Ben Witherspoon and Prince Fielder are really close friends so they came up with the idea and I brought it to life. I made three different beats and let Prince listen to them to see which one he liked the most. He went crazy when he heard the “Heir to the Throne” beat.”
Prote-J, born in LA but raised by his mother in Papua New Guinea, eventually moved to Central Florida. A few church bands, drum corps and freestyle mix tapes later, Prote-J went on to complete his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach. I like one of the lines straight off his My Space page. He is now doing everything possible to become your next favorite rapper. With an ode to Prince, Brewers fans would agree he’s already in the running for Milwaukee’s favorite rapper.
“Prince loved the final result,” says Prote-J. “I think by the second or third day after we gave it to him, he already knew all the lyrics! He believes in my potential as an artist and this song was his way of helping me jumpstart my career. I’ve gained a lot of exposure from it and I can’t thank him enough for all his support.”
Prote-J never played baseball growing up but he did his homework for the song; studying up on a complete list of baseball terminology, Prince Fielder stats and additional information on the Brewers. He says a sport with familiar terminology provides a great foundation for music lyrics, especially for rap.
“The best lyricists are great with wordplay and I think about that every time I write a verse,” says Prote-J. “Athletic references are used a lot, because life in general can be compared to sports. We all have ups and downs, wins and losses, and we have to work hard if we want to excel.”
Working hard and finding inspiration from other artists is how Prote-J came up with his name. He finds inspiration from Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Ryan Leslie, John Mayer, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams. He’s also a big fan of newer artists such as Chester French, Drake, and Wale.
“A protégé is someone who is mentored or supported by a more experienced person. Since I don’t really have anyone like that, that definition applies to me figuratively. In my case, that ‘more experienced person’ is the music of all those who inspire me. Whenever I’m stuck or I run into a creative block, I listen to music from my favorite artists…because it points me in the right direction…[and] gives me inspiration when I need it.”
Prote-J is also an inspiration to teens considering post-secondary education. He can rap but he’s also earned a degree in Business Administration. He says it’s important for kids who want to become artists to also stick with school and pursue college.
“Nothing is guaranteed in the music business and an education gives you something solid to fall back on. There are thousands of artists out there, but only a few that have largely successful careers. By going to school and getting my bachelor’s degree I’ve put myself in a position where I can succeed in more than one avenue.”
The 21-year-old artist says he wants to have a large impact in the music industry not only as a performer, but also as a songwriter and a producer.
“I’m very versatile when it comes to creating music and I want to work with artists in every genre of music. Most of the biggest hip hop songs today lack lyrical content and I want to be one of the few artists who can deliver songs for the radio that aren’t completely watered down.”
Prote-J gave us a sneak peak of some of his upcoming lyrics from “Goodbye” on his soon-to-be-released album Good Hip Hop Meets Radio. The sports references are anything but watered down and outside of Prince Fielder, Prote-J says he’d probably like to work Kobe Bryant into a future song.
“Got happiness flowin’ as I just chill, I’m not Terrell Owens, I have no Bills. No friend or fam that needs to borrow money, just yesterday’s laughs that keep tomorrow funny.”
Prince used “Heir to the Throne” as his batting song for the first time May 12th against the Marlins. That day, Prince went 3-4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI’s. That’s called results. Speaking of which, it’s now common for major leaguers to make statements with their batting songs or popularize a new song before it hits radio airwaves.
Corey Hart and JJ Hardy are making country music mainstream. Hart is synonymous with International Harvester while JJ put the Zac Brown Band on the Milwaukee map with “Chicken Fried.”
Everyone from Lake Michigan to San Diego hears Hells Bells ring at the onset of Trevor Time. Jason Kendall wouldn’t be caught dead without Mudvayne or Saliva as he steps up to the plate. And Craig Counsell is all classic rock with Jimi Hendrix’ All Along the Watchtower, two seasons-in-a-row now.
One website is fairly current (or just a song or two behind) on posting all MLB starters’ at bat songs. Better yet, if you want to know the songs from players of OLD, we’re talking Junior Spivey and Brooks Kieschnick, check this out. It’s the 2004 season and they never took it off the archive. Nice…
Listen to “The Deposit” for an exclusive interview with Prote-J and more on Prince Fielder’s reaction to “Heir to the Throne.” We’ll keep in contact with him as he continues to make strides on the music scene. His free album “Good Hip Hop Meets Radio” hits the Internet this fall. Remember, you read it here first at The SportsBank.net.
I think Prote-J should feature D.J. Klimaxx and the Verbal Assassin on his next single…
agreed some SICA rhymes woudl be phat!
this story turned out well! good job Melissa. Great song too! Good job Prote-J
Song is awesome, wish the Cubs had someone good enough to make a song about
Great Blog. Just not sure why I am up at 3 a.m. reading this. :)