“Playas” and Players: Racial and Spatial Trespassing in Hip Hop Culture Through Video Games

Video games have long been scrutinized and criticized as sites of identity formation and exploration for video game players. This chapter argues that hip hop–themed video games afford players the opportunity to adopt hip hop identities through the use of avatars within the game, an endeavor that can be problematic when considering the politics of representation (and specifically the politics of race and ethnicity) at play. It also investigates ways in which hip hop spaces are represented within video games, and ways in which video games and their music operate as a site of resistance for hip hop artists.