grand theft auto vice city

50 Cent Teases Involvement In “Grand Theft Auto”

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50 Cent’s no stranger to the world of video games. In fact, he’s one of the few rappers to successfully release not one, but two video games. The release of 50 Cent: Bulletproof arrived at the height of his career before he later followed up with 50 Cent: Blood In The Sand. Though they didn’t necessarily lead to critical acclaim or following that’s comparable to games like Call Of Duty, it undoubtedly proved that Fif was one of the best marketers in the rap game.

Unfortunately, there’s been a sharp decline in artists developing their own video game. Recent calls for the return of Def Jam: Fight For NY have been acknowledged by the iconic rap label, though there hasn’t been any real updates in recent times. However, Grand Theft Auto has undoubtedly brought more rappers into their universe, such as Dr. Dre, who appeared in The Contract. Though GTA 6 is supposedly emerging in the near future, it’s unclear who might be involved in the gameplay.

50 Cent Teases Grand Theft Auto Collab

As 50 Cent’s television resume continues to grow, it seems that he may have struck a deal with Rockstar. The rapper took to Instagram where he teased a potential collaboration surrounding Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. He didn’t specify what he was working on but he said it would be bigger than his hit TV series, Power. “I will Explain this later, GLG GreenLightGang this shit bigger than POWER trust me. BOOM,”  he wrote.

Rockstar hasn’t shed light on the potential collaboration but there have been a few discussions surrounding a series based on Grand Theft Auto in the past. However, with 50 Cent’s recent non-exclusive deal with Fox to produce TV content, it seems like an upcoming show based on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City could become a great success. Still, fans are waiting on new information surrounding GTA 6. Last year, 53 minutes of gameplay leaked online, while several gaming sites hinted that the game would arrive next year ot the year after. Perhaps, 50 Cent’s recent post indicates his involvement in the highly-anticipated video game. We’ll keep you posted on any further updates. 

The Weeknd Credits ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’ For His ’80s Music Influence

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Billboard recently declared that The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” is the top song in the long history of their storied Hot 100 chart. The song is heavily inspired by synth-forward ’80s music, and in a new Billboard interview pegged to the Hot 100 news, The Weeknd gave credit to the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for fostering in him an interest in ’80s music.

In the piece, co-producer Max Martin notes of the song, “Abel came with the vision of what the song should be, which was a very different tempo and vibe than what is usually done. He took a risk, and that was very impressive to us. We all felt this song was very special even early on in the process.” The Weeknd then added, “GTA: Vice City really opened my eyes to a lot of ’80s music, so there was a nostalgia for when I was a kid playing video games and listening to Hall & Oates and Michael Jackson while driving through the city.”

The Grand Theft Auto games are well known for their soundtracks, which players experience through in-game radio stations. Vice City has nine stations and they all cycle through their own playlists of about 15 songs each (except for the one station that doesn’t play music). Since the game is set in 1986, all of the songs included are from that year or earlier. Hall & Oates has one song in the game, “Out Of Touch,” while Jackson has two: “Billie Jean” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”

Check out the full interview here.