Def-Jam-Rapstar-Can-A-Video-Game-Save-Hip-Hop-Part-3

Where Are The White Hip-Hop Stars?
Frankly, Def Jam Rapstar’s featured U.S. Hip-Hop songs should have knocked out any doubts about
how good the game was going to be and why it is worth spending $69 bucks on it for Xbox 360 and
$60 on PlayStation 3 and Wii. I mean 4mm Games had more than two years to figure it out. How can
a Def Jam Rapstar game not have arguably the biggest rapper in the game Eminem? And I hate to
say this but why would Def Jam Rapstar have foreign white rappers like Sido, Kool Savas, and Peter
Fox and not have top white U.S. rappers like House of Pain, Vanilla Ice or the Beastie Boys? And the
foreign white stars won’t even be on the U.S. version of the game. No one can explain to me why the
Beastie’s "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)" was not one of the first featured songs on DJR.
I am certain that many major U.S. white rappers will have to be featured on Def Jam Rapstar if the
game is to have any chance of getting big pre-orders or having a successful launch date. So delaying
those U.S. white rapper announcements for Gamescom 2010 or shortly thereafter is again more of a
gaming PR stunt than allowing reckless and needless speculation about why Eminem, Kid Rock and
the Beastie Boys were not featured artists from day one on Def Jam Rapstar’s announcement back at
E3 Expo 2009. And also Kid Rock has always gone out of his way to be a big Def Jam and Run DMC
supporter. Kid even put Reverend Run on his recent concert tours. So there is no practical or tactical
explanation to not already have Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba” on DJR. Or why not white alternative rock
rappers like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, P.O.D., Kottonmouth Kings or Weird Al’s funny “White & Nerdy”
just to obliterate the most dismissive media critics of Hip-Hop. Def Jam Rapstar should show how
Hip-Hop music is not limited to mindless booty, gangsta, misogynistic, party, and bling worshipping
rap songs. And as for female white rappers I’d include indie rapper Sarai even though she had only
one catchy rap hit with “Ladies”. And Lady Sovereign should have been on the UK version of Def Jam
Rapstar game, since she was signed by Jay-Z as the first non-American female to Def Jam Records.
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Rock Ross Is Not Rick Ross
And it is beyond baffling why Hip-Hop light weights like Jim Jones, DJ Khaled and Young Joc are
featured artists on the Def Jam Rapstar game and not Def Jam Records’ Rick Ross. Ross is the only
new Def Jam Artist in the past couple of years to have three #1 opening albums and Ross’s fourth
“Teflon Don” was 20,000 purchases shy from knocking off Eminem and being #1 nationwide again on
Billboard’s Hot 100. I have to assume Rick Ross’ “Hustlin’” will be featured on the game soon. But to
make matters greatly worse 4mm Games misspelled Rick Ross’s name as Rock Ross on all its press
releases saying he was on the DJ Khaled track “We Takin’ Over”. And somehow the Def Jam Rapstar
Web site posted Rock Ross as well. I waited two weeks after the press release dropped and the Def
Jam Rapstar Web site still has Rock Ross listed on “We Takin’ Over”. I guess somebody will fix this
soon or issue a corrected press release. The only worse thing that could happen is that 4mm Games
would mistakenly put Rock Ross on the final Def Jam Rapstar box art. This needs to be fixed ASAP
because everyone at Def Jam Interactive should know that Rock Ross is definitely not Rick Ross.
Speciality Hip-Hop Songs & Themes
I would also have put some specific theme tracks on Def Jam Rapstar to create fun moments and not
necessary to challenge gamers or get high scores. It would be fun to have Hip-Hop classics like Run
DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis” on Def Jam Rapstar because it is one of the best holiday rap songs and
would be a big favorite at many Christmas parties in 2010. You need 50 Cent’s “In da Club” because
everyone will have a party and want to use Def Jam Rapstar to rap out a fun club jam. You need Will
Smith’s “Summertime” because that is the most laidback chill-out rap song ever. You need Hustle &
Flow’s “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” because it actually won 2006’s Oscar for Best Original Song.
I’d throw in Terrence Howard’s “Whoop That Trick” because many non-Hip-Hop fans appreciated and
respected Hip-Hop more after watching Hustle & Flow. Hip-Hop is also highly generational now. So
my favorite songs I would want to see on Def Jam Rapstar would be Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s
Delight”, Run DMC’s “It’s Like That” and Melle Mel’s “The Message”. Now a typical 15 year or 20 year
old could probably care less about those ancient rap tracks. But there are easily millions of middle
age Hip-Hop fans that would want to spend $70 on Def Jam Rapstar to relieve those junior high and
high school rap fantasies with their friends at many high school reunions, office parties or weddings.
