It's no secret that rappers have collaborated with gaming for years, whether voicing characters, appearing on video game soundtracks, making cameo appearances or even starring in their own games. Heck, some rap stars have heavily influenced a game character's design.
A few examples is the 50 cent video game starring the rapper himself, GTA character Ryder looking awfully similar to the late Eazy E or Snoop Dogg getting his own fighting game stage in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Let's not forgot the legendary Def Jam fighting game series from EA Sports which featured a dozen hip hop artists who were signed to Def jam Records at the time.
However, today let's look at 10 popular rappers who have appeared as themselves in video games more recently. So basically what this means is hip hop stars who have made cameo appearances in modern games.
1. Travis Scott Fortnite skin
Fortnite became a cultural phenomenon overnight, attracting millions of young players around the world and that's largely due to Epic Games collaborating with pop culture icons like famous rapper and producer Travis Scott.
In 2020 not only did Travis Scott receive his own Fortnite skin, but he also performed a once in a lifetime concert inside of the battle royale game which more than 12 million players logged in for.
In the performance, a digitally rendered and giant-sized avatar of Scott towered over the players in the game as he performed several of his songs, including "The Scotts", a new single he recorded with Kid Cudi.
Dr Dre is a major player in Grand Theft Auto Online The Contract, which sees Franklin Clinton sending the player out on a mission to retrieve the hip-hop icon's stolen music, which was specifically released for GTA Online.
Despite appearing as a character in the first 50 Cent game, in a BET interview with DJ Pooh, the Hip-hop producer and GTA Online co-writer revealed that Dr Dre wasn't keen on the idea of working on a video game.
He continued that Dr. Dre was mostly unaware of GTA and gaming in general and didn't
want to be associated with something made for kids.
However the rap legend changed his tune when DJ Pooh, a fan of the franchise, played the game with him. In DJ Pooh's own words, Dre was "blown away" by the content and gameplay.
3. Nicki Minaj in Warzone
Adding to her milestones in gaming, the Queens rapper is now a playable character in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone, which honours the hip hop 50th anniversary, and her special finishing move is crushing enemies in her high heels.
Not only does she step on foes in what is possibly the tallest heels ever seen in a first person shooter, but she's also the first "self named female operator in Call of Duty history.
4. 21 Savage in COD
Following in the footsteps of Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg, the Atlanta rapper became a playable character in Call of Duty, as the renowned franchise celebrated 50 years of hip hop.
In the game 21 Savage wears black sunglasses along with a backwards baseball cap and his finishing move is called Stabbed A lot. He is one of the most recent hip hop artists to transcend rap and make his mark in a video game.
Considering that J Cole plays basketball when he isn't working on music and recently laced up his boots in Canada to play four games for the Scarborough Shooting Stars, his inclusion in NBA 2K23 feels right at home.
Not only does J.Cole feature on the soundtrack and in the game's mycareer mode of the Dreamer Edition, but he's the first rapper to grace the cover of a NBA 2K game.
In a statement J. Cole said, "It’s been an amazing journey to not only appear on a cover of this year’s game, but to be part of the MyCareer storyline, soundtrack and bring the Dreamer brand into NBA 2K."
6. Asap Rocky Need for Speed Unbound
It's only right that one of the coolest kids in the rap game would feature in one of the coolest racing games ever made, and that's exactly what happened when Electronic Arts asked Asap Rocky to be apart of their latest Need For Speed game.
In Need For Speed Unbound, Rocky provides his likeness as a non-playable character and is given his own game mode called Takeover Scene, a co-op mode where players team up and take over the city.
Not only is Rocky the face of NFS Unbound, but his single "Shi**in' Me," is the theme song for the racing game, which is arguably his best song in years.
In an interview with Rolling Stone the Harlem rapper said "I grew up on Need for Speed, so I just felt like it was only right, you know? That was one of those things that we all grew up on. I was interested off the bat."
7. Quavo NBA 2K22
Migos rapper Quavo was one of the first celebrities to appear as a playable character (alongside fellow rapper The Game) in the NBA 2K franchise. Given an 89 rating and rocking his signature iced-out glasses frames, players got to ball out with the rapper in style in NBA 2K22.
Quavo's love for the game of basketball is no secret and his appearance in the video game as a playable character is reflective of his real life hooping abilities. The rapper has taken part in multiple NBA Celebrity All-Star Games with stand out performances.
Although a non-playable character, Stormzy gets his own mission called "Fall on My Enemies," which sees players helping the rapper acquire a broadcast to play his music to the people of London.
Furthermore the Croydon born rapper recorded an entire music video for his song Rainfall inside Watch Dogs Legion, with the help of Ubisoft through motion capture and voice acting.
In regards to the game Stormzy said, "What they have done in terms of recreating London is the most insane, epic, incredible thing I’ve ever seen, so I’m honoured to be a part of it."
9. Schoolboy Q in PGA Tour 2K21
SchoolBoy Q has never hid his avid love of golf, frequently hitting the green whenever he's on the road. Which is why EA Sports adding the rapper as a playable character in PGA Tour 2K21 was most appropriate.
10. Ice T in Payday 3
Fast forward to 2023 and now Ice T adds another accolade to his decorated gaming resume as he portrays the character Mac as a new operator in Payday 3.
In an interview regarding Ice T's involvement in Payday 3 the developers said, "we didn't know this before, but Ice-T has been a fan of Payday since seven, eight years past. Yeah, Payday 2. So when we reached out to him, he was super excited to work with us."