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Top 10 Hip-Hop Songs that Sampled a Video Game
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For those unaware, I am a hip-hop head. For years I covered the hip-hop industry for the likes of SOHH.com, Blackvoices.com, wrote a few things for URB Magazine and even had a joint or two in Scratch Magazine and Rime Magazine when they were still doing things.
Of course during those times I was deep into gaming as well. Hip-hop and video games have always had a symbiotic relationship whether it was rappers rapping about beating each other down in NBA Live, participating in Madden and Street Fighter tournaments or actually sampling game music for their tracks. Which brings us to this list.
There isn't really a methodology to this except I researched and tried to find as many hip-hop songs that I could that sampled a video game (Thanks to HaterPlayer and the Digital Gangsters for their help!). Songs that only had soundbites, like a "Fatality!" or a Mario coin drop, weren't considered. I wanted songs where the sample played throughout. And of course the song had to be dope. Dope production and use of the sample, plus dope lyrics. Plain and simple. Am I out of line for my choices? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
DISCLAIMER: By the way, most of the songs have cursing and are not safe for work or your children's ears!!
10. YtCracker –Meganerd (Sample: Mega Man III) – ytCracker is like the ringleader for this new genre of hip-hop called Nerdcore. In 2005, he released an album called N.E.S. (Nerd Entertainment System) that sampled nothing but old Nintendo games. The song, “Meganerd,” pretty much became an anthem for “nerds” all around the world. I can’t front, I like it.
9. Bone Thugs N Harmony – Eternal (Sample: Eternal Champions) – This song was buried on Bone’s multi-platinum album, E. 1999 Eternal. You know, the album that had “Tha Crossroads” on it? Anyway, they sampled Eternal Champions, a Sega fighting game from the early 90’s that tried to capitalize on the success of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Fatal Fury. I don’t remember it being that good.
8. Beanie Sigel – Mac Man (Sample: Ms. Pac-Man) – Beanie Sigel’s “Mac Man,” was also an underground hit back in the late 90’s and became one of the most wanted underground singles on the streets. It was sort of an introduction of Beanie to the hip-hop world, showcasing why he was a new force to be reckoned with. And he was never sued by Namco for using the Ms. Pac-Man sample. It appeared on his 2000 debut album, The Truth, but was never released as single.
7. Smif n’ Wessun (aka Cocoa Brovas) – Super Brooklyn (Sample: Super Mario Bros. Theme) – From the start you can tell it’s from Super Mario Bros. Released in 2000 as part of the Game Over compilation, “Super Brooklyn,” was an underground hit. Smif n’ Wessun, still performing under the Cocoa Brovas moniker, used the hit to give themselves a resurgence in the hip-hop scene and it’s been one of their most requested songs on tour.
6. Lil Flip – Game Over (Sample: Ms. Pac-Man) – Back in 2003, Houston rapper Lil Flip had a monstrous hit with “Game Over,” a song that sampled Ms. Pac-Man. From the thumping beat to the hypnotic, brainwashing chant of “Flip, Flip, Flip,” in the chorus, you couldn’t get away from it for awhile. Then he was sued by Namco, the owners of Ms. Pac-Man, for a cool $10 million. It was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
5. Eminem, J-Black, Masta Ace – Hellbound (Sample: Soul Caliber) – This track was recorded right after Eminem dropped the Slim Shady LP and right before the Marshall Mathers LP was released. The Soul Caliber sample is actually called Cervantes’ Theme. It was featured on the Game Over compilation as well. As you can tell, Eminem was hungry. I have no idea where J-Black is now, but Masta Ace is still killing it with his group, eMC.
4. Tonedeff – Round Em’ Up (Sample: Kid Icarus) –The funny thing with this song, Tonedeff has disowned it. Not sure if the Kid Icarus sample was what he wanted, but it sounds good to me. It was featured on the Game Over II compilation in 2001 and after it was released, Tone said that the label manhandled the original song resulting to this song. I dug the song since day one, but Tone said this doesn’t represent his sound at all.
3. Oh No – The Ride (Sample: Castlevania III) – Oh No is one of the great producer/artists on the Stones Throw Records imprint. Thing is, I have two Oh No albums and this song isn’t on either of them. I think it was just one of Stones Throw's infamous 12”s that appeared on some obscure compilation album somewhere. What I’m impressed with is the way he flipped that Castlevania intro, too fresh. CORRECTION: Apparently the song appears on Oh No's album, The Disrupt. I guess I missed that one. Thanks Quan!
2. Percee P ft. Diamond D – 2 Brothers From the Gutter (Sample: Contra) – I met Percee P once when he was selling his CDs outside of Fat Beats in New York City. He was always a beast on the mic. When he finally got his deal with Stones Throw Records to release his album, Perseverance, he went all out and this song, with the legendary Diamond D, was one of the best tracks on the album. The Contra sample comes from the start screen of the game and is just looped over the beat. It’s hypnotic.
1.Random – Shadowman (Sample: Mega Man 3) – Last year Random released an entire album, Mega Ran, where he sampled a Mega Man tune in every song. I heard he was inspired by ytCracker’s N.E.S. album, but nevertheless, Shadowman was the one that stuck out to me the most. The beat is banging and Random absolutely rips it apart.
Other joints considered:
Green Lantern feat. Kool G Rap, Prinz – "We G’s" (Sample: Final Fantasy VII)
Charles Hamilton - "Where's my Genesis" (Sample: Sonic the Hedgehog)
Statik Selektah feat. Bug Shug – “Punch Out” (Sample: Mike Tyson’s Punch Out)
U.N.I. – Castlevania (Sample: Castlevania)
Jedi Mind Tricks – The Wolf (Sample: Max Payne)
Del the Funky Homosapien feat. Khaos Unique – Protoculture (Sample: Darkstalkers)
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