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EA unveils NBA Live 07 tracks

Game publisher taps tracks from Gnarls Barkley, Black Eyed Peas with Sergio Mendes, Jurassic 5, Talib Kweli, Rhymefest, and others for soundtrack of annual basketball game.

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The NBA has long since gone global, with international players among the league's elite and the US national team no longer the favorites in global competition.

So as Electronic Arts unveils the soundtrack for NBA Live 07 today, it's fitting that its soundtrack goes global, as well. Mixed in with EA faves like Lupe Fiasco and Jurassic 5, as well as 2006 breakouts like Gnarls Barkley and Rhymefest from the US, are Finnish rapper Redrama, Canadian beatmaker Ghislain Poirier, and Brazilian hip-hop outfit Braza.

"Our goal was to further define the global cultural phenomenon of hip-hop--and help shape its future--via one of the hottest sports videogame franchises on the street today," EA's worldwide executive of music and marketing Steve Schnur said.

And because the game has "'07" in the title, the soundtrack had to include artists that EA feels will be the face of hip-hop's future, Schnur said. That includes artists like Kanye West protégés Rhymefest and Lupe Fiasco, along with Lady Sovereign, the pint-sized British rapper whose long-delayed Def Jam debut is set to hit stores later this year.

Lupe and Rhymefest also grace the soundtrack of EA rival 2K Sports' NBA 2K7, which was produced by Dan the Automator.

"With NBA Live '07, we knew we wanted the soundtrack to reflect the changing trends and bold innovations of hip-hop while exposing some great new international artists that we feel will be a major part of the genre's future," Schnur said. "We think we've succeeded beyond all expectations."

NBA Live 07 hits stores September 25 for the Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PC, and PlayStation Portable. A PlayStation 3 version is also in the works and will be released later this year.

The NBA Live 07 soundtrack:
Army of the Pharaohs - "Gorillas"
Bossman - "Hand Clap"
Braza - "Son Do Braza"
Citty - "Them Ballers"
Damizza feat. Butch Cassidy - "In 2's"
Feezy 350 feat. Shauna K - "Mr. DJ"
Ghislain Poirier - "Mic Diplomat"
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
Jurassic 5 feat. Dave Matthews - "Work It Out"
Lady Sovereign - "A Little Bit of Shh (Adrock Remix)"
Lupe Fiasco - "Kick Push
Dead Prez Presents M-1 - "Til We Get There"
Mark Ronson feat. Alex Greenwald - "Just"
Murs & 9th Wonder - "L.A."
Pigeon John - "Higher"
Raptile - "Neva Eva"
Redrama - "I Don't Know What to Tell You"
Rhymefest - "Some of These Days"
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Thrill of It"
Sergio Mendes & The Black Eyed Peas - "Mas Que Nada"
Talib Kweli - "Listen"
Ten Days Till - "Get Them Hands Hi"
The Coup - "My Favorite Mutiny"

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