Today, we’re excited to officially announce that we’re bringing licensed music into NBA THE RUN as part of the September 29th update. 

Music and hoops have an inseparable connection, that’s just facts. We’ve known for a long time that we’d feature licensed music in the game, but we wanted to do this in a way that’s more meaningful than just a random playlist of songs. We had to do this the right way, and that takes time. 

On September 29th, we’ll be launching “RUN Anthems”, with our first collection launching alongside the Wave One – 2000s Legends update. This is a carefully curated list of 11 tracks featuring artists from locations where we have courts in the game – New York, Philly, Chicago & Los Angeles. Our aim was to create a playlist that felt authentic to the 2000’s, our courts and most importantly authentic to the culture – here are The RUN Anthems: 

• “Don’t Say Nuthin’ “ – The Roots (Philadelphia)
• “Passin’ Me By” – Pharcyde (Los Angeles) 
• “Award Tour” – A Tribe Called Quest (New York)
• “Luchini AKA This is It” – Camp Lo (New York) 
• “Quality Control” – Jurassic 5 (Los Angeles) 
• “Off the Books” – The Beatnuts ft. Big Pun, Cuban Link (New York) 
• “On Ill” – E.C.Illa (Chicago) 
• “Roc the Mic” – Beanie Sigel ft. Freeway (Philadelphia) 
• “Back Again” – Dilated Peoples (Los Angeles) 
• “What We Do” – Freeway ft. JAŸ-Z, Beanie Sigel (Philadelphia) 
• “Brand New” – Rhymefest ft. Kanye West (Chicago) 

Which anthem above describes you the most?

The RUN Anthems had to feel authentic, had to have some grit and it had to celebrate the music of that time. That means we didn’t just chase the biggest commercial artists of the 2000’s (that would have been the easy path to take).

Instead, we went to the crates – literally. We dug through hundreds of artists and songs from the cities and we worked as a team to get the list down to what it is in-game. We even vetted this entire playlist with the man himself – Bobbito Garcia. If you don’t know, Bob created one of the most legendary underground hip-hop radio shows ever called “The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show” and he remains a huge fan of music to this day.  

If you dig the Original Music produced by our in-house audio guru Matthew Okun (which we still do!), you’ll have options in the Settings to play – Licensed, Original or a Blend of the 2. You can set up your games however you choose.

When you boot up on the 29th, turn it up! There’s more than just a playlist of songs – there’s a whole new vibe to the game. We had to make The RUN Anthems… Legendary. 

Let’s RUN!