However, for the MLB, this was a deeply intentional decision. We spoke to Steven Tyler, the league\u2019s Senior Director of Global Brand Management, who argued the right soundtrack for the 4th of July wouldn\u2019t be so obvious. Picking \u201cThe Spins\u201d properly captures the true sense of unity the holiday is all about and is easily reflected in America\u2019s favorite pastime.<\/p>\n
Why MLB is Celebrating 250 Years of America With Baseball and \u201cThe Spins\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"Play\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783097769_14_hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best needle drops make people feel like they are seeing the sport in a slightly new way,\u201d Tyler told Noisey. \u201c\u2019The Spins\u2019 has this instant feeling of joy and being outside that is reminiscent of a great day at the ballpark with friends. For a Fourth of July spot, especially one connected to America 250, we wanted something authentic to the experience of being at a baseball game in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018The Spins\u2019 gives you that vibe immediately. It feels communal. It is a song loved by people across generations, just like baseball. That made it a really natural fit for the kind of energy we wanted the spot to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, when you think of patriotism, you\u2019re more likely to think of Toby Keith instead of Mac Miller. But Steven Tyler suggests that Americana doesn\u2019t have to be the same kind of grizzled, country aesthetic that we\u2019ve grown used to over the years. Instead, he argues that Miller\u2019s classic mixtape K.I.D.S. speaks to a newer American experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cA more traditional patriotic song would have made sense on paper, but it also could have made the spot feel more expected. Mac brings a different kind of Americana. K.I.D.S. is a very American mixtape, but in a more lived-in way,\u201d Tyler said. \u201cIt captures youth, friendship, summer, neighborhood pride, and the feeling of being outside with the people who make a place feel like home. That felt true to the way people celebrate baseball and the Fourth of July today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Intersection Between Baseball and Hip-hop<\/p>\n
Even though hip-hop has been the definitive cultural export over the last few decades, you might not immediately associate it with baseball. However, Tyler says that there are more similarities than we think.<\/p>\n
\u201cBaseball and hip hop both have a deep relationship with place, personality, style, rhythm, and self-expression. So much of baseball culture is about where you are from, how you carry yourself, what makes your game different, and how individual moments become part of a bigger shared story,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Initially, the instinct for their campaign was to lean nostalgic. It\u2019s the easiest way to feel good and celebratory of America standing tall for 250 years. Going the hip-hop route with Mac Miller allowed them to still feel fresh while capturing that warm, fuzzy feeling. <\/p>\n
\u201cHip hop was definitely part of the conversation because we wanted the campaign to feel contemporary and culturally fluent. The goal was to find a song that worked for baseball in the moment it\u2019s in today,\u201d Tyler shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Spins\u201d Wasn\u2019t The Only Song in Consideration for MLB 4th of July Festivities<\/p>\n
Admittedly, Steven Tyler and co. mulled through quite a few records from K.I.D.S. before settling down with \u201cThe Spins\u201d. Because so much of the Mac Miller mixtape exists in such carefree bliss, it was hard to narrow down their selection. Initially, there were big pushes for classics like \u201cKnock Knock\u201d and \u201cSenior Skip Day\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the end, though, it was the ability to still feel relevant and fresh today that made \u201cThe Spins\u201d an easy choice. \u201cIt has the rare ability to feel both nostalgic and immediate,\u201d Steven Tyler concluded. \u201cIt already lives with people in a very emotional way, and when you pair that with baseball, summer, and the Fourth of July, it gives the spot a feeling that is just right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How do you properly celebrate 250 years of America? Most people will light their BBQs and let off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,6994,350382,591,136,8154,85],"class_list":["post-776840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-hip-hop","tag-mac-miller","tag-mlb","tag-music","tag-noisey","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}