Seeing that over the years Hip-Hop has become more and more like the WWE (I’m looking at you BET Hip-Hop Awards), I felt it fitting that I dust off my Playstation 2 and play 2004’s Def Jam: Fight For NY. I found myself playing that bitch for like 3 hours; it still holds up. This may be due to the fact that it was developed by AKI, the same company behind WWF No Mercy (Still the best wrestling game ever made) but that’s not all of it.
Def Jam Fight For NY is basically a time capsule for what was going on in Hip-Hop during the time period of it’s release. In the story mode, which was also well done, you can buy jewelry from Jacob The Jeweler (I always opted for Roc-A-Fella chain), buy clothes from brands like Sean Jean or Phat Farm, and even start dating Lil’ Kim or Kimora Lee Simmons. It featured 40+ rappers/actors (I still don’t know how Henry Rollins got in there) and what’s crazy is that I still only know some of the rappers only through this video game (What’s up Bless?). Lately Hip-Hop is looking bad in the headlines with backstage fights and other fuckery, but at least in 2004, Fight For NY made it all fun.
Sidenote #1: WWE’s latest video game, WWE ’13, is dropping at the end of this month and it’s a dame shame that Def Jam: Fight For NY, a game almost a decade old and filled with rappers, still has better gameplay.
Sidenote #2: R.I.P. Chris Lighty. He was also a character in this game.
Sidenote #3: Dame shame how they fucked up Def Jam: Icon. Dame shame how I can’t play Def Jam: Fight For NY on my Xbox 360 either.
