This pitcher can rap: Giants’ budding young star explains baseball, music overlap – The Mercury News

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Tyler Beede’s major league call up might not be too far away.

But his rap career has already taken off.

The Giants’ top prospect isn’t looking to leave his big league dreams to tour around the country with his rap idol J.Cole, but has proven that along with a consistent fastball in the low to mid 90s, Beede’s got bars.

“Tyler’s impressive,” said Giants closer Mark Melancon. “The best white rapper I’ve heard in a long time. I’ll give him props.”

Beede didn’t choose the rap life.

The rap life chose him.

The 23-year-old Auburn, Mass. native hails from a family with “a little bit of poetic rhythm.” His stepfather is a guitarist in a band while his father shares similar musical talents.

It didn’t take long for Beede to figure out that he, too, was musically inclined. During his high school years living at Lawrence Academy (Mass.), Beede made friends with several international students who made beats in their free time.

They were looking for someone to drop a rhyme, and Beede was happy to be their guinea pig.

“It was really bad, and not to say that I’m any good now, but it’s progressed a little bit from there,” Beede said. “I just like to have fun with it. It’s a unique way for me to use this platform, speak to my faith, speak to what I love and really have fun with it.”

Beede, aka “Young Beedah,” began earning his stripes where many rappers often get their start: in seventh grade science class.

The Boston-area native found himself in the midst of some foreshadowing, practicing how he’d pen his autograph when his classmate, Pat Trainor, berthed his legend.

It was at a time in the mid-2000s when Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy dropped one of his top singles – ‘Go Getta’ – with Chicago’s R. Kelly. At the beginning of the track, Kelly croons a long “Young Jeeeeezy” before Jeezy comes in and the beat drops.

Tapping into his own creative resources, Trainor replaced ‘Jeezy’ with ‘Beedah.’ The name stuck.

Through years of practice, Beede found his strength as a freestyler, relying on the same reflexes and preparation it takes for him to be convicted in every pitch to drop the perfect line.

“The more you practice freestyle, the more you write, the more that you have in your head to dig from once a beat comes on,” he said. “Once you get on the mound, you trust that preparation … and go out there and rely on instincts.”

Those instincts are part of what drew the Giants to Beede when they drafted him 14th overall in 2014. Beede is the 89th ranked prospect by Baseball America.

There’s a common theme in Beede’s lyrics. Tracks like 508 to the Ville, Forever 21 and his first “single,” Boston Strong, combine his love for baseball and his hometown.

On Boston Strong, Beede uses the music and chorus to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ Can’t Hold Us and proudly raps about where he was raised.

508 been great to me / born and raised wouldn’t change a thing / it’s all I’ve known since the age of three

**

We’re champs here in this city, so you know we hold the belt / BOSTON

Beede wrote these verses months before the tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon in 2013. He was later motivated by his brother to release the song in support of the city, and it quickly became a popular hit with several Red Sox players, so much so that former Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia used it as his walk up music that season.

After 24 starts with the Giants Double-A affiliate Richmond in 2016 where he notched an 8-7 record with a 2.31 ERA, Beede was invited back to spring training.

But unlike last year, this is more than a courtesy invitation. The right-hander is in the mix for the fifth spot in the Giants’ starting rotation.

He’ll compete with Matt Cain, the longest tenured Giant looking to stay out of the bullpen, along with Ty Blach and fellow Flying Squirrels teammate Albert Suarez.

While Beede may have an outside chance to win the role, this spring is his chance to be evaluated for the big leagues. And just like when he’s on the verge of dropping a red-hot verse, Beede knows he has to go with the flow.

“I know not to focus on too many things I can’t control, but at the same time, I’m excited that I get to compete this year,” he said.

Follow Courtney Cronin on Twitter: @CourtneyRCronin