Usually around this time of the year, gamers are making their final pre-order deposits at GameStop for the latest installment in the Madden series. (Here's a tip: Invest in EA's stock. It always rises when a new Madden is about to drop). I, on the other hand, am usually depressed that another football season is starting without 2K Games showing Madden how to properly make a football video game. To diminish my feelings of treason for purchasing yet another Madden, I soak in all of the NBA 2K news that I can. 2K shocked us in 2011 by adding Michael Jordan to the game. This year, they've enlisted the help of another heavyweight: Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.
On his historical track "The Takeover", Jay-Z once famously said, "R.O.C., we runnin' this rap [game]." Now Jay has set his sights set on taking over another game: NBA 2K13. On July 31, 2012, 2K Games announced that Jay has been named the executive producer of NBA 2K13. One of his jobs is to choose the soundtrack (https://www.facebook.com/NBA2K/app_203351739677351, http://allhiphop.com/2012/07/31/jay-z-taps-nas-kanye-west-too-short-and-more-for-nba-2k13-soundtrack/). This is a completely different turn from the usual 2K approach to the soundtrack. Before, through Duck Down Records, a lot of up and coming acts were showcased with the occasional mainstream appearance. There was a pretty decent mixture of different genres blended together. This year, the soundtrack looks more like a "Jay-Z and Friends" mixtape. It is certainly hip-hop centric. Many of the artists on there are linked to Jay-Z. Kanye West appears on four songs (one of them being "Amazin' which was used in NBA 2K11). Nas appears twice. Former adversary Prodigy make an appearance. Santigold is signed to Roc Nation. Ditto for Rick Ross. A song titled "We Live in Brooklyn, Baby" is on the soundtrack (Jay is from Brooklyn and is a partial owner of the Brooklyn Nets). He's made a song with Too Short and Chris Martin of ColdPlay. Even Jay himself has 6 of his own tracks being used (one being the freestyle over Joe Budden's "Pump It Up which culminated into a beef between the two MCs: http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/joe-budden-speaks-on-how-his?xg_source=activity, http://headmasterz.wordpress.com/2007/03/05/the-joe-buddens-conspiracy-theory/). Needless to say, ROC Nation is ready to "rock" the world.
If the soundtrack is any indicator of what to expect out of NBA 2K13, this may be the "Blueprint" to "All I Need" in a basketball game until we get an "Encore."
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