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Hip-Hop is set to hit the semi-centennial mark in 2023, and Hip-Hop Wired and our brother site Cassius Life are coming together to celebrate the moment while focusing on the genre of music’s influence on culture. There is nothing Hip-Hop does not touch, whether it be alcohol, clothes, or food. This post focuses on Hip-Hop’s love for video games and the franchises that rappers have loved and continue to play. Video games’ presence in Hip-Hop is no secret. Your favorite rappers will drop some bars referencing video games in their songs every chance they get.Rappers who use their music to document their early struggles pointed to video games being either a luxury at the time growing up poor or a means to keep them off the streets and out of trouble.One bar immediately comes to mind is the Biggie Smalls‘ “Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis when I was dead broke, man, I couldn’t picture this,” on his iconic track “Juicy,” off his debut album Ready to Die.On ScBoolBoy Q’s “Hoover Streeter,” he rapped, “Grandma said she loved me, I told her I loved her more, she always got me things we couldn’t afford, the new Js and Tommy Hill in my drawers, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, see GoldenEye was away at war.”Now you can’t visit a rapper’s studio and not see a classic arcade cabinet or console where the musician can pick up the sticks and enjoy a break outside the booth.In the gallery below, we show love to the video games and established franchises that have become beloved by rappers throughout the years that span genres of games.
1. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
In the late 80s and the early 90s, Mike Tyson took the sports world by storm as he viciously knocked out his opponents in the ring. So it made perfect sense, at the time, to make him the face of his video game. In 1987, Nintendo linked up with Tyson for Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Entertainment System, a home version of the arcade hits Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!!.
You would be hard-pressed to find a home that didn’t have the NES cartridge sitting inside the console with players trying to take underdog Little Mac on his journey to professional boxing greatness.
On your quest to become champ, you face contenders like Glass Joe, Soda Popinski, King Hippo, Super Macho Man, Great Tiger, and Piston Honda, who each have different special techniques you have to avoid while figuring out their patterns to defeat them. Some even had weak points enabling Little Mac to score one-punch knockouts.
Once you beat those guys, it’s time to face the legendary black trunks and black boxing sneakers-wearing Mike Tyson. He was no pushover and was considered by many to be one of the most challenging video game characters to defeat.
2. Double Dribble
Another sports game that you would more than likely find a rapper’s home is Double Dribble. This wasn’t Konami’s first basketball video game, but it is the video game company’s most popular.
Double Dribble arrived in arcades in 1986 before being ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. It was ahead of its time thanks to its fast-paced basketball action and the in-game dunk sequences, a first for sports video games, and the signature sound when you shoot a 3-point shot.
3. Tecmo Bowl/Tecmo Super Bowl
Before Madden NFL took over the football video game world, Tecmo Bowl was king. Tecmo Bowl started in arcades in 1987 before coming home to NES consoles in 1989.
When it reached North America, it was the first game to feature the NFLPA license, and of course, who could forget the unstoppable Bo Jackson, who was the running back for the Los Angeles Raiders and was arguably the most op cyber athlete ever.
Tecmo Bowl would come back even stronger with the release of Tecmo Super Bowl, the first game to be licensed by both the NFL and NFLPA.
Fans loved the game because it kept the fun Tecmo Bowl gameplay but added a season option, injuries, and those cool animations when you scored a touchdown, intercepted a pass, sacked the quarterback, or made a spectacular catch.
4. NBA Jam
Oh my, he’s on fire!
NBA Jam, the 1993 successor to Arch Rivals, took the arcades by storm when it arrived in 1993. Instead of made-up hoopers, the game featured two stars from your favorite NBA franchises.
Acclaim would bring the game to home consoles where players would enjoy the no holds barred NBA action where players can push opponents without consequences, do outrageous dunks, and hit three points bombs way before Steph Curry arrived in the league.
The game was also unique in that it only featured two-on-two action with teams of five players to choose from, initially three in the arcade version.
One person noticeably absent from NBA Jam which was the highest-earning arcade game at the time was Michael Jordan. Due to his marketing agreement with Nike that didn’t allow him to be a part of the NBPA’s licensing deal, his absence in the game was felt.
But, developers tried their best to make up for it by giving players the ability to input codes for hidden characters like formers US President Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary Clinton, Will Smith, Larry Bird, and more.
5. NBA Live
In October 1994, the basketball video game world took a giant leap when EA Sports dropped NBA Live 95. Yes, EA dropped other great basketball games like Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs, Bulls versus Blazers and the NBA Playoffs, and NBA Showdown, but NBA Live 95 was a game-changer.
Unlike its predecessors, NBA Live 95 was much faster and felt more authentic to the NBA experience we witnessed during those games we watched on NBC.
NBA Live 95 laid the groundwork for future basketball simulators by introducing a dedicated sprint button, detailed player ratings, instant replay, offensive-defensive strategy, and of course, those alley-oop dunks that get a rise out of you have you talking trash every time you pull one off.
For many years, NBA Live would be the premiere basketball video game franchise until NBA 2K dethroned it.
6. Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter II was the king of fighting games, but Mortal Kombat had its sights on the throne and damn near took the crown.
When Mortal Kombat hit arcades in 1992, it brought a level of video game violence gamers had never experienced. On top of pulling off special moves, these wonderful fatalities allowed players to punctuate a match and brutally kill their opponents.
The game became an instant hit in arcades, and, of course, the energy was the same when it came home to consoles. When you rolled up at a friend’s house, the studio, it would be a safe bet you would see a Mortal Kombat cartridge, primarily the Genesis version, because it was the only one with the classic code that allowed blood to be in the game.
