Soundtrack
Over 100 individual songs based on master recordings were licensed by Activision, composed into 93 DJ mixes by both participating internationally known DJs and an in-house remix team. Unusually, the audio team also acted as the design team, playtesting all mixes and creating gameplay in tandem with producing the mixes. All mixes were produced using Ableton Live, with most of the scratch routines being performed by former DMC World DJ Champion DJ Blakey. All mixes used in the soundtrack were unique at the time of the game's release. Celebrity mix artists include DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip, DJ AM, and Daft Punk in addition to other mix artists listed below, although Daft Punk did not create their levels - they were all created by the in-house remix team. Initial industry speculation stated that DJ Tiësto would be involved with the game, but this was eventually denied. Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys was reported to have signed an exclusivity deal with 7 Studios to appear in their game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, meaning that he would also not appear on DJ Hero.
The individual songs themselves were pulled from a large number of music genres, including Pop, Grunge, Soul, R&B, Techno, Hip Hop, House, Drum & Bass. Most mashup concepts were conceived by the in-house remix team. In addition to mixes using individual songs from both Eminem and Jay-Z, including Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". Eminem also stated that he will have additional songs included later in the year as downloadable content for the game, such as the "Jay-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack" released in March 2010, featuring three mash up-style songs combining the works of both artists. Universal Music Group is providing much of the content for the game.
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