- Have you got the rap factor?
Atlantic Records will offer a recording contract to the winner of a competition to be conducted through the new video game Def Jam Rapstar.
Atlantic, which has released music from the likes of Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and Plan B, will begin its search for Britain’s best rapper on January 1, 2011.
The competition will be open to any with a copy of the game Def Jam Rapstar, which is available on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. One of the karaoke-style game’s more innovative features is the ability for players to film themselves with a connected camera and upload the video directly to a special site, www.defjamrapstar.com. Contestants will be expected to compose their own raps in the game’s Freestyle mode, rather than sing along to an existing hit.
This upload site is where judging will take place. And it is likely to be fierce, since the judges will be other players and people drawn from across the web’s myriad social networks. Move over The X Factor. This will be the XXX Factor.
Those who make through the first stage will be invited to perform in a series of live regional heats at HMV stores nationwide, and the ten top rappers from across the UK will progress to a grand final in London, to take place in February. In the first ever talent contest by console, the eventual winner will have a single released by Atlantic Records.
Max Lousada, chairman of Atlantic Records, said: ‘Digital technology not only helps artists reach their audiences all over the world, it also provides us with new ways of discovering talent. Rapstar brings those two ideas together… Fans will get the chance to explore new music, emulate their heroes and even have a shot at stardom themselves.’
Perhaps now Wagner’s not so busy, he could have a go. Then again…