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Executive Vice President Paul Coyne of 4mm Games, said, "Internally, we used Get On
Da Mic as the architectural model of how not to do" Def Jam Rapstar...Jostiq.com 6/4/2009
And for those who say that 4mm games could not be expected to satisfy every Hip-Hop fan than I
must draw a direct comparison to the track list in the now forgotten Edios’s Hip-Hop game Get on Da
Mic. This was a game released in 2005 and the Get on Da Mic tracks listed below has many popular
rap songs that Def Jam Rapstar should have already have featured on its game from “Jump Street”.
Get On Da Mic’s Track List (2005)
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"Ante Up (REMIX)" by M.O.P. feat. Busta Rhymes
"Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot
"Beautiful" by Snoop Dogg
"Beware of the Boyz" by Jay-Z
"California Love RMX" by Tupac Shakur
"Crank It Up" by David Banner
"Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy
"Dude"
"Express Yourself" by N.W.A
"Fix Up" by Dizzee Rascal
"Game Over" by Lil' Flip
"Get Busy" by Sean Paul
"Get By" by Talib Kweli
"Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott
"Gin and Juice" by Snoop Dogg
"Hey Mama" by Black Eyed Peas
"Hypnotize" by Notorious B.I.G.
"Jesus Walks" by Kanye West
"Ma, I Don't Love Her" by The Clipse
"Naggin" by Ying Yang Twins
"Nothing but a G Thang" by Dr. Dre
"Pass that Dutch" by Missy Elliott
"Posse on Broadway" by Sir Mix-a-lot
"Pump It Up" by Joe Budden
"Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa
"Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang
"Rubber Band Man" by T.I.
"Ruff Ryders' Anthem" by DMX
"Still Ballin (Nitty Remix)" by Tupac Shakur
"The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground
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"The Jump Off" by Lil' Kim feat. Mr Cheeks
"The Next Episode" by Dr Dre feat. Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg
"Through the Wire" by Kanye West
"Tipsy" by J-Kwon
"What Da Hook Gon Be" by Murphy Lee
"Whoa" by Black Rob
"Wit Dre Day" by Dr. Dre
"Work It" by Missy Elliott
"X Gon Give It To Ya" by DMX
None of the official Def Jam Rapstar fact sheets before or after E3 Expo 2010 even say there are
more tracks coming when you buy the game. I had to dig out some old Jaime King Def Jam Rapstar
demo videos on Youtube to hear him say additional tracks will be released each week after Def Jam
Rapstar’s release. But what those Hip-Hop tracks are who knows. One might have to easily wait until
Thanksgiving or Christmas 2010 to fully know everything that’s available on Def Jam Rapstar. A track
list that had 85 or 100 songs with my DJ wish list would have generated in my opinion much more
excitement and interest from a vast range of Hip-Hop fans from the Golden Age (1981-1991), The
Platinum Age (1991 to 2001) and The Bling Age (2001 to 20111). An avid Hip-Hop fan from any era
would not have a legitimate reason not to buy Def Jam Rapstar. But 4mm Games is now faithfully
following a predictable PR strategy to generate monthly hype by dribbling out additional featured
game tracks. But the success of that PR strategy assumes that music gamers and Hip-Hop gamers
are actively following DJR’s video game updates. Many potential game consumers will have already
assumed the only relevant tracks are the first ones they heard about with the massive wave of hype
and excitement from Def Jam Rapstar’s mostly positive online gamer reviews from E3 Expo 2010.
