For over 25 years, Need For Speed has been the premier video game series for those who want to mash the gas, push their car to the limits, and get home at the end of the day without getting caught by the cops. No bananas, just pure adrenaline. Over 150 million copies of Need For Speed have been sold since the original hit the shelves in 1994, making it one of the best selling video game franchises of all time. Because of the massive success of the beloved series, Need For Speed has also spawned spin-offs at the movie theater and in toy stores.

Need For Speed has captivated players across the world with its immersive worlds and thrilling races, but just like driving in the real world, it’s about more than the car. One could argue that the most important aspect of Need For Speed has nothing to do with horsepower or twin turbos or exhaust manifolds at all. The most vital piece of the driving experience, whether in the real world or the virtual driver seat, is the playlist we put on before we even think about shifting into first gear.

Music is what makes driving an escape, tuning out the rest of the world with thumping bass to complement your roaring engine. Nobody has ever ripped it down the PCH with the top down blasting NPR. Music makes the driving experience complete and Need For Speed gets that.

While celebrated video game composers like Jeff van Dyck, Rom Di Prisco, and the late Saki Kaskas handled the music for the first few iterations of Need For Speed, the franchise’s sixth installment, 2002’s Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, marked a new era for the series with the introduction of a licensed music soundtrack.

I’ll never forget playing Hot Pursuit 2 with my little brother on our PS2, taking turns whipping around the Murciélago or the Carrera GT with Bush’s “The People That We Love” drowning out the faintest hint of a police siren behind us in the distance.

Then, everything changed with Need For Speed: Underground. No longer were we racing through the quiet mountain roads but rather the busy metropolitan streets. We traded in our exotic Italian sports cars for Japanese tuners like Skylines and Integras, plus a massive new playlist. Firing up the game was an experience from the second you hit the main menu, with the smash hit “Low” by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz serving as the theme song and other heavy hitters like Nate Dogg, Rob Zombie, and T.I. rounding out a stellar soundtrack.

The legacy of Need For Speed has only grown since, as have the soundtracks. Carefully curated to provide the most visceral driving experience available in the video game world, these collections of music have made the franchise a force to be reckoned with. They merge certified hits and up-and-comers we learn to love to soundtrack the drive of our lives. The game franchise even has its own Spotify account where you can find the soundtrack for each game in its own playlist, ready to bring your Need For Speed experience to the real streets — safely, of course!

When The Hundreds began work on our collaboration with Need For Speed, music was a top priority. Thankfully, Need For Speed let us select a couple of songs for the game’s soundtrack, truly making The Hundreds version of the game a complete experience. We wanted to use this platform to shine a light on some of our talented friends, plus match the vibe we got by playing Need For Speed: No Limits. First, we knew we wanted to include a song from the late Nipsey Hussle, a Los Angeles icon and a great friend of the brand. Nip’s 2018 single “Last Time That I Checc’d” was a perfect choice, as it’s an elite level song to drive to and a standout from his final album, the Platinum Placc’d Victory Lap. The video even finds Nip and collaborator YG riding around in Lamborghinis like it’s Hot Pursuit 2.

Next, we wanted to pay tribute to our brand’s strong roots in the punk and hardcore scene, so it only made sense to work with LA hardcore and streetwear legends Trash Talk. We chose the Kenny Beats-produced song “Something Wicked” from their latest EP, Squalor.

Both of the songs we picked, as well as the rest of the Need For Speed: No Limits soundtrack, which features Snoop Dogg, 12th Planet, Travis Barker, Jane’s Addiction, and more, provide the perfect driving experience as you and Bobby Hundreds race around the city completing challenges and unlocking exclusives like the Jags and Adam Bomb wraps for your Delorean DMC-12.

If you haven’t downloaded the brand new The Hundreds edition of Need For Speed: No Limits yet, check out the trailer below, featuring an exclusive song by Blondie Beach artist (and The Hundreds Greatest Hits host) FREEJBOOSIE called “Move It,” due to release in early 2021.