Super Nintendo, unfortunately, didn’t allow that.
7. Street Fighter II
Before there was Mortal Kombat, you could find everyone at the local arcade, Carvel ice cream shop, and bodega wasting quarters playing Street Fighter II in 1991.
Street Fighter II eventually made its way into homes and, by 1996, became one of the most popular games in homes, with 6.3 million SNES cartridges sold.
The game was extremely popular in Hip-Hop circles and arguably is among rappers’ most referenced songs. Lupe Fiasco is an avid Street Fighter player, and when he was not dropping albums, the Chicago rapper was actually participating in tournaments showing off his playing skills.
8. John Madden Football / Madden NFL
Now known as Madden NFL, EA Sports once again shook the video game world with John Madden Football when they brought it to the Sega Genesis in 1990.
Like Tecmo Bowl before it, John Madden Football did not have the benefit of the NFLPA or NFL license to make it an accurate NFL simulation, but it did provide football fans with a fantastic game to play.
It would eventually gain the NFL license in 1993, bringing your favorite NFL team or teams to the game and, finally, players in Madden 95 after adding the NFLPA license. The acquisition of both rights meant something from the games had to be removed, noticeably the hilarious moment when the ambulance would rush onto the field to pick up an injured player running while running over other players.
Madden NFL would become a behemoth in the sports video game world after it outright bought the exclusive rights to use the NFL’s teams, stadiums, and players in a video game because it honestly feared the growing competition from the NFL 2K franchise.
Madden NFL, despite its flaws, is beloved among the Hip-Hop community, with rappers such as Ludacris making exclusive songs for the game and having huge fans in other rap stars like The Game, Bow Wow, Chris Brown, and Snoop Dogg, who displays his passion for the game during streams where he does hilarious express his anger when things don’t go his way while playing.
9. NBA Street
At a time when NBA Jam was put on ice, EA Canada and NuFX decided to fill that void with 2001’s NBA Street on PlayStation 2.
Published by EA Sports BIG, the game took the NBA action to the streets or the hardtop, and guess what? Michael Jordan was in the game.
NBA Street became insanely popular, selling 1.7 million copies on the PlayStation 2 while featuring an insanely Hip-Hop heavy soundtrack, so it’s no secret the game became beloved in Hip-Hop circles.
10. Def Jam: Vendetta
This is a no-brainer, a wrestling game featuring your favorite rappers? Of course, this game would be on the list. The game would also spawn a sequel called Def Jam: Fight For New York.
The games featured Lil’Kim, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Ludacris, Ice-T, N.O.R.E., Memphis Bleek, Fat Joe, Funkmaster Flex, Busta Rhymes, Joe Budden, Keith Murray and more.
11. NFL 2K
NFL 2K was another that started out on the Sega Dreamcast and featured Randy Moss on the cover and who many consider one of the best cyber athletes ever, not named Bo Jackson or Michael Vick.
After the demise of the Dreamcast, NFL 2K would find life on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 and dropped NFL 2K5, which many said was better than the Madden game that came out that year and only cost $20.
NFL 2K5 spooked EA so much that they quickly gobbled up the NFL licenses for an insane amount of money, making Madden the only football video game on the market.
12. NBA 2K
NBA Live laid the groundwork, and NBA 2K took the rock and ran with it. The NBA 2K franchise first burst onto the scene on the Sega Dreamcast and featured NBA Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson on multiple covers.
The game eventually arrived on other consoles and delivered basketball fans an even better basketball video game experience than NBA Live, thanks to the incorporation of ESPN’s presentation.
NBA 2K is now THE premiere basketball video game franchise and works closely with Hip-Hop by incorporating artists’ music while introducing players to new acts. Of course, your favorite rappers also spend their free time trash-talking to each other online and meeting up in The City, NBA 2K’s online hub.
13. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty is THE biggest video game franchise on the planet right now, and the game that helped it become a global phenomenon was none other than 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
The franchise has since blown to epic proportions, spawned numerous sequels, a separate free-to-play game, Call of Duty: Warzone, a popular mobile game, and features athletes, movie stars, and Hip-Hop artists in their ads regularly.
14. Fight Night
Outside Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! there wasn’t a great boxing game until EA Sports blessed us with Fight Night in 2004.
The game featured plenty of professional boxers not named Floyd Mayweather Jr. and delivered an authentic boxing match feel.
One big fan of the franchise was iconic producer Just Blaze, an avid gamer in the Hip-Hop world and filmed plenty of videos handing all trash talkers who wanted the smoke a virtual fade.
Fight Night, unfortunately, was put into early retirement following 20122’s Fight Night Champion, but who knows? Maybe the folks at EA are working on bringing it back.
15. Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto is one of those franchises immersed in the Hip-Hop world. 2001’s Grand Theft Auto III took the GTA franchise to new heights, and the Hip-Hop world took notice.
Also, while out committing all kinds of crimes and embarking on zany missions bopping to the Hip-Hop station just made all the sense in the world.
2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City would further pull us into the GTA universe, but Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas proved how much Hip-Hop influenced the game. CJ, a fictional Grove Street Gang member, is one of the most beloved video game characters ever.
2008’s Grand Theft Auto IV was well received, leaving many to believe it is criminally underrated, but now, it’s 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V that is still the talk of the world.
GTA V has become one of the highest-selling pieces of entertainment in the world, spawning two re-releases and countless numbers of DLC for the online component.