“Def Jam Rapstar is the first music game fully dedicated to Hip Hop…With over
40 songs spanning the history of Hip Hop.”….Def Jam Rapstar Fact Sheet
The oldest song on Def Jam Rapstar so far is Salt N’ Pepa’s “Push It” from 1987. You can tell gamers
or teens who do not know anything about Hip-Hop that the game spans the “History of Hop-Hop”. But
anyone that claims they are a true Hip-Hop Head is not gonna believe that DJR could not feature any
tracks before 1987 on the game. Even Get on Da Mic had the first major breakout Hip-Hop single in
The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”. And if one throws in Africa Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” and
Melle Mel’s “The Message”, then DJR could state that they are covering the “History of Hip-Hop”. And
the major reason Def Jam Rapstar can also safely claim it is the “first music game fully dedicated to
Hip-Hop” is because DJ Hero and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ did not do so or want to do so. And Get
on Da Mic was such a resounding failure for Ubisoft that no one honestly cares if it really was the
“first music video game dedicated for Hip-Hop” for Next Gen consoles. Sony’s PaRappa the Rapper
was a basic rap-a-along video game when it was released in 1996. I do find it a bit odd that those
Hip-Hop games both were for Sony’s PlayStation and PS2. But Get on Da Mic will inevitably be
compared to Def Jam Rapstar if it is not a huge success. At least Def Jam Rapstar has lyrical identity
technology and uses real rappers for its songs. As opposed to Get on Da Mic’s bad lyrical gameplay
and using studio rappers. Besides Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, there have
been unsuccessful Hip-Hop themed video games like B-Boy (2008), Breakdance (1984), Break Street
(1984), Flow: Urban Dance Uprising (2005), Rap Jam: Vol. 1 (1995) and Red Bull BC One (2008).
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Def Jam Rapstar Vs DJ Hero 2
4mm Games CEO Jaime King has confidently and repeatedly stated publicly that 4mm cleared over
200 to 400 tracks as downloadable content every week after Def Jam Rapstar is released in October.
Again why this is a huge marketing gamble by 4mm Games that might slow-up pre-orders is because
hardly any gamers really know about Def Jam Rapstar’s weekly downloadable track plan. But what
4mm Games and Konami better be watching is Activision’s DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 game franchise.
Activision already knocked out Numark’s Scratch: The Ultimate DJ before it even could get properly
published last year. And by E3 Expo 2009 Scratch was DOA and no one cared about Numark and
Genius Product suing Activision and 7 Studios for hindering the development and release of Scratch:
The Ultimate DJ. And no gamer media cared about Scratch after DJ Hero had an E3 Expo 2009
launch concert with Jay-Z and Eminem. And inside E3 2009 Activision spared no expense to have
regular live and huge DJ Hero demos with all its game’s featured DJs including the late great DJ AM.
“DJ Hero was the best music game of 2009 and with DJ Hero 2 we’re delivering a new easy
to pick-up, challenging-to-master experience that all players can enjoy together,” said David
Haddad, Chief Operating Office, Guitar Hero. “With new social game modes, the inclusion of
full microphone support, all-new levels of creative freedom and an amazing soundtrack, DJ
Hero 2 is the ultimate mixer of music and friends.”…DJ Hero 2 E3 2010 Press Release
DJ Hero 2 is no joke and its playlist is sick and enough to make someone who bought DJ Hero easily
buy DJ Hero 2. And unfortunately for Def Jam Rapstar there is a DJ Hero 2 party pack which comes
with a microphone. But luckily Activision is not pushing the rapping part of DJ Hero 2 as an alternative
to Def Jam Rapstar. From my POV DJ Hero 2 is a true natural evolution of the DJ experience to go
from mixing beats and tracks to mixing, rapping and battling. This is actually more of the exact way
that Hip-Hop evolved in the mid-70’s in New York from DJs having impromptu house parties in the
projects and parks to suddenly adding a MC or rapper with a microphone to hype up the crowds. DJs
after that fell to the background as the MCs took over the main show. But Activision is truly not to be
ignored and I would fully expect DJ Hero 3 to actually have incorporated everything that Def Jam
Rapstar can do gameplay wise that it does not already do now. DJ Hero 2 is the only Hip-Hop game
alternative to Def Jam Rapstar. Both games are essentially competing for the same music gamers.
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DJ Hero 2 Track List:
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2Pac
50 Cent
Adamski
Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force
Armand Van Helden
A-Trak
B.o.B.
Basement Jaxx
BlakRoc
Bobby Womack
Bruno Mars
Busta Rhymes
Calvin Harris
Chamillionaire
Chic
Chris Willis
Clinton Sparks
Colby O’Donis
Daft Punk
Damian Marley
David Guetta
Deadmau5
Deee-Lite
Dillinja
Diplo
Dizzee Rascal
DJ Shadow
Donna Summer
Dr. Dre
Drake
Edwin Starr
Eminem
Estelle
Flo Rida
Gorillaz
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Harold Faltermeyer
House Of Pain
Iyaz
Jackson 5
Janet Jackson
Justice
Kanye West
Kaskade
Kelis
Keri Hilson
Kid Cudi
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Kool & The Gang
Lady Gaga
Lil Jon
Lil Wayne
LL Cool J
M.I.A.
M|A|R|R|S
Major Lazer
Malcolm McLaren
Mase
Melle Mel & Duke Bootee
Metallica
Missy Elliott
Mos Def
MSTRKRFT
N.O.R.E.
