News Post

NBA 2K9 Beats Reviewed

02:00 PM - December 10, 2008 by RaychelSnr

It seems like every aspect of NBA 2K9 has been analyzed to death -- except the soundtrack. And since it's the time of year when many of the big-time musicians drop their soundtracks, it is only fitting that we take a look at the soundtrack as well.

Passionate hip-hop fans are always on the hunt to find fresh and new music by underground artists. It is like a lifelong journey of epic proportions to find music that hits the spot like good home cooking. It is difficult to find, but when the classics arrive, we keep them in the rotation for years. The sounds resonate in our minds and souls, bringing us back in time.

Read More - NBA 2K9 Beats Reviewed

Game: NBA 2K9Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS2 / PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 72 - View All

NBA 2K9 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 DubTrey1 @ 12/10/08 02:26 PM

Common � Universal Mind Control, Announcement, Inhale - great artist and must have for anyone who listens to hip hop.
Murs � has a ton of great songs and beats to back them up
Andre 3000 � Da Art of Storytelling Part 4 - It's Andre 3k. You gotta love this dude. Another of his to check out is the track he does with John Legend, "Green Light".

Great post Steve!

# 2 Benicio10 @ 12/10/08 02:50 PM

A few of the songs are mind-numbingly annoying and i'm glad u can turn a few songs off in your settings.

# 3 Trini G1aDiaToR @ 12/10/08 04:29 PM

Gnarles Barkley is not a "one-man hip-hop band." Gnarles Barkley is DJ Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo... as such, Gnarles Barkley is a group.

I for one am an old school hip hop fan and I love the fact that they have "Passin' Me By" on there. It's one of my all time favorite songs.

Also, "No, No, No" (I believe it's the Dawn Pen version) is the only Reggae song on there and I was damn happy to hear a reggae song on a game soundtrack. You rarely hear that. It's also one of my all time favorite songs.

BTW, "No, No, No" is also on EA's Skate, so I found it interesting that it made it's way onto a 2K game as well... are there any other instances of that happening?

@ wsu_gb23 - just cause there's mostly hip hop on the sound track doesn't make it culturally biased. Basketball and Hip Hop culture go together in this country, so they're recognizing that with the music selection. MLB 2K8 on the other hand is heavy on rock songs...

NBA games are usually the only ones featuring soundtracks that I can actually stand.

# 4 SBartlett @ 12/10/08 05:43 PM

Hey guys it's Steve B. from OS - FJCCommish i feel your frustrations. the songs i listed are pretty well done in tha hip hop genre. Not really thug music at all. Check em out it might sway your opinion.

Thas part of why i wrote the article, new music is out the past month, the soundtracks are an interesting avenue for artists to get their music out in games, but some of the songs are awful haha. Just reviewing what works, what doesn't and mixing my passion for hip hop and bball.

# 5 SBartlett @ 12/10/08 07:13 PM

Trini Gladiator - thanks for the heads up on Gnarkls Barkley thing I'm fixing that.

There is actually a song on the NBA Live 2004 soundtrack that is in this year's NBA 2k9 by the Brand New Heavies

# 6 xion_one @ 12/10/08 07:40 PM

LOL @ the guy that called hip-hop "Thug Music." Stop watching what you see on MTV.

This soundtrack is barely hip-hop to begin with. It's a fusion of various genres, and the Pharcyde and UNK songs ar eprobably the only true rap/hip-hop on it. The N.E.R.D. song is also on the Live soundtrack.

# 7 plastict @ 12/10/08 09:20 PM

No mention of any of the electronic on the soundtrack in the entire article?
Not that it's necessarily my thing or anything, but that's a good portion of the soundtrack. And no mention of the tenth most scrobbled artist of 2008? http://www.last.fm/bestof/2008/artist/10
Man if only that track of her's stopped after the intro.
I also don't think Ludacris is really a good fit, they're aiming for at least under the radar/not overtly mainstream stuff or classics it seems. It's at least refreshing in comparison to your typical sports game soundtrack (not fifa, though 05 was the last one I played). but I think everything could use a little more Murs.

My main problem is that it plays the first song that is checkmarked on the beats list every damn time. That's annoying. It took about 3 days for me to turn off that Cool Kids song. Anyone know how to fix this (without custom soundtracks)?

# 8 xion_one @ 12/11/08 01:28 AM

I don't think an artist's popularity weighs in. I mean, they had Fabolous in 2K7. That's the inconsistent aspect of it. One year they're totally underground, the next they are underground plus mainstream, one year they're all hip-hop, next they're all oldschool (like last year with the 70's type music) or mixing in various genres. But I guess that's the beauty of not knowing what to expect.

# 9 texbuk84 @ 12/11/08 09:37 AM

i like the soundtrack.

# 10 H to the Oza @ 12/12/08 02:11 AM

Now in my younger days I used to sport a shag, when I went to school I carried lunch in a bag!

# 11 H to the Oza @ 12/13/08 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjccommish


	It's frustrating that hip hop (thug music) is so associated with sports.

nonsense...

If you wanna go as far as to call hip hop thug music, then that makes basketball a thug spot.
Let me clear a couple of things up for you
Beastie Boys: NOT thug
The Pharcyde: NOT thug
gnarls barkley: NOT thug
the list goes on...

And how can you not base Hip Hop music around basketball?? the two cultures are very closely related

# 12 NBASLAM2001 @ 12/13/08 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjccommish


	It's frustrating that hip hop (thug music) is so associated with sports.

What a vague statement to make.

# 13 kennyacid @ 01/12/09 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjccommish


	It's frustrating that hip hop (thug music) is so associated with sports.

wow, thug music..hmmm mmm mmm. Didnt really need to say that. I guess ur proabably young.

# 14 BPM 81 @ 01/12/09 10:18 PM

put in your own music

Don't plan on playing with the 2kbeats soundtrack anymore.

# 15 hoopers23 @ 02/02/09 03:51 PM

can u bring micheal jordan's profile back...?

# 16 hoopers23 @ 02/02/09 04:04 PM

i wonder why is it that nba 2k9 here in china is different from yours in the states.. they dont have micheals profile here... and the players physical apperances is not updated... i mean gasol still have a short hair and vuljavic too... i mean it totally sucks here..

# 17 juzjackdup @ 02/02/09 04:49 PM

if thers any hip hop heads from the bay area check out www.myspace.com/theinfinityfunkproject they're a pretty dope group out of the area

# 18 HoustonRockets2134 @ 03/12/09 06:48 PM

worst soundtrack in any game ive ever played ever. EVER! last years was even worse. i dont know who continues to make these sorry soundtracks but they need to be fired. and why is it the same commentary from last year.

More Links

NBA 2K9 Beats Reviewed