Rockstar is pretty much to the video game industry what the South is to hip hop. They may not be as ‘abstract’ as everyone else, but they add their own unique twists to tried and true gaming conventions that, other  developers will be all too happy to try to emulate.  (See Driv3er, True Crime, and Narc) So with that in mind, lets look at 2 of their most recent games.

The warriors is based upon the cult classic 1979 film.  This is probably one of the most referenced films in hip hop next to Scarface.  Anyone who has seen the film can tell that that could make a game in and of itself, but Rockstar manages to add in new content to flesh out the backstory.  You’ll learn how the warriors spent the summer leading up to the big meeting, get up close and personal with the gangs seen only briefly in the film, and even learned how the gang got together.  The game starts at the fateful night where gang leader and visionary Cyrus is gunned down, but in a Quentin Taratino-esque twist, we flashback to 3 months before the meeting, which makes up 2/3rds of the game.  Rockstar attempts to reinvent the brawler for a new generation (an act barely achieved successfully by fighting force and Gekkido on the PS1) by combining elements of their other titles such as GTA and Manhunt, and they succeed.   The environments are large and open with hidden objectives to discover, and some stealth elements and minigames help move this game away from the same ol same ol brawler territory.  Also to note is the team dynamic, in which you can use the right analog stick to issue commands to your AI controlled teammates.  Although it takes some time to get used to, this isn’t complicated at all, and you can do anything from having them wreck the place to watching your back.  The game also does a fine job of capturing the look and feel of the movie throughout the game, as much of the last third of the game is directly out of the movie.  Several unlockables (including a double dragon-esque arcade game) help round this out and keep players coming back for more.

As the latest entry in Rockstar’s franchise, Grand Theft Auto:  Liberty city stories doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done in the past three entries, almost being a step backwards, as many of the features and enhancements from Vice City and San Andreas have been left out.  Your protagonist can’t swim, targeting is as cumbersome as ever, and many of the missions range from just plain bland to outright frustrating.  However, as a PSP game, GTA LCS is one of the first real ‘must buy’ games for the system.  It contains everything that GTA is known for (a free open world, a dirty sense of humor, a somewhat compelling plot, and a vast selection of weapons and vehicles to utilize in order to wreak havoc on civilians), and it brings every square foot of liberty city to PSP.  Also, this is the first version to feature wireless multiplayer.  Although it’s ad-hoc only, it’s still nice to finally have this in a game without having to rely on a PC hack.  Also interesting to note is that a save game exploit can be used to load homebrew games for users stuck with an upgraded PSP.

I’ve been late with the past few Southern Fried Sundays, but next time I’ll have a note from my mom. Anyway, this album was a very important one for the south, especially No Limit records. It contained the single of the decade, “Bout it Bout it”. This was at a time when Master P was leaving the bay area, so the new (at the time) producers Beats by the pound, along with rappers Mr Serv On and Mia X really stand out. Veterans King George, Big ED and C-Murder also show up. C-Murder especially has dope verses on the album’s first track ‘187 dance’ and the song ‘living like a killa’. Master P and C-Bo collaborate on “How We Break Bread”. This LP is hard to find nowadays, but if you do, pick it up, and take a trip back to ten years ago when the tank was on top of the world and they made quality music.

I hate to be the only one posting here, but I digress. Anyway, lets pretend it’s SUnday and not Thursday and I’m not 4 days late and get on with the program. Anyway, this isn’t the greatest southren rap album ever. Hell, it isn’t even the group’s best album (That would be Chapter 2: World domination). However, it’s thier most important album, not only for the group, but for Memphis and the south. At the time of it’s release, it was the first album Three six as a group had put out in 3 years, since 97’s chapter 2. It was the last album before HCP came apart almost and lost Koopsta (One has to wonder why he wasn’t shown on the cover or any of the artwork, even though he was featured on several songs on the album) and Gangsta Boo (along with several others). Even though this album helped blow up Three Six mafia nationwide, the group still has yet to get thier just due. It contained the singles “Sippin on some syrup”, “Who run it”, and “Tongue Ring”, which are probably the most well-known singles released from this group. Also on this album are the songs “weak ass bitch” and “Jealous ass bitches” which take shots at all the haters jealous of thier success. Ex No limit soldiers Fiend and Mr. Serv On appear on “Touched with it”, and Insane clown possee and Twiztid appear on “Just another crazy click”. Other guests include Bigg Gipp of the goodie mob, and then-HCP members T-Rock, La Chat, and MC Mack.