It’s so popular in the Hip-Hop world that Dr.Dre, who still hasn’t dropped Detox, is in the game and has his own storyline.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Looking to make a few upgrades? Now is a great time to enhance your sound system. Whether you’re a music lover, a dedicated audiophile, gamer, movie buff, TV binger or a combination of all five, the speaker options are plentiful.
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And with retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart rolling back prices due to an overstock of inventory, winter sales, the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, you’re sure to find great deals on speakers and other electronics.
That said, having too many options can be overwhelming. When shopping for a speaker, it’s good to narrow down the style, size and price that best suits your needs. To make the search a little easier, we gathered up nine of the best speakers for music lovers to play all their favorite tunes, podcasts and more.
From portable Bluetooth speakers to wired and freestanding speaker options, see below for our picks for the best options to enhance your sound system. For more recommendations, read our roundups of the best record players, best over-ear headphones, best wired headphones and best Bluetooth earbuds.
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Amazon
JBL Flip 6 – Portable Bluetooth Speaker $129.95
If you’re looking for a smaller speaker, the JBL Flip 6 portable Bluetooth player is worth a try. Flip 6 has a two-way speaker system that is designed to deliver rich sound and optimized dual passive radiators for deep bass. Measuring nearly 8 inches long, this portable speaker is equipped with a 20-watt sound output and 12 hours of battery life. It’s also waterproof and dust-proof and comes in several colors, including red, blue and black (prices may vary depending on the color). Purchase the JBL 6 at major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Crutchfield and at JBL.com. If you’re in the market for something cheaper, the JBL Flip 5 is on sale for $99.95 and this Anker Soundcore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $27.99.
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Amazon
Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Portable Speaker $149 $
The Bose Soundlink Flex is another good choice in portable speakers. These awesome speakers are available in multiple colors, sizes, designs and prices – the cheapest of which is the Bose Soundlink Micro, currently on sale for $99. The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is $399, while the Soundlink Flex falls on the more affordable side of the price scale.
The Soundlink Flex is engineered with a custom transducer that is designed to flood the room with powerful sound. Available in black, white or blue, the speaker’s rugged exterior makes it easy to take on the go, and with up to 12 hours of battery life, you can play tons of songs before it’s time to recharge. The accompanying utility loop is perfect for hanging the speaker on a clip or carrying it around (the Bluetooth range stretches up to 30 feet). The Soundlink Flex is also IP67 certified waterproof and dust-proof.
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Amazon
Marshall – Acton II Bluetooth Speaker $225.99 $279.99
The Acton II Bluetooth speaker from Marshall combines the brand’s iconic retro design with contemporary technology. This compact speaker delivers mega-sound in a smaller package than some of the other Marshall designs. Acton II has three dedicated class D amplifiers, dual tweeters and subwoofers, Bluetooth 5.0 (up to 30 feet), a frequency range of 50-20,000 Hz and a 3.5 mm input for wired connectivity. Connecting the speaker to the Marshall App turns your phone into a control panel to adjust things like volume and playlists. The Action II is available at major retailers such as Crutchfield, Best Buy, Amazon, Urban Outfitters, Target and at Marshall.com.
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Sonos
Sonos Move
$379.05
Sonos Move lives up to the hype! With 10 hours of play time, this mobile speaker will make you want to dance for hours on end. Apart from outstanding sound quality and deep bass, the Bluetooth speaker has a built-in handle for easy mobility, which means it’s perfect for a party or other gatherings (and solo listening sessions). And its IP56 rating means that it can withstand humidity, rain, snow, dust, salt spray, UV rays, extreme heat and cold weather. The Sonos Move stands about 9.5-inches tall and weighs around six pounds. For more options from Sonos, check out the Sonos Roam and the Sonos One SL, both of which retail for less than $200.
Klipsch
Klipsch R-51M Bookshelf Speakers $349
Klipsch is another star in the realm of premium-quality sound. For music lovers who have the square footage to build a robust sound system, Klipsch offers everything from floor standing speakers to bookshelf speakers, computer speakers, home theater speakers, sound bars and subwoofers. Not sure where to start? The R-51M Bookshelf Speakers are perfect for blasting your favorite tunes. This dynamic speaker duo offers powerful sound, booming bass and award-wining acoustics courtesy of Tractrix horn technology, which mimics the sound, precision and emotion of a live concert. These 13.3-inch speakers are equipped with one-inch titanium dome tweeters, 5.25-inch copper woofers and a removable magnetic grill.
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Amazon
Sony SRS-XG500 Bluetooth Speaker
$399.99 $499.99 20% off% OFF
Sony’s SRS-XG500 Bluetooth speaker is a nice investment if you’re looking for a boombox-style design. An alternative to the JBL Boombox 2 ($499.95), the SRS-XG500 delivers amazingly crisp sound thanks to Sony’s uniquely designed X-Balance speakers that pump out thumping, room-shaking bass. The battery delivers up to 30 hours of play time to keep the party moving all night long (literally). The speaker weighs about 12 pounds, but there’s a built-in handle that makes it easy to carry around, and LED ring lighting for added flair. Sony’s SRS-XG500 speakers are IP66-certified water-and dust-resistant. And it’s on sale at Best Buy.
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Amazon
Polk Audio Signature Elite ES260 Tower Speaker $449 $549
A tower speaker that blends in, and stands out. Polk Audio’s Elite Signature ES60 provides an enveloping, true-to-life sound experience that’s especially useful for Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, Spotify and other streaming platforms. The floor-standing loudspeaker provides crystal-clear, hi-resolution sound with bass so incredible you might be able to feel it.
