By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
Hometown rapper Jay-Z is set to pump up Yankee fans at the World Series with a live performance of popular postseason anthem “Empire State of Mind.”
Jay-Z's performance at the series opener was rained out. And when he peforms at Thursday night's game, the song won’t be the same version that diehard fans know and love.
A source close to the hip-hop mogul told the AP on Wednesday that Jay-Z won't use the explicit language that is woven into his original song.
“S--- I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can,” Jay-Z raps in his unedited version.
This popular line and more will be cleaned up come Game 2 between the Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.
But the rapper, who has been a longtime Yankees fan and will sit in A-Rod’s box seats for the games, probably won’t mind.
He told the AP on Monday that the performance will be a “once in a lifetime experience.”
"Thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee," he said, echoing the words of Joe DiMaggio. “[‘Empire State of Mind’] is just a song I made for New York City.”
Jay-Z will perform with fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys.
