Def Jam Rapstar Message Board

#rapstar Remember Def Jam Rapstar? The SingStar for...rap? It had promise, but ultimately fizzled on the vine and died without making much of a splash. Now, making things worse, a record company is trying to squeeze the game's creators for millions. More »

Atlantic Records UK has teamed up with Def Jam Rapstar to give one lucky UK resident a chance to spit hot fire all over his or her very own record. By employing the game's freestyle mode, contestants will upload their hottest 40 bars (give or take) to be judged by the Def Jam Rapstar community website's membership.

The top regional finalists will then have to compete in front of a live audience at UK HMV locations, "8 Mile style," next February. What this means, of course, is that the winner will have said the most egregiously offensive thing about the other contestants' mothers, resulting in a crowd-wide "OOOOOHHHHHH SNAPPPPPPP."

Ten word stylists who survive that round will then proceed to a central London event where "a panel of Hip-Hop / Music aficionados" will parse who's best. We're getting ourselves pumped up for the competition starting right now by putting Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up Look Sharp" on permanent repeat.

LONDON, ENGLAND – December 2nd, 2010 – Def Jam Rapstar, the hotly-anticipated interactive Hip Hop video game, is proud to announce a groundbreaking association with Atlantic Records UK. The label, which has released world-renowned music from stars such as Flo-Rida, Jay-Z, T.I., Lupe Fiasco, B.o.B, Missy Elliott, Plan B and many more, will offer a [...]

- £1.2 million to be spent on advertising - ad campaign starts early December - TV ads on video-on-demand services, and channels such as Sky Sports, Five, MTV, Comedy Central, Sky 1, and ITV - special spot during The X-Factor. - ads across Facebook, YouTube, Google and Xbox Live, which should attract more than 60m unique users - radio ads - [...]

You might feel compelled to following along with the salty language present in the newest batch of DLC for Def Jam Rapstar, featuring the works of Wu Tang Clan and its composite members -- however, it's just as easy to censor yourself in the midst of a fiery rap. So many words rhyme with the F, S, D, B, and A bombs dropped by Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Redman and Raekwon, you know? A timely "truck," "pit," "ma'am," "hitch" or "glasshole" can spell the difference between a TV-MA performance and a TV-PG performance.

Check out the list of new DLC for the 360 version of the game, including "Protect Ya Neck," "Ice Cream" and "How High" -- as well as the PS3 version's DLC (which is actually the 360 version's DLC from last week) -- after the jump.

#dlc C.R.E.A.M. is not the best Wu-Tang Clan song. Can we agree on this? The best is Protect Ya Neck, which is part of a Wu-Tang Clan downloadable song pack some of you can rap to today. More »

An important note to the Def Jam Rapstar marketing team, regarding the ad you'll find after the break:

When a schizophrenic, liquor-soaked homeless man smashes into your conference room and shouts, "Just show Hulk Hogan rapping with his old balls fully out there and everything! Also, Jimmy Hart, Mouth of the South, have him a-movin' and a-shaking nearby! Coo-poo-pa-loo!" the proper response is to call security.

The wrong thing to do is thoughtfully stroke your chin and say, "Well, maybe if we censored the old balls?"

Sincerely,
Joystiq

#clips Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, daughter Brook, and Jimmy Heart are having a wonderful time paying tribute to The Notorious B.I.G in Def Jam Rapstar, until the Hulkster decides the cameraman wants to see his penis. Thank goodness for censor bars. More »

#dlc Def Jam Rapstar, like most modern music games, has downloadable songs. Def Jam Rapstar, unlike any other modern music game, lets you download Paid in Full or Passin' Me By. Rap classic, $2 a pop. Here's the official list: More »

4mm Games has fired off yet another gigantic salvo of downloadable tracks for Def Jam Rapstar, all of which are available now on Xbox Live and "soon" on PSN. The 27 new sing-along songs and four Freestyle beats will run players 160 Microsoft Points ($2) a piece -- a pittance, when you consider the immeasurable joy which selections like "Rapper's Delight," "Can't Tell Me Nothing," and "Ice Cream Paint Job" will deliver unto their owners.

Check out the full list of new songs after the jump.