The speaker is powered by Polk’s Patented Power Port Bass Enhancing Technology, which expands the overall bass port to provide a larger surface area for distortion-free, louder bass impact. The sleek ES60 features 1-inch High-Resolution Terylene Tweeters, 2.5-way cascading crossovers and a trio of 6.5-inch Mica-Fortified Polypropylene Woofers. Speakers in Polk Audio’s Signature Elite Series are designed with quality, timbre-matched components that let you seamlessly mix and match models to build the sound system of your dreams. This speaker is on sale at Amazon, Crutchfield and PolkAudio.com.
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Amazon
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Wireless Music System with Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth (Midnight Grey)
$799.00
Want to splurge? The Zeppelin is a wireless smart speaker that has been modified for the streaming age by way of a built-in, upgradable platform so that the technology always stays up to date. Bowers & Wilkinson’s football-shaped speaker features five carefully positioned premium drive units, 1-inch tweeters, 3.5-inch midranges with FST (Fixed Suspension Transducers) and dedicated drivers.
The Zeppelin has a total output of 240 watts, a six-inch subwoofer and five amplification channels for all designed to give you powerful, hi-resolution stereo sound. The Alexa-equipped speaker gives users instant access to music playlists, radio podcasts and other content in up to 24-bit, high-resolution quality. Zeppelin can also stream Apple Airplay 2, Bluetooth aptX adaptive, Spotify Connect and the Bowers & Wilkson app.
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Amazon
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level Portable Wi-Fi Multiroom Speaker, Natural Aluminum/Dark Grey
$1,599.00
If you have an even large speaker budget, Bang & Olufsen makes some of the best, higher-end, hi-fidelity speakers on the market. While the more expensive designs can cost over $10,000, the Beosound Level Portable Wifi Speaker is one of the cheapest, sleekest and most popular speakers from Bang & Olufsen. This beautiful, minimalist speaker has a five-driver setup for immersive, full-range sound that adapts to its environment. Lay it on its back, sit it up straight, or hang it on the wall for hypnotic sound experience with potent bass and unmatched sound clarity. This dynamic speaker weighs about 7 pounds (it measures 34.8 inches x 23 inches) and offers up to 16 hours of battery life. The Beosound Level Portable Wifi Speaker is available in natural dark gray, or a glitzy gold tone with light oak.
Music “as we know it” has been prematurely pronounced dead several times over. The cassette tape, MIDI digital synthesizers, Napster, Auto-Tune and streaming were all received with apocalyptic hysteria. The current existential threat is artificial intelligence (AI), a software leviathan with a voracious appetite for copyrighted works, and a prolific capacity for human-free creative processes. Whether AI will kill the humanity of music remains debatable. What is not up for debate is that AI raises many legal issues. While courts have yet to weigh in, the U.S. Copyright Office has issued instructive decisions and made AI-related copyright issues a 2023 priority.
The proliferation of AI in music
AI in music is not new. Alan Turing, the godfather of computer science, created a simple melody-making machine in 1951. Experimental trombonist and composer George Lewis improvised a live quartet with three Apple II computers in 1984. David Bowie experimented with a digital lyric randomizer in the 90s. Hello, World, the first AI composed pop album, was released in 2018.
Today’s AI is more evolved and exponentially more impactful. Indirect enhancements (personalized playlists, music recommendations, etc.) have given way to direct creation tools. For example, Google’s Magenta wrote a new “Nirvana” song by analyzing the melody, chord changes, guitar riffs and lyrics of the band’s past works. ChatGPT receives text instructions to compose lyrics superior to those that IBM Watson wrote for Alex da Kid in 2016. Authentic Artists leases AI-powered artists-for-hire. MUSICinYOU.ai generates tailored compositions from a 300-question personality test. Bandlab’s Songstarter is an “AI-powered idea generator” capable of creating royalty-free music in seconds. Startup Staccato pitches itself as “an AI Lennon to your McCartney” given its ability to bounce ideas off human songwriters.
Only “sufficient human creative input” supports copyright ownership
The Copyright Act protects “works of authorship” – a concept derived from the U.S. Constitution’s Copyright Clause, which empowers Congress to secure “exclusive rights” for “authors.” Courts have held that authors must be human. Consequently, animals (including the famed monkey selfie) and natural forces (a naturally growing garden) cannot be authors of copyrighted works.
While current legal precedent suggests that AI also cannot “author” copyrighted works, the critical issue is what amount of human creative input or intervention suffices to make AI-generated musical works copyrightable (and by whom)?
U.S. courts have yet to answer this question decisively. The Copyright Office has drawn some basic boundary lines. AI-advocate Steven Thaler filed a copyright application for AI-generated artwork. The Board rejected his applications three times, finding that the artwork was not “created with contribution from a human author” and thus failed to meet the human authorship requirement. (Thaler has since sued.)
Conversely, copyright protection was afforded to David Cope’s 1997 work Classical Music Composed by Computer (and, again, to his 2010 album From Darkness, Light). Cope successfully demonstrated that his works only partially used AI and were the result of sufficient human creative input and intervention. More recently, the Copyright Office granted a first-of-its-kind copyright to a comic book created with the assistance of text-to-image AI Midjourney (though the Copyright Office is now reconsidering its decision).
In the absence of bright line rules for ascertaining how much input or intervention by an AI’s user is needed, each work must be individually evaluated. It is a question of degree. Under traditional principles, the more human involvement, and the more AI is used as a tool (and not as the creator), the stronger the case for copyright protection. A song created with the prompt: “create a song that sounds like The Weeknd” will not suffice. But a copyright application which both: (i) demonstrates that a human controlled the AI and (ii) memorializes the specific human input in the creative process is more likely to succeed.
