As if 2K Sports hasn’t attached enough star power to NBA 2K13 already, what with three superstar cover athletes and continued involvement with Michael Jordan and other NBA legends, now it has been announced that Jay Z–yes, the rapper, part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets and all-around handler of the bootylicious Beyoncé’s jelly–has been brought on to serve as Executive Producer on the game. Jigga what?
S. Carter’s not going to be sitting behind a desk coding basketball physics or dunk animations, he’s on board to let his style and vision “permeate the experience, from the overall look and feel of the game, to the hand-picked soundtrack, interactive in-game menus and more.” In other words, he’ll be making the game better by celebrity osmosis.
I have no clue what any of that means, really, other than the part about him handpicking the soundtrack. His expertise in laying down the blueprint for 2K13‘s album is more than welcomed. He may have 99 problems but music certainly ain’t one.
So what songs did 2K’s big pimpin’ Executive Producer select? A little Kanye, some Daft Punk and Coldplay, U2, of course a number of tracks from his own catalog, plus some others. Here’s the complete 24-song track list (which you can sample now on Facebook):
• Ali in the Jungle-The Hours
• Blow the Whistle (Main)—Too Short
• I Ain’t No Joke—Eric B. and Rakim
• 1901—Phoenix
• Pump it Up (Freestyle)—Jay-Z
• Victory (feat. Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes)—Puff Daddy and the Family
• Around The World (Radio Edit)—Daft Punk
• Shove It (feat. Spank Rock)—Santigold
• Amazing—Kanye West
• Run This Town—Jay-Z
• Stillness is the Move—The Dirty Projectors
• The World is Yours—Nas
• Viva La Vida—Coldplay
• We Live in Brooklyn, Baby—Roy Ayers
• Stress—Justice
• The Bounce—Jay-Z
• We Major (feat. Nas & Really Doe)—Kanye West
• Shook Ones, Pt. II—Mobb Deep
• Ima Boss – Instrumental—Meek Mill
• Mercy (feat. Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz)—Kanye West
• Elevation—U2
• On To The Next One—Jay-Z
• Public Service Announcement—Jay-Z
• H.A.M. (Instrumental)—Jay-Z
Oh, and there’s also this brief announcement teaser, narrated by Michael Jordan.
Matt Litten is a 28 year old from-the-womb gamer turned video game reviewer/blogger and current editor/owner/operator of VGBlogger.com. Matt got his first taste of gaming as a youngster on the NES and Atari, and the rest is history from there.
In 2004, three years removed from high school and still looking for a career direction in life, Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com, and after a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez Matt turned his attention to VGBlogger, and to this day is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary. 