Hip Hop has always had a love affair with video games. Since their parallel rise in the early 80’s, beat makers have continually been influenced by the minimalist sounds of Japans early composers, artists like Hirokazu Tanaka, Nobuo Uematsu and Yoko Shimomura.
When arcades and early consoles exploded across the world, kids were more often exposed to the iconic soundtracks of video games than any other form of music. It is no wonder a generation of producers and artists chopped and screwed these minimalist sounds into their own work.
When Biggie Smalls rapped "Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis” as a symbol of aspirational wealth, it cemented video games into the Hip Hop zeitgeist. This tape is an ode to the marriage of 8 bit aesthetics with street storytelling.
Sit back, blow the dust out of the cartridge and Press Start.