A word of caution: the Copyright Office has made clear that misrepresenting the use of AI in the music generation process is fraudulent. And although the Copyright Office solely relies on facts stated in applications, both it and future litigants are likely to soon deploy AI-detecting software to verify the extent to which AI was used to generate the musical work.
AI “training” looms as the first major battle ground
Generative AI software (like Magenta) is “trained” by feeding it vast quantities of content – text, lyrics, code, audio, written compositions – and then programming it to use that source material to generate new material. In October 2022, the RIAA shot a warning flare by declaring that AI-based extractors and mixers were infringing its members’ rights by using their music to train their AI models. Those that side with the RIAA argue that AI’s mindboggling ingestion of copyrighted music violates the Copyright Act’s exclusive rights to reproduce and create “derivative works” based upon one or more preexisting works. Because generative AI produces output “based upon” preexisting works (input), copyright owners insist that a license is needed.
On the other hand, AI-advocates argue that the use of such data for training falls within copyright law’s “fair use” exception, claiming that the resulting work is transformative, does not create substantially similar works, and has no material impact on the original work’s market. They contend that the training data has been sufficiently transformed by the AI process to yield musical works beyond the copyright protection of the original works.
These competing views are likely to be tested in the class action lawsuit just filed on behalf of a group of artists against Stability AI, DeviantArt, and Midjourney for allegedly infringing “billions of copyrighted images” in creating AI art. (Getty Images recently filed a comparable lawsuit against Stability AI in the U.K.).
Proving infringement with AI-works
How exactly the AI was trained and operates will be issues in copyright infringement litigations. Proving infringement is a two-step process. The plaintiff must demonstrate that copying occurred; and that the copying is unlawful, because the defendant copied too much of the plaintiff’s protected expression and is, therefore, substantially similar.
The first of these inquiries can be proven by direct evidence of copying or circumstantially by establishing access to a specific, allegedly infringed musical work. With art, there is a Spawning AI software called “Have I Been Trained” which allows users to search through the images used to train AI art generators. While no known current analog exists for music, the technology is likely imminent.
The nature of the AI instructions will also be crucial to showing an awareness of the original work and substantial similarity between the AI-generated music and the allegedly infringed music. Prompts that intentionally draw on copyrighted works (i.e., create a work in “the style of _”) undoubtedly bear on the issue of substantial similarity. The marketplace is pivoting in advance of anticipated rulings: Songmastr has, for example, stopped marketing its ability to create songs based on the styles of Beyonce and Taylor Swift.
AI is evolving faster than the courts can evaluate how laws apply to it. The just-filed art litigation may provide some clarity; however, while in the fog, those creating AI-generated music are well-advised to stay cognizant of the legal risks and guide the artificial music making process with a genuine human touch.
James Sammataro is a partner and Nicholas Saady an associate at Pryor Cashman LLP.
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Source: Sony / PlayStation
PlayStation Plus was first launched in 2010 and granted its users a variety of options that made the service a vital part of the gaming experience on the platform. PS Plus, as it is also known, went under a massive revamp in 2022 while introducing three tiers, and we’re putting a focus on the PlayStation Plus Premium level.
For starters, let’s talk about what PlayStation Plus is and break down its three tiers.
Source: Sony / PlayStation
Tier 1 is known as PS Plus Essential, which is the same as the former PS Plus. Nothing has changed in the offerings, which include two monthly free games that can be downloaded to your PlayStation 5 console. Essential subscribers also get periodic discounts, cloud storage for game files, and online multiplayer capabilities. The Essential tier costs $9.99 per month or $59.99 for the year.
Tier 2 is known as PS Plus Extra and it offers everything from the Essential tier along with 400-plus PS4 and PS5 games in a wide variety of offerings from platformers, fighting games, first-person shooters, and more. The Extra tier will run you $14.99 per month and $99.99 for the year.
Tier 3 is known as PS Plus Premium and gives its subscribers all of the offerings in the Essential and Extra tiers. In addition, 340-plus PS3 titles can be streamed and playable, along with classic PS1, PS2, and PSP titles among the overall number. The cloud streaming option replaces the former PS Now streaming service. This tier also gives subscribers time-limited game trials to some of the top games in the PlayStation ecosystem. This will cost you $17.99 per month and $119.00 for the year.
I’ve been using the service since the summer and I am not what someone would consider a power gamer. However, I suffer heavily from FOMO and the Premium tier is perfect for someone like me. I’ve learned the hard way which games I enjoy the most (single-player, story-driven, action-adventure) and which ones I don’t (MOBA, RTS). The tier has a number of high-quality games to play, including two favorites of mine, Returnal, and Deathloop.
Housemarque, a developer under the PlayStation Studios umbrella, released Returnal in 2021 to heavy fanfare and adoration from critics. The game is a “roguelike,” which is an offshoot of role-playing games with characters entering randomly generated levels and, most notably, a permanent end to the player’s life cycle. The game is difficult at times and each time the player perishes, it reveals a bit more of the story. It is the game I feel that made purchasing the Premium tier worth it due to the dazzling gunplay, boss fights, and story development.
Having gotten my roguelike sea legs under me, I decided to try out Deathloop next, developed by Arkane Lyon, and also released in 2021. I won’t try to explain the concept but the game’s title is accurate as the main character, the wisecracking assassin Colt, traipses through a variety of environments that have a funky art deco style. I don’t normally do well with first-person shooters (FPS) but I did enjoy how fun Deathloop is along with the hilarious voice acting and the general sense of stealth and discovery.
