Hip-hop and gaming culture have collided over and over throughout the history of both mediums. Big titles use hip-hop and rap songs in trailers, to fill out licensed soundtracks, and as templates for original music in game. Fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are especially tied to the culture as well. From alternate costumes based on classic hip-hop outfits, and remixed songs to play at big competitive events, fighting games and hip-hop go way back.
Street Fighter has an especially long history with rap and hip-hop culture. The relationship goes all the way back to Street Fighter 2 and its impact on popular culture at the time. The game featured many aesthetics inspired by late 80’s hip-hop culture and music that oftentimes mirrored the exploding popularity of hip-hop and rap music. Years later, rappers still make references to the game and famously Lupe Fiasco ended up winning an exhibition match against one of the most famous pro fighting game players Daigo Umehara at a pre-launch event for Street Fighter 5.
When Capcom released Street Fighter 2: HD Remix, many of the songs utilized were remixed versions of original soundtrack songs. Several remixes pulled and included music from some of the most famous names in hip-hop and rap music, like members of the Wu-Tang Clan. Hip-hop and rap have consistently been the most popular forms of music for American audiences, so it would seem natural for gaming franchises to use songs in the genre to promote their games.
Mortal Kombat 11 was revealed with a trailer featuring a 21 Savage song, one of the more popular modern artists. Megan Thee Stallion recently livestreamed a Mortal Kombat 11 match on Twitch and the artist was featured in the trailer for the recent Kombat Pack that added Rain and Mileena, drawing millions of views. Hip-hop artists continue to hold close ties to the fighting game community to this day. The relationship goes both ways as well. Rap songs have been peppered with references to fighting game culture for as long as there have been fighting games.
Lupe Fiasco in particular is a clear Street Fighter fan, as the artist’s album Drogas Light released in 2017 with a cover that is heavily stylized to resemble Akuma’s kanji from Street Fighter. References to Mortal Kombat characters made by Danny Brown in his feature on the song “Ego Death” by Busdriver are incredibly common in rap music at large. Tekken, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat tournaments are often visited by rappers, and are among the most referenced games in the culture. With the success of events and ads from Megan Thee Stallion, it’s safe to expect more events like this from Mortal Kombat 11 in the future.
Fighting games aren’t the only genre to embrace hip-hop and rap culture, Call of Duty used Eminem tracks for their release trailers for several years in a row, and Cyberpunk 2077 featured a promotional single from Run the Jewels called “No Save Point.” The rap duo is one of the most popular hip-hop acts and the song has already received millions of listens. Fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken have an especially close history with the genre though with most of the best fighting games of last generation include references to hip-hop and rap culture in some form or another.
The relationship between the two mediums is likely to only grow moving into the future, especially with the success of streaming events and other tie-ins between fighting games and hip-hop culture.
Street Fighter 5 is available on PC and PS5.
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