10 Best Hip-Hop Video Game Soundtracks Of All Time

In the realm of virtual reality, when most people think of the word “score,” they think about points. In whatever format the game was developed, there was undoubtedly a scoring system. A way to accumulate virtual currency, gain power-ups, or literally purchase items. "Score" has another definition in the world of music. To score a soundtrack, for example, would mean to produce and arrange music for a specific purpose. Scoring a video game soundtrack is a very important task, although it is vastly overlooked. Everybody who played video games in their childhood can hum at least one video game theme song. For me, the regal horns of Starfox’s level in the original Super Smash Bros. comes to mind. Music is a vital piece of how players experience games. Flipping through the radio channels while gunning down a rival gang in San Andreas made the experience feel genuine and spontaneous.

The games that featured distinguished hip-hop soundtracks became mainstays in the rap community. To this day, people still discuss the Def Jam video game series, which meshed multi-player melee with rap superstars and dope music. NBA Street Vol. 2 introduced millions of kids to classics by Pete Rock & CL Smooth and Lords Of The Underground. Just like in the real world, hip-hop music took the virtual world by storm. The absolute necessity for a great soundtrack to set the backdrop of loading and menu screens is even more apparent in sports games. Franchises like Madden and NBA 2K have partnered with artists to curate or create music specifically for their games.

Of course, there has been a multitude of games with dope hip-hop soundtracks throughout the years, but these are the best ones. These soundtracks weren’t just thrown together to eliminate the staleness of silence. Instead, these soundtracks made the entire gaming experience better, or may have been the best part of the gaming experience altogether. From DJ Hero to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, here are the greatest video game soundtracks of all time.

Release: 2005

Platforms: Xbox, GameCube, PS2, PSP, GBA, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Windows

Best Tracks: Lupe Fiasco “Tilted,” Juvenile “Sets Go Up,” The Roots & BT “Tao of the Machine (Scott Humphrey’s Remix),” T.I. Presents the P$C “Do Ya Thang.”

Release: 2011

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Windows

Best Tracks: Kanye West “Power,” Kurupt “I’m Burnt,” Mickey Factz “Paradise,” Mos Def “Quiet Dog,” Tyler the Creator “Yonkers,” Wale “Mirrors,” Run DMC “My Adidas.”

Release: 2014

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows

Best Tracks: A Tribe Called Quest “Scenario,” Busta Rhymes “Dangerous,” Clipse “Grindin’,” Ms Lauryn Hill “Doo Wop (That Thing),” Missy Elliot “On & On,” Public Enemy “Shut ‘Em Down,” Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”

Release: 2004

Platforms: Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Windows, OS X

Best Tracks: 2Pac “I Don’t Give a Fuck,” Cypress Hill “How I Could Just Kill A Man,” Slick Rick “Children’s Story,” Rick James “Cold Blooded,” Public Enemy “Rebel Without a Pause,” Bell Biv DeVoe “Poison,” Eric B. & Rakim “I Know You Got Soul.”

Release: 2003

Platforms: PS2, GameCube

Best Tracks: DMX “Party Up (In Here),” WC featuring Snoop Dogg “The Streets,” Scarface “In Cold Blood,” N.O.R.E. “Nothin’,” Method Man “Uh- Huh!,” Redman “Smash Sumthin,” Onyx “Throw Ya Gunz,” Ludacris “Saturday,” Public Enemy “Fight The Power.”

Release: 2004

Platforms: Xbox, PS2, GameCube, PSP

Best Tracks: Method Man “What’s Happenin’,” Ice-T “O.G. Original Gangsta,” Xzibit “Mother, Mother,” LL Cool J “Mama Said Knock You Out,” Freeway featuring Peedi Crackk “Flipside,” Outkast “Bust,” Busta Rhymes “Make It Hurt,” Redman “Let’s Get Dirty,” Pastor Troy “Are We Cuttin’,” Sticky Fingaz “Man Up,” Joe Budden “Pop Off,” Fat Joe “Take a Look at My Life.”

Release: 2009

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii

Best Tracks: 2Pac “All Eyez On Me,” Grandmaster Flash “Boom,” Jay Z featuring Pharrell “Change Clothes,” Kid Cudi “Day ‘N Nite,” 50 Cent “Disco Inferno,” Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc,” Q Tip “Good Thang,” Beasie Boys “Here’s a Little Somethin’ for Ya,” Kool Moe Dee “How Ya Like Me Now,” Cypress Hill “Insane in the Brain,” Jay Z “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” Wale “Lookin’ At Me,” Eminem “My Name Is,” Common "Universal Mind Control,” Bell Biv DeVoe “Poison.”

Release: 2005

Platforms: Xbox, PS2, GameCube, Windows

Best Tracks: Cam’ron featuring Jay Z “Welcome to NYC,” Run DMC “Sucker Mcs,” Public Enemy “Bring the Noise (Chuck D Mix),” Redman “Rush the Security,” Wu-Tang Clan “Protect Ya Neck,” Kool G Rap and DJ Polo “Streets of New York,” Big Pun “Twinz (Deep Cover),” Nas “New York State of Mind,” Black Rob “Whoa.”

Release: 2013

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows

Best Tracks: Outkast “Elevators (Me & You),” Tyler the Creator “Garbage,” Amerie “1 Thing,” Ab Soul featuring Kendrick Lamar “ILLuminate,” A$AP Rocky featuring Aston Matthews and Joey Fatts “R-Cali,” Future “How It Was,” The Game featuring 2 Chainz and Rick Ross “Ali Bomaye,” YG “I’m a Real 1,” A$AP Ferg “Work,” Kendrick Lamar “A.D.H.D,” 2Pac "Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” DJ Quik "Dollaz + Sense,” NWA “Gangsta, Gangsta,” Snoop Dogg “Gin and Juice.”

Release: 2003

Platforms: Xbox, PS2, GameCube

Best Tracks: Pete Rock & CL Smooth “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” Black Sheep “The Choice Is Yours,” Lords Of The Underground “Chief Rocka,” Dilated Peoples  “Live On Stage,” Erick Sermon featuring Redman “React,” Memphis Bleek featuring Freeway “Just Blaze, Bleek & Free,” Nate Dogg featuring Eve “Get Up.”