Rap and Video Games in the 'Dog Pound'

March 10, 2006 -- -- Video games and hip-hop have taken more than a few black eyes in recent years, some deserved and, depending on your point of view, others maybe not so much.

But if you believe they share a kinship in the image problems both face despite their ubiquity -- Martha Stewart got a rap lesson from P. Diddy on her morning show last year and Julia Roberts has admitted that she plays the smash-hit Xbox game, "Halo" -- then the idea of fusing the two shouldn't surprise you.

"If you're a rapper, everybody knows that when you get your first advance one of the first things you have to get in your tricked-out Escalade, is you need to install your PS2 [Playstation 2] or now the Xbox 360," joked Rolling Stone senior editor Nathan Brackett.

The Hip-Hop Gaming League offers fans a chance to see their favorite hip-hop and pro-sport personalities compete against one another in all-out video game warfare.

With Snoop Dogg -- hip-hop's original dirty dog turned straight-edge dad -- as the front man, and aided by a group of 16 pro athletes and rappers, the HHGL appeals to a niche some may be surprised even exists: hip-hop-loving video gamers.

"I think it's really good for the image [of gaming]," said Reyes. "It shows that it's not just geeks and freaks and little kids playing games, it's really entered the national conscience -- at least in the U.S."

As proof that not all video gamers live in their parents' basements and eat Twinkie crumbs off their "Punisher" T-shirts, the HHGL is bringing together what may seem like oil and water to an outsider, but is a natural fit from the inside looking out.

"We wanted to create something for the mainstream and it doesn't get any more mainstream than video gaming," said Ted Owen, chairman and co-founder of the Global Gaming League, creators of HHGL. "From my perspective, this is the holy grail because we get to combine video gaming with music, video through the Internet, and combine that with ... significant star power."

The GGL is a professional video game league that also includes gaming "channels" online where fans of any particular niche can satiate their appetite for gaming as spectators. They will not be able to compete in the HHGL.

Fans will be able to find bios on the league's players and video of their matches and trash talking for free.

They'll only have to endure the typical advertisements and commercials Web users have become accustomed to when accessing entertainment content online.