Hip hop and video games go together like peanut butter and jelly, and the biggest evidence of this is through the classic 3D fighting game Def Jam. While some have a fond place in their hearts for the series, others are convinced it's a relic of the past. However, this may change now that artist and video game enthusiast Ice-T has stated he wants a new game in the franchise.
For the uninitiated, Def Jam was a 3D fighting game series published by EA that starred a multitude of various hip hop artists as playable characters. The games have included such hip hop legends as Redman, Ghostface Killah, Slick Rick, Xzibit, and Snoop Dogg.
Now it looks like Ice-T is pushing to bring the fighter back after he tweeted a screenshot of the character select screen from Def Jam: Fight for NY. The screenshot showed the screen highlighting his character with the caption, "Gamer Stuff: I think they really need to reboot this game for the new consoles.."
While Ice-T may be enthusiastic about a new Def Jam, there, unfortunately, has not been any indication the series will be making a comeback any time soon. Back in 2018, the official Twitter account for Def Jam Recordings seemingly began teasing a sequel to Def Jam: Fight for NY, however, nothing more ever came of these teases.
That being said, Ice-T is a hard man to argue with and has a long history of appearing in various video games. In addition to playing the Stranded leader, Aaron Griffin, in Gears of War 3, he also took on the role of AI-turned-stuffed animal, BALEX, in the recent looter-shooter sequel, Borderlands 3.
While it's hard to know whether or not this push by Ice-T will cause EA to reconsider bringing back the hip hop fighter, it's fun to imagine what a new game in the series could look like. Rather than trading punchlines in a diss track, players could see Meek Mill and Drake exchanging actual punches. Or perhaps Pusha T and Drake could solve this issue of ghostwriting by one turning the other into a ghost. Well, it seems like a lot of rappers might want to settle their beef with Drake in some kind of way.