• Store
  • Home
  • Discord
  • Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
Green Man Gaming Blog
Green Man Gaming Blog
  • Store
  • Home
  • Discord
Home
Articles
Features

How Video Game Sounds and References Work Their Way Into Modern Music

October 9th, 2019 JO Features

Share

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr
How Video Game Sounds and References Work Their Way Into Modern Music

Most of the modern public have played a video game, so it’s no surprise really that many musicians have got their mitts on a controller or two. From The Who’s ‘Pinball Wizard’ to Lana Del Rey’s less subtle ‘Video Games’, we’ve come a long way when it comes to carefully homaging our beloved hobby, and there’s plenty of receipts. Talking about video games and even including sound effects and samples from them has become commonplace in the music industry. Perhaps this stems from a realization that addicting soundtracks can be co-opted into platinum earworms, or maybe it’s personal taste and the gaming lineage of artists that colours their seminal work. Let’s get into it.

Rap’s ties to video game culture

It seems that most often its hip hop and rap that allude to gaming in the most common capacity. At some point, Kanye West’s work (and by proxy, the rap genre in general) became infested by Street Fighter II sound effects. Yes, that’s right, “You Win,” “Perfect” and “Fight!” can be heard in everything from Charlie Heat’s ‘Facts’, Bryson Tiller’s ‘Sorry not Sorry’ and the now iconic Kanye cut ‘The Life of Pablo Part 2.’

Whilst most famous video game samples in music tend to stem from the pre-millennium era, there are a smattering of modern samples that have cropped up in recent years, pertaining to some games from the previous console generation. One of the most strange incidents involves the use of the song His World by Tomoya Ohtani, a track on the soundtrack of the much-reviled Sonic 06. Impeccable taste!

PK Fire!

Drake producer Ness sampled and flipped it, turning it into the backing track for Drake and Peckham rapper Giggs’ bars on 2017’s KMT from the album More Life. Seriously! If you thought that was wild, consider that two albums before this, Drake rapped over a sped up version of David Wise’s ‘Haunted Chase’ from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest. All of this sounds like one tremendous joke, but trust me when I say that this happens, and it’s frequent. Recently, Virginia rapper DRAM broke onto the scene with his addictive earworm Cha Cha, only to sample Koji Kondo’s ‘Star Road’ from Super Mario World. The list is endless.

Samples as art

Instead of sampling, sometimes artists will simply use video game sound effects as staging on their projects, uninterrupted and in full. Frank Ocean’s critically-revered Channel Orange project released in July of 2012, yet the opening track ‘Start’ is background noise of Mr. Ocean receiving a phone notification and booting up his PlayStation. An unavoidable part of the DNA of that album is now video games, which is a startling, fantastic homage to the hobby we all know and love. Whilst sound clips and quotes from movies often make the cut in music, it can be fun to listen to your favourite songs and try to figure out where you heard that familiar sample from. You never know, it could be tied to something in your Steam library…!

Do you know of any artists, perhaps from other genres that have added video game sound effects and samples to their music? Let us know!

  • Tags
  • Gaming Lifestyle
  • Main
  • Music

Share

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr
Previous article The Outer Worlds: How it builds on Obsidian’s New Vegas Formula
Next article Deliver Us the Moon: Truth is Scarier Than Fiction
Avatar

JO

Related Posts

Indie Game Round-Up - May 2025

Indie Game Round-Up - May 2025

April 30th, 2025
Best Games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Best Games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

April 19th, 2025
How Tempest Rising Is Shaping Up To Be Essential For Command & Conquer Fans

How Tempest Rising Is Shaping Up To Be Essential For Command & Conquer Fans

April 17th, 2025
Why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is The Next Must-Have Turn-Based RPG

Why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is The Next Must-Have Turn-Based RPG

April 15th, 2025
The 10 Best Games That Support DualSense Controllers on PC

The 10 Best Games That Support DualSense Controllers on PC

April 4th, 2025
Indie Game Round-Up - April 2025

Indie Game Round-Up - April 2025

March 29th, 2025
Latest Articles
Indie Game Round-Up - May 2025
Articles

Indie Game Round-Up - May 2025

0
How Lost Soul Aside Combines Devil May Cry Combat And Final Fantasy Style Characters Into A Tremendous Hybrid
Articles

How Lost Soul Aside Combines Devil May Cry Combat And Final Fantasy Style Characters Into A Tremendous Hybrid

0
Haste Is A Platforming Roguelike With Big Sonic Vibes
Articles

Haste Is A Platforming Roguelike With Big Sonic Vibes

0
How FromSoftware Is About To Create The Most Accessible Soulslike Ever With Elden Ring Nightreign
Articles

How FromSoftware Is About To Create The Most Accessible Soulslike Ever With Elden Ring Nightreign

0
Wildkeepers Rising Is Vampire Survivors Meets Pokemon
Articles

Wildkeepers Rising Is Vampire Survivors Meets Pokemon

0
Timeline
Apr 30th 2:30 PM
Articles

Indie Game Round-Up – May 2025

Apr 29th 11:00 AM
Articles

How Lost Soul Aside Combines Devil May Cry Combat And Final Fantasy Style Characters Into A Tremendous Hybrid

Apr 28th 4:00 PM
Articles

Haste Is A Platforming Roguelike With Big Sonic Vibes

Apr 27th 10:00 AM
Articles

How FromSoftware Is About To Create The Most Accessible Soulslike Ever With Elden Ring Nightreign

Apr 26th 8:30 PM
Articles

Wildkeepers Rising Is Vampire Survivors Meets Pokemon

Apr 25th 1:46 PM
Articles

Border Pioneer Is A Delightful Town-Building Tower Defence Game

Apr 24th 11:43 AM
Articles

From Solo to Squad: FromSoftware’s Surprising Shift with Elden Ring Nightreign

Apr 23rd 4:39 PM
Articles

Wanderstop Review: A Cozy Tea Making Sim With A Lot To Say About Work Stress And Self Care

Archive
About us…
GET TO KNOW US

About Us

Careers

Refund Policy

Help & Support

Terms and Conditions

Need our help?

Open a web ticket to contact our Customer Support team. We’re here to help!

Copyright © 2022 Green Man Gaming Blog All Right Reserved