One of the more popular characters in the gaming world, but one who has been kind of absent in the wave of new consoles like the XBox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii, will make his way to the Sony PSP this summer, as Sony has announced the return of PaRappa the Rapper. PaRappa will rap his way on to the PlayStation Portable in July and feature eight new songs that players can rap along to after downloading along with everything fans know and love from the PSOne original.

The PSP version of PaRappa the Rapper will basically just be a remix of the original game except for the eight new tracks and a few new features. All of the songs and characters from the original game will make the journey with PaRappa the Rapper to the PSP. IGN reports that the new version of PaRappa the Rapper will be developed by SCE, alongside Masaya Matsuura and New York artist Rodney Greenblat.

They also report that there will be some new PSP-only features for PaRappa the Rapper. The new portable version of the hip-hop star will include a feature where up to four players can go head-to-head in multi-player rapping battles. There will also be a demo that can be shared wirelessly and new downloadable songs on the PSP version of PaRappa the Rapper.

Gaming Bits quoted Sony’s announcement about the release of PaRappa the Rapper, “Featuring all the characters, levels and songs from the original, PaRappa The Rapper increases the franchise’s social appeal by offering a host of new PSP exclusive features, including the ability for up to four PSP systems to go head-to-head in ad-hoc battles; wirelessly share a demo level through Game Share; and use the PSP Infrastructure Mode to download eight additional playable remixes for players to rap along to.”

PaRappa the Rapper started on the original PlayStation ten years ago. PaRappa the Rapper is an action game with a rapping hero trying to get through a number of hip-hop tracks to win the love of his life, Sunny Funny. John Koller, SCEA senior marketing manager, told IGN, “Bringing PaRappa The Rapper to PSP allows true PlayStation fans to re-connect with this timeless classic. This also introduces the beloved PaRappa and his cast of colorful friends to a new generation of fans and potential hip-hop stars on the move.”

With the current trend of music-based games like Guitar Hero making waves, it was only a matter of time before PaRappa The Rapper returned to the world of gaming. If you’ve been wondering whatever happened to PaRappa the Rapper or jonesing to play an old-fashioned game in a world of new-fashioned toys, just wait until July when he’ll be back on your PSP.