Hip-Hop Week | Just Blaze and the Instrumental Music of NBA Street Vol. 2

Hip-Hop Week continues! Let’s take to the streets where Just Blaze provided a soundtrack to streetball that still bangs today!


NBA Street Vol. 2 is a high watermark for arcade sports games. It found a brilliant balance between accessibility, depth, and swag for days. Though it’s been a while since I played it, one of the things that always stuck with me is its music. Look past the licensed tracks and you’ll find a killer selection of beats by Just Blaze, who was one of the hottest producers at the time, and still one of my faves to this day.

Here’s a pair of tracks that really stand out to me, but you should check out the whole soundtrack when you get a chance!

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A Look Back at NBA Street

With the relatively recent release of NBA Playgrounds, the name NBA Street has been thrown around a lot as a point of comparison. At first, I was hopeful that Saber Interactive would be reviving a style of arcade basketball that is long overdue for a return. Instead, I was disappointed to see that the comparisons were way off base. NBA Playgrounds is much closer in nature to NBA Jam than EA’s brilliant baller. Using NBA Jam as a template is fine, though it makes me long for NBA Street‘s triumphant return.

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