Eminem, Jay-Z To Collaborate With "DJ Hero" Game

Like the battle between Rock Band and Guitar Hero, the competition is heating up between upcoming music video games DJ Hero and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ to stake dominance in the genre. Today, DJ Hero made a major move by hooking up with a pair of the biggest rappers around, Jay-Z and Eminem, to release exclusive content for their game, due out this autumn. (That is, if DJ Hero can brush off that lawsuit Scratch filed against them.)

Under the deal, DJ Hero will collaborate the rappers on a special branded version of the game that will include an advanced version of the game's turntable controller, a performance-ready DJ stand, and two exclusive CD compilations featuring greatest hits and new mixes from each artist. The CDs mark the first time an artist has released an album of music exclusively for these music video games. Additionally, both Em and Jigga will provide "fresh mixes" and other downloadable content later in the year.

"A DJ has the ability to use music to control people's emotions and is responsible for the entire vibe of a room, a club or a party," Jay-Z said in a statement. "DJ Hero is the first video game that allows everyone to enjoy the unique experience of creating that environment." DJ Hero is one of many games Activision is pumping out by year's end, including Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: Van Halen and Band Hero.

So far, Scratch has announced it will feature tracks by Kanye West, Beastie Boys, OutKast, Dr. Dre and Run-DMC, while DJ Hero will reportedly boast over 100 master recordings broken down into two-song mixes. An added bonus of DJ Hero is that gamers can hook up their Guitar Hero guitar for exclusive DJ/guitar mixes, with Nirvana, Tears for Fears and David Bowie among the artists than will get mashed-up, according to the game's official Website.

Related Stories:

• "Scratch: The Ultimate DJ" Starts a Legal Beef With "DJ Hero"
• Mix Up Kanye West, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC Tracks on "Scratch: The Ultimate DJ"
• "Guitar Hero 5" Exclusive: 10 Bands in September 1st Game

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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