Call it a new kind of rap beef. Eminem and Jay-Z are to face off against Kanye West, TI and Young Jeezy – not at the microphone, but as cheerleaders for rival video games.
Forget east coast v west coast, this year's turf war pits Def Jam's Rapstar against Activision's DJ Hero, both games where players rap along to their favourite songs. Though DJ Hero is primarily about spinning the decks, it has aggressively promoted its rapping component – hiring Eminem and Jay-Z as consultants on the project.
Eminem and Jay-Z also appeared together at a DJ Hero party on Monday night, performing their song Renegade. "This is a game I can see myself actually playing," Eminem told USA Today. "DJing is fundamental to rap music, so it's a great fit."
Rapstar, meanwhile, is purely focused on rapping. Overseen by hip-hop label Def Jam, the Playstation 3/Xbox game will offer an array of tracks – including Kanye West's Golddigger, TI's Whatever You Like and songs by Notorious BIG. However, Rapstar will include music from across all four major labels, not just Def Jam. Players can also record videos of their freestyles and share them online.
"It's not just about music, it's about swagger," said Lauren Wirtzer, Def Jam Interactive's vice president of marketing. Nicolas Perrett, CEO of game developer 4mm, upped the ante even further. "We're trying to make a game that appeals to ... anyone who has really enjoyed hip-hop music at any point in the last 30 years," he said.
