Leaders of the New School: Hip-Hop Bum-Rushes the Videogame Stage
New playable music titles look to channel the energy of hip-hop like never before.
6/26/2009 7:49 AM | 10 Comments | Page 2 of 2
King and partner Gary Foreman were among the original founders of Rockstar Games, along with the more famous Houser brothers. They contributed to the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Bully franchises, so they've been around controversy, too. Contentious perceptions continue to swirl around hip-hop, but King answers that "
Rapstar's not necessarily about the street or that kind of drama. On one level, it's about accessing the fantasy of the glamour and lifestyle that major rap artists enjoy. On another level, we want to let people share the excitement over their own creativity with each other."
Wannabe party controllers will meet legendary turntablists like DJ Shadow -- looking appropriately shadowy here -- on their journey to rock the chicest clubs.
When I ask him about Rigopulos' quote regarding hip-hop and rhythm games, King gets heated. "There's different people in the world, you know! Me and my mates didn't grow up on rock music. We were listening to KRS-One, not Aerosmith." The developers are keeping mum as to what tracks will make the initial release, but promise a balanced mix from the Old School, Golden Age and modern eras of hip-hop.
Like 4mm, the makers of
DJ Hero make it plain that their game looks to address the absence of hip-hop and dance music in the rhythm genre. "A great DJ controls the whole mood of a party. We want to put that power in a player's fingertips," says Ken Townsend, who's working on the Activision game. Part of the game's goal is to de-mystify one of the core elements of hip-hop culture, he says. "The DJ's still kind of an ambiguous mystery man. So many people out there don't know how to DJ. Playing
DJ Hero and feeling good could be a gateway for people actually getting on the wheels of steel."
This slick wireless peripheral puts you in charge of everybody else's good time.
Lyrics may be the most prominent example of rap creativity, but DJing takes skills, too. Turntable mixing started as a form of expression when budget cuts took music classes out of urban schools. But unlike their Guitar Hero cousins, the developers of
DJ Hero, which hits this October, say that there won't be any music creation or recording features in the game. How will a game that comes with pre-made mixes honor the improvisational soul of DJing? Townsend says you'll be able to choose your own samples to drop into the songs you play. Those samples will range from shout-outs from famous rappers to popular sound effects. (Additional sample packs are also part of the DLC plan for
DJ Hero.) Also, once you earn it, you'll be able to use the Rewind feature at any point in a song, emphasizing the parts you want. Townsend argues that all of this, coupled with the effects dial's ability to distort sound, will let players feel uniquely creative.
Def Jam Rapstar's online leaderboards won't just be based on how well you perform a song. Other users can vote to catapult your rendition to the top of the charts, too.
It's funny: In a way,
Def Jam Rapstar and
DJ Hero represent the two poles of the modern hip-hop experience. Activision's market-share muscle allows it to leverage relationships with Jay-Z, DJ Shadow and Eminem, making it a de facto stand-in for corporate rap entities like Interscope or Def Jam. Meanwhile, the executives behind Def Jam Interactive -- Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles and Russell Simmons -- all once held court at Def Jam before it was acquired by Universal Music Group, and find themselves in the underdog position with hungry up-and-comers at 4mm and Terminal Reality.
Yet, despite the organizational differences and the fact that these games may hit shelves around the same time, they're not necessarily competing with each other. King said that he views
Scratch (
get the Five here) and
DJ Hero as complementary to
Rapstar. "Our game's not about techno music or mixing tracks," he offered. "It's about hip-hop; we want to deliver the swagger and enable players to connect with the music and each other."