Nas
Nate Dogg
Naughty By Nature
Nelly
New Boyz
New Order
Newcleus
Nightcrawlers
Orbital
Pharoahe Monch
Pirate Soundsystem
Pitbull
Puff Daddy
Pussycat Dolls
Rihanna
Robin S.
RZA
Salt N Pepa
Sam Cooke
Sam Sparro
Sean Paul
Skibadee
Sneaky Sound System
Snoop Dogg
Snow
Soulja Boy Tell Em
Sparfunk & D-Code
Static Major
Stevie Wonder
Talib Kweli
The Chemical Brothers
The Crystal Method
The Egg
The Notorious B.I.G.
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The Prodigy
Tiësto
Tiga
Timbaland
Tweet
Walter Murphy
Warren G
Wayne Smith
Will.I.Am
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Young Jeezy
Global Hip-Hop Gaming Strategy
“As I continue to travel the globe, I’m always amazed how hip hop has impacted youth
culture in every country around the world” stated Kevin Liles, President and CEO of Def Jam
Enterprises. “Each territory is creating their own movement, style, artists, and songs that
resonate with the hip hop experience in their respective country. Hip Hop is global, therefore
Def Jam Rapstar must also be global, and provide local content providers the opportunity to
represent hip hop in their own language in their own voice.”…DJR Press Release 5.19.2010
The international artists featured on Def Jam Rapstar is another great aspect of the game. But what I
initially thought would truly be a statement about how Hip-Hop is truly a global experience by allowing
fans of T.I., Jeezy, Dr. Dre, etc., to also be exposed simultaneously to the UK’s babyface Chipmunk,
the German gangsta rap style of Sido or the raspy booming sounds of France’s NTM were quickly
dashed when I realized that Def Jam Rapstar was creating exclusive foreign tracks for only UK,
France and Germany. I was even more baffled because why would U.S. Hip-Hop gamers not be able
to recite the English lyrics of Dizzee Rascal’s “Fix Up, Look Sharp” or Tinie Tempah’s “Pass Out”.
And if all the foreign tracks will be downloadable content it would not matter what version of Def Jam
Rapstar one buys. Why would Def Jam Rapstar care if someone in the U.S. could have fun and more
challenging trying to spit in another language besides English? That would have been so cool to
know German or French slang. Def Jam Rapstar could have translated German, French or even
Spanish rhymes into English lyrics and showed how Hip-Hop is a cultural edutainment force in any
language. Future Def Jam Rapstar games could have used Hip-Hop to teach new foreign languages.
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I also for the life of me do not know why 4mm Games, Def Jam Interactive and Terminal Reality made
certain U.S. tracks like Big Pun’s “Still Not A Player”, Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story” and DKJ Khaled’s
“We Takin’ Over” not available in any of the foreign versions of Def Jam Rapstar; A Tribe Called
Quest’s “Scenario” not in the Germany DJR; Ice Cube’s “To Day Was A Good Day” and Young Jeezy
and Kayne West’s “Put On” available in the U.S. and UK and not in German and French versions;
Nelly’s “Hot In Here” and T.I. and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” not available in the French DJR game or
Young Joc’s “Its Goin’ Down” only available in the French edition of Def Jam Rapstar. Who made
these decisions is beyond me? I can’t fathom what Def Jam Rapstar foreign buyers wants to try and
decide between buying the U.S. version or the various Europe versions that have local stars, but not
some major U.S. stars. 4mm Games is needlessly creating consumer confusion with multiple DJRs.
On a lighter note in June at the Paris Hip-Hop 2010 Kevin Liles CEO of Def Jam Enterprise received
the Medaille de la Ville de Paris, which is the highest honor for individual who made contributions to
Parisian culture. Kevin was recognized for helping globalize Hip-Hop as an art form, culture and
business. Kevin was instrumental in forging the deal between Def Jam Interactive and 4mm Games.
Def Jam Rapstar also had a demo party at Palais de Tokyo. And there is some fun footage of Charlie
Hedges from Kiss 100 Breakfast Show trying out DJR at UK’s Wireless Festival 2010. And the next
big global event for DJR to shine will be at Gamescom 2010 in Cologne Germany from August 18-22,
2010. I hope all of the German artists featured on the German Def Jam Rapstar game get to perform
live at the Konami booth at Gamescom. Or at least get filmed playing their own song in the game and
giving Def Jam Rapstar endorsements in German that can be used later for the German DJR launch.
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