Hip-hop may not be the official soundtrack of the NBA, but video gamers shouldn't be blamed for thinking otherwise.

Electronic Arts announced on Monday that "NBA Live 06" will feature a soundtrack that's wall-to-wall hip-hop, featuring 16 tracks, including licensed songs from the Black Eyed Peas and Stat Quo, sneak peeks from Jurassic 5 and Q-Tip (with Busta Rhymes), and exclusives from Chamillionaire, N.O.R.E., Bishop Lamont and Spider Loc. In-game beats will be provided by Da Riffs.

While some hip-hop sports series have branched out into other musical genres (see [article id="1509345"]"Paul Wall, Louis XIV, Bloc Party On 'SSX' Game Soundtrack"[/article]), basketball games have remained stridently hip-hop for years. Take-Two Interactive's "NBA 2K6," for example, includes 14 exclusive tracks, all originally recorded for the game, from the likes of Common, the Roots and Little Brother. (The rival games don't just have dueling soundtracks; they each sport cover athletes from the same team: "NBA Live" has the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade; "NBA 2K6" has Shaq.)

EA is also planning to release the game's exclusive tracks as part of a special iTunes mix, timed for release when the game hits store shelves for all major consoles in the final week of September.

"NBA Live 06" track list, according to Electronic Arts:

• Afu-Ra - "God of Rap"
• Bishop Lamont featuring Chevy Jones - "We Got Next"
• Black Eyed Peas - "My Style"
• Chali 2na featuring Anthony Hamilton - "Don't Stop"
• Chamillionaire - "Grind Time"
• Fort Minor - "Remember the Name"
• Jae Millz - "Streetz Melting"
• Jurassic 5 - "In the House"
• Lupe Fiasco - "Tilted"
• M.I.A. - "Bucky Done"
• N.O.R.E. featuring Gem Star and Big Mato - "Deportes EA"
• Q-Tip featuring Busta Rhymes - "For the Nasty"
• Spider Loc - "Elementary"
• Stat Quo - "Like Dat"
• Tego Calderón - "Mil Cosas"
• The Perceptionists - "Let's Move"