Year: 2003
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Various Artists
Number of tracks: 14

★★★★★

NostalgiaBased Assertions

If you take a look at my homepage in its current state, you will notice two things: Firstly, that the sports games section is somewhat underrepresented. And secondly, that the few exceptions are centered around the year 2004. I've already explained why this is the case in detail in my review of FIFA Football 2004 , so I'll spare us some repetition at this point and instead talk about the score of NBA Live 2004. NBA Live 2004.

It is not only a journey back in time to the pseudo-cool hip-hop basketball world of the early 2000s, but also shows how drastically publisher EA has changed over the years. While the NBA 2K-series today is primarily aimed at maximizing profits and recently made headlines with loot box rip-offs, back then the games were still for fans who wanted to experience ball sports and their overseas idols on their home screens. Well, it probably wouldn't have needed an annual release cycle even back then, but the technical progress could still justify it somehow. Anyway, I didn't want to rant against EA again - back to the soundtrack.

As with FIFA we don't find any 'classic' compositions in NBA Live 2004 . In fact, in contrast to its football court cousin, a little more effort has been made on the artistic side. Although the scope is somewhat smaller in direct comparison, the 14 tracks include well-known artists such as The Black Eyed Peas, OutKast and Sean Paul. They not only deliver hip-hop for that authentic court feeling, but also NBA-fied versions of their hits.

In Right Thurr [NBA Live Mix], for example, Chingy raps child-friendly lines like

‚I like the way they pouch her, when I lay it up,
Like EA-Sports, I’m in the game, i play it tough.

Chingy in Right Thurr [NBA Live Mix]

As a fan, you might find that stupid, but as a non-expert I didn't and still don't care. After all, the lyrics were irrelevant to me anyway, as I didn't understand anything at the time and therefore just bobbed along contentedly while playing. So in a way, this soundtrack is also a glimpse into my childhood, which makes me nostalgic for days spent playing games. The score is fun - at least for me. Anyone longing for gangsta music for the basketball court and looking for something unconventional away from the Spotify playlists will definitely have fun with this.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Hands Up	The Black Eyed Peas	3
02	Titel unbekannt	Chingy	4
03	Game Time	Clipse	3
04	I Got It Poppin' [NBA Live Mix]	Da Brat	5
05	Love and War	Dilated Peoples	2
06	Flipside (feat. Peedi Crakk)	Freeway	2
07	Live Like Me	Jermaine Dupri	4
08	I'm the Greatest Player	Lil' Flip	4
09	Another Victory	Mobb Deep	2
10	Ghetto Musick [NBA Live Mix]	OutKast	3
11	Virus [NBA Live Mix]	Red Cafe	2
12	Top of the Game (feat. Rahzel)[NBA Live Mix]	Sean Paul	2
13	Can't Stop Me (feat. FredWreck)	The Game	3
14	NBA Live 2004	Twista	4