A little over a year ago, an article came out stating that hip-hop was cashing in on the mobile games market (which, it also claimed, was a $34 billion market). The piece correctly identified the idea of tapping into mobile gaming. With hip-hop always evolving, and perhaps having more cultural influence than any other genre of music in our current decade, mobile games seem like a natural fit. They can be designed in all kinds of different ways, and are often used essentially as marketing tools, by everyone from film studios to musical artists. Any major rapper could conceivably design a mobile game blending lifestyle gameplay, RPG elements, and a musical background.
The issue is that this didn’t really happen. In that article, two images and one video were shown to exemplify hip-hop mobile gaming potential. Both images featured characters with guns in violent scenarios; the video was a ridiculous trailer for a Kanye West game. No one knows what’s going on with the Kanye game, and as for the violent imagery – is that really what a hip-hop game has to look like? No one needs to pretend that there aren’t themes of gangs and street violence in much of hip-hop, and there have even been successful games tapping into this aspect of the culture. But it sort of takes the focus off the music and the artists, and makes the claim that hip-hop is cashing in on the mobile game market a little bit dubious.
It isn’t just the mobile arena where hip-hop appears to be largely missing out either. There’s a developing culture of casino-style games that employ all kinds of popular themes. Sometimes these themes are original, but elements of pop culture make frequent appearances on slots and jackpots as well, and these elements include artists, songs, and images from popular bands. Most notably, Jimi Hendrix and Guns N’ Roses headline their own games, tapping into various chapters of rock history. It would seem only natural for hip-hop artists to secure similar licensing agreements to create their own games. It leads to licensing revenue as well as greater exposure to huge international player bases.
Then there’s the console gaming market where, admittedly, it’s harder to design simple games with musical themes. An online slot reel or a mobile title can easily function doubly as a game and an advertisement, whereas a console game requires more depth. Still, there are actually some memorable hip-hop games that have come out for consoles, like 2003’s Def Jam Vendetta and 2010’s Def Jam Rapstar. They weren’t exactly game changers, but they do provide some foundation for different types of video games that the hip-hop industry could get involved with.
Generally, this is a musical genre that thrives in exposure. The leading artists tend to be good at interacting with fans and drumming up followings. The music is closely connected to other industries like film and sports. In some cases, there are even fashion components to hip-hop stars’ empires. But gaming seems like one area in which rappers aren’t getting the type of exposure and attention we might expect.
