Def Jam scouts watch Rapstar game

By Robert Purchese Published 24 August, 2009

Online hub could produce next star.

Karaoke game Def Jam: Rapstar will help up-and-coming rappers get their music in front of real Def Jam Records talent scouts.

Those professionals will regularly trawl the Def Jam: Rapstar online community hub, according to Kotaku, hoping users vote the best rhymes to prominence. There's even a meta-game for camera-shy fans, who can act as promoter or manager and scour the database themselves.

Def Jam: Rapstar - due this winter (likely Q1 2010) on PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 - uses a microphone and PlayStation Eye or Xbox Live Vision camera to record performances. Backing vocals, ad-libs and more can then be plastered on top using the game's editing suite.

There's a recording-length restriction of 30 seconds when using licensed music, whereas original creations know no bounds.

Those licensed tracks, by the way, include "Live Your Life" by TI, "Gold Digger" by Kanye West and "They Reminisce Over You" by Pete Rock & CL Smooth.

The Def Jam: Rapstar online community will also focus heavily on rap battles, with plenty of leagues to top. You can rap against other schools, for example, instead of playing them at, say, cricket or football.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • patchbox360 #1 3 years ago

    please leave hip hop alone fat cats

  • Monkey_Puncher #2 3 years ago

    White kids dropping n-bombs to Gold Digger, this will definitely be a good talent scouting tool!

  • patchbox360 #3 3 years ago

    hahaha - white kids droping n-bombs to gold digger - classic

  • The_Mountie #4 3 years ago

    White kids. HAH!

  • JACK_BURTON #5 3 years ago

    @ patchbox360

    Like they have left Rock and Pop alone? (GH, RB, SingStar etc)

    If there is a market for this kind of thing what is your problem with someone developing it?

    @monkey_puncher

    Are you saying White kids cannot/should not enjoy Hip Hop? Does this mean Black kids cannot/should not enjoy Rock?

  • TheJuriel #6 3 years ago

    Oh you wiggers you...

  • Ryze #7 3 years ago

    ^ yawn

  • JACK_BURTON #8 3 years ago

    @ TheJuriel

    Don't you realise that you are the same kind of person that says "playing video games is ONLY for kids".

  • bratmandu #9 3 years ago

    Rap and Hip Hop and R&B sucks ass and is for idiots.

  • JACK_BURTON #10 3 years ago

    What music are you into Bratmandu?

  • bratmandu #11 3 years ago

    I like many, perhaps all types of music. Rap and Hip Hop and R&B are not music however.

  • JACK_BURTON #12 3 years ago

    Oh well, one mans milk is another mans poison and all that. And like Clint Eastwood once said in one of his films. Opinions are like AŁ$"holes. Everyone has got one!

  • bratmandu #13 3 years ago

    Fair enough, but to be honest, I'm fed up with rhythm action games altogether, as a genre it's gone as far as it can go unless they find a way to get actual instruments and equipment linked to a console/pc and make games from that - y'know to make people actually learn how to play actual instruments!

    As for R&B, Rap and Hip hop - yea, poison is the right word. Black music went down the tubes after the 60s. Bo Diddly and Chuck Berry would be spinning in their graves.

    **edit - I mean, how many plastic peripherals do we really need?
    Edited by 1 at 25/08/09 @ 15:37

  • JACK_BURTON #14 3 years ago

    Regarding learning to play an instrument. It is a laudable goal, but some people do not have the time, inclination or patience for that. They may want to use their spare time to just have fun. Is there anything wrong with that?

    So in your opinion is ALL White music milk? And are The Blues and Jazz music also poison?

    And in your opinion why would Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry be spinning in their graves?

  • bratmandu #15 3 years ago

    "So in your opinion is ALL White music milk?"

    I don't understand.

    They'd be spinning because of the decline in quality and style of what some people call 'music' from modern black 'artists'. And they depths to which these 'artists' sink' to garner material and 'respect'.

    Nothing wrong with having fun, but what I'm saying is that the genre has it's limits. Surely there isn't any need for more plastic instrument games - can't they just put new songs out for existing games as DLC?

    And I'm saying that surely the only way to expand the genre is either more plastic instruments (Xylophone Hero anyone?), or more realistic - or actual real instruments.

  • JACK_BURTON #16 3 years ago

    Sorry I was still referring to the one mans milk is another mans poison analogy.

    In your opinion is all white music good (milk)? You don't mention motown, the blues and jazz. But you seem to like the stuff from pre 60s. Is all motown, blues and jazz bad (poison)?

    Remember the decline is in YOUR (and maybe others) opinion. The amount of hits and record sales from said music shows that a lot of people differ from your opinion. And unless I have got the wrong end of the stick you seem to saying that ALL Rap, Hip-Hop and R&B is the same. Am I hearing you right?

    So has every single black artist sunk to the depths as you call it? In your opinion have no White artists sunk to depths?

    Every genre has its limits. When people are no longer interested, they will vote with their wallets.

    By the way, how old are you? I only ask because I am curious to know if you were around for the music pre 60s.
    Edited by 2 at 25/08/09 @ 17:32

  • bratmandu #17 3 years ago

    "In your opinion is all white music good (milk)? "
    God no.

    "Is all motown, blues and jazz bad (poison)?"
    Some of it's ok, some is pretty good, I'll give you that.

    "The amount of hits and record sales from said music shows that a lot of people differ from your opinion."
    Doesn't mean it's good. Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's good.

    "And unless I have got the wrong end of the stick you seem to saying that ALL Rap, Hip-Hop and R&B is the same."
    You have the right end of the stick. It's all tripe.

    "So has every single black artist sunk to the depths as you call it?"
    No, not all.

    "In your opinion have no White artists sunk to depths?"
    Oh most of them have yes. But that doesn't have much to do with rapstar.

    "By the way, how old are you? I only ask because I am curious to know if you were around for the music pre 60s. "
    26.

    Bottom line - rap sucks, and I'm done with rhythm action games.
    Edited by 2 at 25/08/09 @ 18:05

  • JACK_BURTON #18 3 years ago

    And then it hit me......The article is called "Def Jam scouts watch Rapstar game". Why read and comment on an article that you have no interest in? Maybe just to wind people up. I am new to this. Is this what is called trolling?

  • bratmandu #19 3 years ago

    Nope no troll, I have been into a good few Rhythm action games, and am just unhappy at the direction the genre went in recently.