If You’re a Hip-Hop Super Nerd This New Trivia Card Game is For You
Photo Credit: Penguin Random House
Created by Sean Kantrowitz, interactive card game The Questions Hip-Hop Trivia will release via Penguin Random House in January 2023.
The celebration of #HipHop50 will arrive early with The Questions Hip-Hop Trivia. Created by Grammy-nominated music and film/TV producer and self-proclaimed “hip-hop brainiac” Sean Kantrowitz, players can test their hip-hop knowledge with categories including “Liner Note Life,” “Check the Rhyme,” and “Diggin’ In the Crates.” Hip-hop purists and occasional listeners alike can prove their trivia mastery with questions referencing rap artists, TV shows, pop culture moments and more.
The Questions Hip-Hop began as an in-person trivia night hosted in Los Angeles in 2018. Gaining popularity from national music organizations like Dre Day LA and the J Dilla Foundation, The Questions Hip-Hop collaborated on events and customized games for their respective audiences. Although The Questions Hip-Hop planned to take the trivia game on the road in 2020, organizers were halted by the pandemic, pivoting to a livestream game show that hosted the likes of Questlove, Bun B, Just Blaze, Warren G, Phonte and more across 100+ episodes.
Beyond thrilled to share that I made a physical game version of @Questionshiphop that will be published by Penguin Random House January 24, 2023 – just in time to kick off the year of hip-hop’s 50th birthday. Pre-order yours now!! https://t.co/MX0mUUHOdW pic.twitter.com/Jjkw344H2O
— sean*kan*tro*witz (@seandammit) December 12, 2022
In 2022, the trivia game became a podcast, airing on Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island Audio network. Kantrowitz exclusively spoke to Okayplayer about bringing the trivia game to handheld form.
“It was important to not only add new content for this project, but also use this major opportunity to bring to the traditional publishing world a fresh way of covering the full spectrum of hip-hop — offering book lovers and gamers who love hip-hop unique ways to celebrate,” Kantrowitz said.
Kantrowitz also partnered with designer FWMJ for the game’s packaging and design, along with artists TooFly, Edgar Garcia, and Jamar Cav who helped with other The Questions categories.
“Because this is a visual game in a way that we had never done before, I knew it had to look spectacular. I’ve been a huge fan of FWMJ since the Okayplayer days, where we both came up on those legendary, life-shaping message boards. Having him design the packaging as well as two of the category designs was a dream come true,” Kantrowitz said.
Celebrating the milestone anniversary of fifty years of hip-hop, Kantrowitz is “honored” to contribute to and celebrate the genre’s history.
“This is ultimately a collection of questions designed to serve both the seasoned hip-hop super-nerd as well as people who have a more casual relationship to hip-hop,” Kantrowitz added. “My hope is that after playing The Questions, everybody can walk away with a new piece of knowledge or perspective that they didn’t have before.”
The Questions Hip-Hop Trivia releases on January 24, 2023 via Penguin Random House. Pre-order here.
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