A star-studded crowd in Los Angeles was treated to performances by Jay-Z, Eminem, Travis Barker and DJ AM Monday night (June 2) in celebration of ActiVision’s new game, DJ Hero.
The game is the latest installment of the $2 billion Guitar Hero franchise, set to be released in the Fall for PlayStation 3, PS2, and Xbox 360.
In its standard version, the game is played with a turntable-shaped controller instead of the guitar or drumkit provided with other versions.
Equipped with a spinning record plate, sampling buttons, a cross fader and an sound effects nob, the controller allows players to score points by matching song tracks, creating special effects and adding their own personal touches to the music.
The game includes music from various genres, including Hip-Hop, R&B, electronica, and rock, with music by 50 Cent, Beastie Boys, KRS-One, N.E.R.D., Gorillaz, Blondie and David Bowie.
On Friday (May 29), Guitar Hero announced that Jay-Z and Eminem would be bringing their music and experience to the new game, thus their inclusion in Monday night’s celebration.
In addition to serving as consultants to Activision and FreeStyleGames, who developed DJ Hero, both Jay and Em are working on new greatest-hits CDs, to be included in a special edition of the game.
Jay-Z has revealed that his contributions will include “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and tracks from the forthcoming Blueprint 3.
“I have a ton of content, I just need the pipeline,” he told USA Today. “I love the freedom of [DJ Hero]. I could wake up tomorrow morning with the idea for a song and call the guys at Activision and start working on getting it out.”
Eminem wasn’t as forthcoming with what he’d bring to the table, saying that DJ Hero will include his music and additional downloadable content to be released by the end of the year.
Despite his shyness in interview, the Detroit rapper gave his all during a 30-minute set at The Wiltern Theater, he bounced through a set made up mostly of tracks from his latest album Relapse, before closing out with “Lose Yourself.”
Prior to launching into the set, Eminem invited Jay-Z back on stage to perform “Renegade,” their critically acclaimed collaboration from Jay-Z’s Black Album.
Prior to making way for the Eminem Show, Jay-Z, accompanied by a live band, performed a series of hit singles including “Izzo,” “99 Problems,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” and “Encore.”
The highlight of his performance, however, was his rendition of the “My President is Black” remix.
Despite the absence of Nas and Jeezy, Jay shared the stage with President Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr., as a montage of photos of both men and Election Day headlines ran in the background.
The A-List crowd in attendance included Hollywood celebs from Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Phillipe to Entourage stars Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven and Kevin Connolly to celebutante Kim Kardashian.
Also present were plenty of stars from the music world, including Nipsey Hussle, Christina Aguilera, Pete and Ashley Simpson-Wentz, and Warren G, who treated the crowd to an impromptu performance of “Regulators.
And though Jay-Z did not hit the stage until right before Midnight, the crowd was more than adequately entertained.
Following an audio/visual performance by TRV$DJ-AM, DJ AM took the stage alone for a 30-45 minute set, demonstrating exactly why he was one of the DJs chosen to help create and mix DJ Hero.
Skills aside, AM shared a more personal reason for being involved: his hope that it gives fans a new appreciation for the art of turntablism.
“There are so many lame [people] popping up with an iPod and a playlist calling themselves DJs when they’re just a jukebox,” the celebrity DJ said Monday. “This game is incredibly realistic and you realize what it takes to mix two songs together. You actually have to do the work.”
At press time, ActiVision has not yet revealed a price point or rating for the new DJ Hero.
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