HBO hires rappers to help promote 'Game of Thrones' to new audiences

NEW YORK, March 5 (UPI) -- To help promote medieval fantasy show Game of Thrones to broader audiences, HBO has hired hip-hop and Latin music artists to create songs that will appeal to people who might not otherwise check out the program.

The end result will be a mixtape called Watch the Throne featuring 10 different songs from artists like Common, Big Boi, Daddy Yankee and Bodega Bamz, set to be released online on Friday.

"Twenty years ago, Wu-Tang was breaking ground," Common said. "Nowadays, people are open to anything. There are no limitations in hip-hop culture."

Another artist who will be featured, Wale, stepped into the booth to record these lyrics showcasing the series, which is based on a series fantasy novels written by George R.R. Martin.

I'm tellin' whoever messin' with me I can bring you that Khaleesi heat Use my King, knack for words, as an actual sword I can decapitate a rapper…

"Our multicultural audiences are a very important part of our subscribers, and we don't want to take them for granted," Lucinda Martinez, HBO's senior vice president for multicultural marketing, told the Wall Street Journal.

Producers at New York's Launch Point Records used samples of dialogue and music from the show to help create hip-hop beats for the artists to rap over.

[The Wall Street Journal]