This isn’t to say there aren’t other great games to play. The service has interesting titles like the excellent Stray, Grand That Auto: Vice City, and several titles from the Assasin’s Creed series. It does appear that games will cycle in and out from the game catalog but anything obtained from the two monthly free game downloads will remain in your library for as long as you maintain a subscription.
Another game I have to mention, especially for fans of The Lord Of The Rings, is Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. When I’m not dying awful deaths in Returnal or frustrating myself with the amazing God of War, I’m enjoying my time taking out Uruks as Talian, a ranger from the land of Gondor. I don’t want to spoil the story but this game employs something known as the Nemesis system, which means if an Uruk captain takes you out, they’ll remember you. Also, any Uruk (basically a beefed-up Orc) you rubbed the wrong way will seek vengeance. For a game made in 2014, it still holds up.
I would offer that if you’re not someone who plays video games often, the Extra tier would be more than enough for some. If you’re someone who enjoys playing games with friends or online buddies and loves the monthly freebies, you’ll need to get the Essential tier. However, the Premium tier is definitely for those who are true gamers. Having access to literally hundreds of games should balance out the cost of that particular tier. The one true ding on PlayStation Plus is that, unlike Xbox’s Game Pass, subscribers won’t be able to have day one access to games on the date of their release.
For now, I can comfortably recommend, at the very least, fans signing up for the Extra tier of PS Plus. Get the Premium if you’re someone who breezes through games or just enjoys a high level of variety. Also, it gives access to a classic array of games you might’ve missed over the years.
Learn more about PlayStation Plus by following this link.
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Photo: Sony/Playstation
At a time when TikTok challenges have been helping drive songs up the charts, one app is angling for another way to capitalize on the viral dance trend. And unlike that other social media service, this one’s focused on paying choreographers, whose role in spawning those dance crazes tends to go unacknowledged. Steezy, an instructional dance app that offers virtual classes in 13 different disciplines, hires professional choreographers to instruct users in hip-hop, jazz, ballet and more, set to the music of some of today’s biggest artists.
To date, the app has been downloaded over 1 million times by users in more than 100 countries and built up a library of 1,800 classes — all filmed at Steezy studios located at the company’s Downtown Los Angeles headquarters — for which subscribers pay a flat rate of $20 monthly or $100 yearly (roughly three new classes are added each week). The app has licensing deals with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group and last May began partnering with Def Jam, Warner Records and others on integrations around their latest releases. Several artists have since appeared in-studio for the popular Steezy YouTube series 3 Choreographers, 1 Song — in which a trio of dancers improvise routines to artists’ latest tracks — including J.I.D., Babyface, Chinese superstar Jackson Wang and Roc Nation signee Kalan.FrFr.
The platform also partnered with Prime Video last year on a series of videos around the release of Lizzo’s reality competition series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, including a dance class with choreographer/influencer Aliya Janell — who taught a routine to Lizzo and Cardi B’s 2021 collaboration “Rumors” — and hosted a dance challenge tied to the series. Steezy additionally helped facilitate a dance challenge tied to the release of Michael Bublé’s latest single “Higher” by creating a free class featuring choreographer Brian Puspos (BTS, Justin Bieber) and his wife Aja Dang, who taught their own choreographed routine to the song to inspire more people to enter. Lim notes it was the most-taken class on the platform for three weeks.
Steezy launched in 2014, initially as a blog offering advice and resources to aspiring professional dancers. But a comment from a friend and future colleague soon started founders Connor Lim and Evan Zhou, who met when both were members of the competitive dance team GRZ, down a more ambitious path. Clay Boonthanakit, who now works as Steezy’s main on-camera personality, came to Lim and Zhou with a simple pitch: “’It’d be really cool if there were videos, because I don’t really like reading,’” Lim recalls with a laugh.
With Boonthanakit coming aboard, Lim and Zhou soon introduced vlogs and — noting a dearth of quality instructional dance videos online — eventually began prototyping video classes, the first of which launched online in 2015, followed by the launch of the Steezy iOS and Android apps in 2018. Since introducing classes, the company has raised $20 million from investors including Elysian Park Ventures, Freestyle Capital, Aglaé Ventures and angel investor Jason Calicanas.
Similar to other subscription-based online platforms like Peloton, Steezy saw a steep rise in subscriptions once the pandemic shuttered dance studios in early 2020. With the professional dance community out of work due to the touring shutdown, it also helped keep some in that community afloat during a desperate time. “All their tours got canceled. All their in-person classes got canceled,” says Zhou. “It felt really good that we could pay our dancers, they could come in and teach and actually keep doing what they do.”
In addition to a standard teaching fee, each dancer is paid from a “bonus pool,” which is doled out on a pro-rata basis (based on the percentage of revenue that can be attributed to classes they taught). “[It’s] a model that’s never existed for dancers before,” says Zhou. “It existed for musicians, where they create a piece of music and it gets monetized on all these different platforms and they get a cut — but dancers have never really had this.”
Like TikTok, which facilitates deeper engagement with music through dance challenges and repetition, Lim and Zhou say Steezy inspires a heightened level of engagement that can make tracks stickier for users. “As you learn [a dance] on our platform, you have to listen to the song like 10, 20 times in order to get it into your muscle memory, so you just have this deeper relationship with the song,” says Zhou. To make routines easier to learn, Steezy allows users to toggle between both front and back views of the instructors as they teach, “mirror” themselves with their webcams to see themselves dance in real time, slow down the tempo and loop sections of videos to nail a specific movement.
