With just weeks to go before the long-awaited release of Grand Theft Auto VI, songs from the game are already garnering a lot of attention.
Notably, the Justice-produced soundtrack gave Australian psych-rock stalwarts King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard their first ever Billboard-charting song. ‘Flower in a Hurricane’, their collaboration with Justice, Tame Impala, and SZA, currently sits at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Since the days of GTA III, the game series has always been known for its judicious use of music and for collaborations with artists. In GTA V, which came out in 2013 and took place in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles, Rockstar Games teamed up with artists like Flying Lotus, Tyler, the Creator and Wavves for original music and radio channel curation.
GTA VI, set in a reimagined Miami, is set to feature radio stations hosted by musicians including Lana Del Rey, Bad Bunny and Slayer.
Meanwhile, British singer Cliff Richard is struggling to understand why his 1976 single ‘Devil Woman’ is experiencing a surge in streaming, after it was featured in the 28 minute-long Netflix extended preview last month. According to reports, the song got a 300% increase in streaming across platforms since the release of the preview. Sir Richard, however, is still confused with exactly what GTA is. In an interview with The Times, he said: “The show is a game show, isn’t it, really? One of the biggest on TV? People will no longer just say, ‘Oh, Cliff Richard is from the past.’” Not sure that’s exactly how it will happen, but one can only hope.
Last night, during an episode of South Park on Comedy Central, Rockstar Games shared official gameplay footage, in an episode where the premise is how excited the boys are for the release of GTA VI.
Then, this morning, Justice dropped another track from the 50-song original soundtrack for the game. ‘Pusher’ is a seven minute-long collaboration with their longtime friend and fellow Frenchman Gesaffelstein. A throbbing, bass-heavy groove interjected by orchestral synths and hits bring us right back to the late aughts, when the world was learning to fall in love with a more aggressive brand of French touch.
Grand Theft Auto VI comes out on November 19, on Xbox Series X/S and Playstation 5.