A portion of an MTV review… It’s a good first shot, and hopefully the beginning of a series (that’s right, another rhythm game franchise) because jamming on plastic guitars is just so much different than going head-to-head with your boys, rapping over some of the greatest hip-hop tracks of years gone by.

#review Rap fans need their own Guitar Hero, their own Rock Band, their own great music game. Def Jam Rapstar steps up. Can it be that? More »

#flashdrive I love gaming flashdrives. They're tiny, they're functional, and often they're cute. Take this Def Jam Rapstar drive. Adorable. Too bad it doesn't play music. More »

#music Pick up a copy of Def Jam Rapstar for any platform between October 12 and October 19 at Best Buy and you'll help Lil Wayne prove that he is not a human being. More »

Best Buy's got a rather appropriate incentive to shore up purchases of Def Jam Rapstar from tomorrow until Tuesday, October 19: Anyone who purchases the title during that week gets a free copy of Lil' Wayne's recently released album, "I Am Not A Human Being."

Don't call it a karaoke game comeback, the genre's been here for years.

The definitive hip hop videogame now available in North America.

“When people say the music genre, they really mean Rock Band and Guitar Hero. It’s not what it once was because they already sold it to everyone. … If you look within the gaming community, hip-hop is more popular than classic rock. From our point of view, there’s an enormous base of gamers that [...]

#konami Our best hope for a good rap game, Konami and 4mm Games' Def Jam Rapstar, finally has a complete track list. Not only will we sip on "Gin and Juice" and "Brass Monkey," but we'll score some Rob Base. More »

There's sad news for true rap fans today as we bring you the final seven songs to be included in Def Jam Rapstar:

• Beastie Boys - "Brass Monkey"
• Kanye West - "Stronger"
• Lil' Kim - "Crush On You"
• Notorious B.I.G. - "Big Poppa"
• Rob Base - "It Takes Two
• Snoop Dogg - "Gin and Juice"
• Soulja Boy Tell'em - "Turn My Swag On"

Yes, we're excited to see "Gin and Juice," "Big Poppa" and "Stronger," but we can't help but feel depressed when realizing that we'll never get to test our rap holes out on classics like "Pirate Rap," "Math Rap" and, of course, "That's How I Beat Shaq." See the full list of disappointments after the break.

Oh well. Wake us when that MC Scat Kat DLC drops.

#preview The self-conscious games reporter does not rap in public. He raps at home, with a preview build of Def Jam Rapstar, video-camera activated. But then, though he might regret it later, he shares the videos with you. More »

Jack has been playing all week, and HR is pissed.

Jack has been playing all week, and HR is pissed.

#clips Shot in Brooklyn, New York, this television commercial for Def Jam RapStar was produced by Anthony Mandler, late of Jay Z, Drake and John Mayer video fame, and includes cameos by hip-hop artists Maino and Nipsey Hu$$le. More »

New freestyle beats from Bangladesh, DJ Premier and Just Blaze announced.

Def Jam Rapstar gets another 7 tracks deeper today, adding cuts by Busta Rhymes, DMX, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Lil' Jon and Twista to the official track listing, in addition to another "oldie" by Public Enemy. As with all songs in the game, these will be edited versions, though it's as yet unclear if the censoring suits have finally caught on to the meaning of Lil' Jon's insistence that we all "skeet, skeet" on ... the windows and walls, is it?

Of course, players will be invited to invent their own catchy hooks in Freestyle Mode, which today adds a trio of beats from DJ Premiere, Bangladesh and Just Blaze, who has contributed the appropriately dubbed "8 Bit" production. Check out the full update and a new video promo after the break.

#clips Konami today unveiled seven more of the tracks that will be playable on their upcoming Def Jam Rapstar game, and confirmed that Bangladesh will be providing instrumental beats for the game's freestyle mode. More »

To quote world-renowned poet and philosopher Nelly: "Good gracious, these tracks are bodacious." Only, well, he doesn't say tracks. He says something else entirely, as you'll likely see upon your first playthrough of Def Jam Rapstar -- a recently announced batch of songs for the rhythm title include Nelly's seminal summer hit "Hot in Herre," alongside similarly beloved jams from Nas, Method Man, Public Enemy and more.

Check out the full list of new tracks for the title posted after the jump. Also, and we're not trying to start a fuss, but -- we're still waiting on "Parents Just Don't Understand." Don't let us down, Def Jam.