In addition to offering an additional revenue stream for dancers, Zhou and Lim feel a broader responsibility to highlight the way choreographers — who often aren’t properly credited for their work — contribute to the success of music at a time when some dancers are pushing for better compensation and even copyrighting their dances (U.S. copyright law allows choreography to be protected, so long as works are fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which the work can be performed). In 2018, rapper 2 Milly sued Epic Games for copyright infringement for using his “Milly Rock” routine in Fortnite, though the suit was dismissed with prejudice (meaning it can be refiled) the following year after the Supreme Court that individuals cannot sue for copyright infringement until the U.S. Copyright Office has either granted or refused their application. In 2020, longtime Beyoncé choreographer JaQuel Knight successfully registered his choreography from the superstar’s iconic “Single Ladies” video, making him the first commercial choreographer in pop music to successfully do so.
For its part, Steezy has been providing a historical timeline of some iconic routines with the original series Viral Dance Moves, in which the company spotlights choreographers who originated dance crazes like the Kangsta Wok (Zaya Sosho), The Dougie (Lil’ Wil) and The Smeeze (Chonkie).
“In the music industry, dancers are…always kind of behind the scenes,” says Lim. It’s really important for us to showcase dancers at the forefront, especially because they drive huge streams for songs, and we know that.”
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Source: Crystal Dynamics / Marvel’s Avengers
The struggle train that is Crystal Dynamic’s attempt at a video game MCU with Marvel’s Avengers is coming to an end.
After two long years of trying to follow its “roadmap” of content, Crystal Dynamics announced it will end active development on Marvel’s Avengers, saying it was a decision it “undertook in conjunction with our partners.”
The sad news came in a blog post called “Final Update on The Future of Marvel’s Avengers” that hilariously dropped with a broken link, clearly indicating how doomed this video game was.
In the post, Crystal Dynamic said it would discontinue support for the game on September 30, which will see all digital purchases end, meaning all those costumes and other DLC will be free.
So we understand if players who have been grinding and spending money on this game over the last two years decided to HULK OUT, knowing they will not be getting a refund.
Update 2.7, which saw the Winter Soldier and the Cloning Lab Omega Level Threat event come to Marvel’s Avengers, will be the game’s last content release. Spider-Man will remain a PlayStation exclusive.
On March 31, Update 2.8 will arrive and serve as the game’s final balance update. After that, Crystal Dynamics will shutter the cosmetics marketplace, and players will no longer be able to purchase credits.
The player’s remaining credit balances will be converted into in-game resources, and all cosmetics will become free.
The Writing Was On The Wall For Marvel’s Avengers From The Start
Marvel’s Avengers has been fighting for its life since its announcement. Gamers flamed its generic take on the character designs, calling them the stunt doubles of the real-life actors in the MCU.
Before the game’s release, the beta did nothing to win over fans, leaving them worried about what would come. The game arrived to mid reviews, with most complaints thrown at the game’s online multiplayer component, which was bare bones at the time.
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In our review of Marvel’s Avengers, we said this game could be the Age of Ultron of video games, meaning it would be appreciated later as time passed.
There were signs of hope with the Black Panther: War For Wakanda expansion, but it turns out we were WRONG.
Well, at least we still got Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, that mysterious Black Panther and Captain America game, and the standalone Black Panther game to look forward to.
You see more reactions to Marvel’s Avengers being put on ice in the gallery below.
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Photo: Crystal Dynamics / Marvel’s Avengers
3. You did all you could and you’re appreciated for it.
4. This was all of us.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Netflix
If you’re one of those people who share their Netflix password with friends, count your days because the streaming service is coming for you.
Spotted on The Verge, Netflix will begin cracking down on password sharing “more broadly” toward the end of the first quarter of 2023, the streaming giant announced in its earnings report.
“While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly,” Netflix writes. “As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with.”
Netflix fully expects the crackdown will cause a “cancel reaction” in each market in the short term but also feels there will be “improved overall revenue” as a long-term benefit as it will force more people to pay their subscriptions.
The streaming giant has been testing different methods to crack down on password sharing in South America. In countries like Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, Netflix has begun prompting users to dish out coins for an extra account if Netflix determines someone is using the subscription outside of the primary user’s home.
According to a report from the Rest of the World, the anti-password sharing policy was not going over well with subscribers in Peru.
If it’s not going over well in Peru, we can only imagine how upset subscribers will be when the password-sharing crackdown begins in the United States.
The streamer is trying to maximize every dollar as it continues to pump out premium content like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story and see its subscription growth slow down.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Drake / Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin
Drake borrows some of Pharrell’s old bling to stunt on all of us in his new visual for Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin. One item, in particular, is catching fans’ eyes.
While his boy 21 Savage is beefing on Clubhouse, the Six God is hard at work in 2023, delivering his second visual of the year with “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” off collaborative album Her Loss.
The Tristan C-M-directed 2:22 visual features Drake in the Caribbean on his braggadocious vibes driving a red Ferrari Enzo while stunting in his absurd jewelry collection, now comprised of Pharrell’s $2.2 million chain and gold PSP he seemingly acquired.
The classic gold PSP (PlayStation Portable) console Drake can be seen holding in his hand while letting off bars stand out more than the chain in the video.