Outkast is one of ATL’s most creative groups, and this new album is no exception. This double CD consists of two solo albums from both of the group’s members, Big Boi and Andre 3000. BIg BOi’s CD is what you would expect from a traditional Outkast album (if such a thing exists), which means banging southren beats and deep lyrics from Daddy phat sax. GUest appearences from various members of the dungeon family, Jay Z, and Ludacris help round this out. Burst, Rewind, and Ghetto Muzik stay on repeat whenever I put this disk on. Andre’s half goes far away from the norm as an all singing LP, so it may not be for everyone, but I definently like it. Kelis, and Nora Jones show up to do guest appearences here. You live in my lap is the perfect make out song, while Valentines day has a catchy little beat. BIg boi shows up on ROses as well. THier next LP, Idlewild will be dropping soon, ending any lingering rumors of the dynamic duo breaking up.

This album came out in the summer of 2003. I picked it up becuase I liked the single cadalliac on 24s. I burned it and another song to my xbox hard drive and forgot about it. 2 years later, I pulled it out just to have something to bump in my ride, and I discovered how G.O.A.T this cd was. When ‘I’m serious’ came out in 2001, I thought to myself that this would be just another one of those flash-in-the-pan-flavor-of-the-month southren MCS who get a deal today and drop off the face of the earth tomorrow. Boy was I wrong. The first few lines of “I can’t quit” a song about not quitting when things get tough describes my life precisely at this point. “I still luv you”, a song apoligizing to his girl, his father, and his daughter is probably one of the deepest songs ever from an artist down below. “beezle” is a dope track featuring three of the south’s top MCs, Eightball, MJG, and Bun B, and of course “24’s” isn’t bad either (considering that’s all I bought the album for). He followed it up late 2004 with “urban legend” and that isn’t a bad LP either. (I might even take a look at that later) TI earned some animosity when he proclaimed himself the King of the south(See Beef 3), but If he keeps dropping stuff like he has been, then hey may have very well earned that title.

We haven’t had a whole lot of posts here lately, and I need a blantant excuse to do my new section, the down south rap album of the week. I hope to do this every saturday or sunday. Ganked and gaffled from my $20 game of the week, the focus here is to take a look at some good albums comming from a very underappreciated reigon in hip hop, the south. They may not be as complex as some of your west and east coast favorites, but they contribute a lot more to the rap game and music and general than someone people would realize or want to admit. I won’t talk your head off, but here we go.

And who better to kick off a section about an underappreciated reigon in music than one of it’s most underapprecriated artists, more so an ex member of one of the most underapprecriated groups in rap? Koopsta Knicca is an ex member of the memphis group, 3 – 6 mafia. he was kicked out the group shortly after “when the smoke clears” was released in 2000, and has released several albums since then. THis is his 4th album since leaving the group, and his material gets better with every release, although he has a bad habit of recycling old material. (THis release contains 3 songs from last year’s ‘the inevitable’) Although he is angry about not getting much radio play and being overshadowed by his former group mates, he is definently more mature about the situation. Tracks to check out here are ‘Life in bondage’, ‘wanksta’, ‘Becuase of you’, and ‘everlast’. In the liner notes it says to look out for Devil’s playground volume 2. I hope he can keep himself out of trouble long enough, becuase I’ll be looking forward to it.

I didn’t realize that there was a third installment of this series until the week before it was scheduled to be released. This volume focuses mainly on newer artists, particulary in the south and the midwest. It features Bone vs Twista, Nelly vs Chingy, TI vs Lil Flip, Game vs 50 cent, and more. THis volume is somewhat lacking compared to the other two, but there are a bit more extras, including a featurette on Armored cars, commentaries from Stat QUo and David Banner, and a second disc featuring an interview from Lil Flip and the Clover Street Gees. I hope they follow this up with more volumes, becuase there have been several major beefs left out of all 3 volumes such as Snoop and Dre vs Death Row, Mc Eiht vs DJ Quik, and No Limit vs Cash Money. Pick this up, and if you haven’t already, grab th eother 2 versions.

Even if his music may never be what it was, Master P can still make moves. Hopefully he can do this right and create a major independent force in the rap game, similar to how the whole No limit explosion began. Lord knows there are a lot of rappers who could use the push. I can’t say I’m excited about it’s first three releases, but maybe he’ll be inspired to work with his former beats by the pound production team.