Talib Kweli to voice Getting Up hero

Since it bears the namesake of one of the most ubiquitous names in hip-hop culture, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure already had some serious street cred. Today, Atari announced it would have even more, with the casting of rapper Talib Kweli as the game's lead voice actor.

A critical and popular favorite among the modern hip-hop scene, Kweli is most famous for being one half of Black Star, the cutting-edge duo that also launched the career of rapper-actor Mos Def. Kweli has also released several solo albums (most recently The Beautiful Struggle), produced many other artists' albums, and toured with Kanye West, Jay-Z, and the Beastie Boys.

Kweli will voice Trane, described by Atari as "an outcast and rebel determined to establish his credibility in the politically oppressive city of New Radius, but who ultimately becomes the unlikely leader of an urban revolution." Trane will help stir the masses by painting graffiti murals in dangerous and public locales in what "promises to be an homage to graffiti's rich culture." According to Atari, graffiti artist-turned-fashion mogul Marc Ecko has worked seven years developing Getting Up's story and characters. GameSpot recently spoke with Ecko about the game, so read our interview with him to learn more.

While the casting of Talib Kweli was music to hip-hop fans' ears, not all the news from Atari was good. The publisher also revealed that Getting Up, which is being developed by the Collective, will not be released until September. This ended speculation that the game would also be released for the Xbox, clarifying to GameSpot that it is a PlayStation 2 exclusive.