Per The Verge, the PSP-1000 was sold on Pharrell’s auction site Joopiter in November for a modest $20,000. The listing for the iconic device says its case is made of 14-karat solid gold that weighs 659.7 grams, and Pharrell tasked Jacob The Jeweler to bling out the device to compliment his gold Blackberry.
Last year, Pharrell tweeted that he was parting with the jewelry and other items to free himself and “for the beginning of a new era.”
Does The PSP Still Work?
What’s old to Skateboard P is new to Drizzy, who couldn’t help but stunt on everyone with Pharrell’s massive multicolor chain featuring a medallion with the Star-Trak team on it.
As for the PSP also features a custom Goyard carry case, no word if it’s still functioning. Drake did not power on the portable console in the video, but who would spend $20,000 on a broken device?
You can watch Drake call us broke in his new “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” video below.
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Photo: Drake / Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin
Google is laying off 12,000 workers, or about 6% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff as the economic boom that the industry rode during the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, the parent company of Google, informed staff Friday at the Silicon Valley giant about the cuts in an email that was also posted on the company’s news blog.
It’s one of the company’s biggest-ever round of layoffs and adds to tens of thousands of other job losses recently announced by Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook parent Meta and other tech companies as they tighten their belts amid a darkening outlook for the industry. Just this month, there have been at least 48,000 job cuts announced by major companies in the sector.
“Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” Pichai wrote. “To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.”
He said the layoffs reflect a “rigorous review” carried out by Google of its operations.
The jobs being eliminated “cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions,” Pichai said. He said he was “deeply sorry” for the layoffs.
Regulatory filings illustrate how Google’s workforce swelled during the pandemic, ballooning to nearly 187,000 people by late last year from 119,000 at the end of 2019.
Pichai said that Google, founded nearly a quarter of a century ago, was “bound to go through difficult economic cycles.”
“These are important moments to sharpen our focus, reengineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities,” he wrote.
There will be job cuts in the U.S. and in other unspecified countries, according to Pichai’s letter.
The tech industry has been forced to freeze hiring and cut jobs “as the clock has struck midnight on hyper growth and digital advertising headwinds are on the horizon,” Wedbush Securities analysts Dan Ives, Taz Koujalgi and John Katsingris wrote Friday.
Just this week, Microsoft announced 10,000 job cuts, or nearly 5% of its workforce. Amazon said this month its cutting 18,000 jobs, although that’s a fraction of its 1.5 million strong workforce, while business software maker Salesforce is laying off about 8,000 employees, or 10% of the total. Last fall Facebook parent Meta announced it would shed 11,000 positions, or 13% of its workers. Elon Musk slashed jobs at Twitter after after he acquired the social media company last fall.
Those job cuts are hitting smaller players as well. U.K.-based cybersecurity firm Sophos laid off 450 employees, or 10% of its global workforce. Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase cut 20% of its workforce, about 950 jobs, in its second round of layoffs in less than a year.
“The stage is being set: tech names across the board are cutting costs to preserve margins and get leaner” in the current economic climate, the Wedbush analysts said.
Employment in the U.S. has been resilient despite signs of a slowing economy, and there were another 223,000 jobs added in December. Yet the tech sector grew exceptionally fast over the last several years due to increased demand as employees began to work remotely.
CEOs of a number of companies have taken blame for growing too fast, yet those same companies, even after the latest round of job cuts, remain much larger than they were before the economic boom from the pandemic began.
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Apple promises to deliver a ground-breaking listening experience with its new HomePod. The second-generation HomePod, announced on Wednesday (Jan. 18), features “next level acoustics” with enhanced Siri capabilities packed in a slender, space-saving design.
The new HomePod ($299) offers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range and clear, detailed highs for streaming Apple Music and more. Room sensing technology allows it to recognize sound reflections from nearby surfaces and adapt to its environment by determining if it’s freestanding or positioned against a wall. HomePod 2.0 easily integrates into the Apple ecosystem, seamlessly pairing with iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4k and other Apple products.
“Leveraging our audio expertise and innovations, the new HomePod delivers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range, and clear, detailed highs,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With the popularity of HomePod mini, we’ve seen growing interest in even more powerful acoustics achievable in a larger HomePod. We’re thrilled to bring the next generation of HomePod to customers around the world.”
Other features include a custom-engineered, high-excursion woofer with a powerful motor driving a 20mm, a built-in bass-EQ mic, a beamforming array of five tweeters and a S7 chip combined with system-sending technology that offers upgraded computational audio.
Apple
HomePod can also listen for smoke and carbon dioxide alarms and will send a notification to your iPhone if it detects something. With the redesigned Home app, users can navigate, view and organize accessories, control your smart home and more with categories for climate, lights, security and includes a new multicamera view.
HomePod is available to pre-order online at Apple.com and in the Apple Store app and will begin shipping out on Feb. 3.
How to Pre-Order the New Mac Mini & MacBook Pro
Earlier in the week, Apple unveiled new Mac Mini and MacBook Pro laptops, all of which are available for pre-order now. The new Mac Mini is more powerful than ever with faster performance, enhanced unified memory and advanced connectivity and an M2 chip designed to deliver pro-level performance.
You can use Mac Mini for a myriad of tasks, including music production and other creative projects. Pre-order the Mac Mini and MacBook Pro below.
Amazon
Apple 2023 Mac Mini Desktop Computer M2 chip with 8‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD Storage, Gigabit Ethernet. Works with iPhone/iPad
$799.00
Amazon
Apple 2023 MacBook Pro Laptop M2 Pro chip with 12‑core CPU and 19‑core GPU: 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display,
$2,499.00