Def Jam Rapstar: Where Player Becomes Playa

That’s right folks, Def Jam Rapstar, the Hip-Hop-focused singing game in development by 4mm Games, has a confirmed release date of 5 November 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. Any Christmas visits from Santa this year are officially superfluous for aspiring Notorious B.I.Gs. Why? Because this game claims to be everything that Get On Da Mic wasn’t.

Def Jam Rapstar certainly boasts a number of unique features. Not only will you receive instant feedback regarding your Hip-Hop performance, but unlike other singing games, players will be able to actually see themselves performing through the use of a camera peripheral. You can also star in, direct, and edit the lighting, sound and special effects of your own music video.

Freestyle mode will allow you to create original rhymes and put them to tracks created specifically for the game by popular producers including DJ Premier and Just Blaze. And for those of you who are more playa than player, Def Jam Rapstar will offer a Battle mode where you can trade lines and punchlines to achieve the highest score.

As if this wasn’t enough, your Hip-Hop beats no longer need be confined to your grandma’s viewing, who’s actually only watching because she’s too tired to move into another room. Def Jam Rapstar’s online community will be able to watch and rank your videos. The community will even allow you to create, manage and promote a crew of rap artists.

The playlist is said to encompass the full Hip-Hop spectrum, including golden age, platinum age, old school and new school, with artists ranging from Ice Cube and Snoop Dog to 50 Cent and Dizzee Rascal. There will be more than 40 Hip-Hop songs available at release, six of which have just been confirmed as follows:

Biz Markie: Just A Friend

Drake: Best I Ever Had

Outkast: So Fresh, So Clean

Pete Rock and CL Smooth: They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

Salt-N-Pepa: Push It

Tinchy Stryder feat. N-Dubz: Number 1 *UK exclusive

The likes of Redman and Method Man have voiced their support for the game, and it’s not hard to see why. If Def Jam Rapstar lives up to its potential, it could be so much more than a toy for Hip-Hop-inclined karaoke enthusiasts. It could offer people the chance to create a kind of online portfolio and get themselves noticed.

Signing up on the Def Jam Rapstar website means submitting a track suggestion, so visit www.defjamrapstar.com if you want to get your preemptive rap on. Word.