“Yeah? Well, fuck this gig, man. I'm putting together a listening party for my album, but first I need a sound system...”
—OG Loc to Carl Johnson.
Life's a Beach is a mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas given to protagonist Carl Johnson by Grove Street Families affiliate and aspiring rapper Jeffrey "OG Loc" Cross from the Burger Shot he works at in the Marina, Los Santos, San Andreas.
This mission can only be triggered between 22:00 and 6:00.
Mission[]
Carl recently helped OG Loc by taking out a Vagos gang member who sexually abused him in prison. Now working a menial cleaning job at Burger Shot, OG Loc is planning a house party to gain recognition, but requires a sound system to amplify his tunes. A beach party is occurring at the nearby Santa Maria Beach, and it so happens that they have a sound system in the back of a Pony van.
Carl goes to the party, talks with the DJ, and attempts to gain access to the sound system. He is challenged to a dance battle, scoring a minimum of 2500 points to pass. Once Carl has successfully passed the challenge, the DJ invites Carl into her van, which she refers to as her "office". Given the opportunity, Carl steals the van, throwing the DJ out and prompting two party-goers to pursue the van in their cars. In the ensuing chaos, Carl manages to take the van to a garage in Commerce, completing the mission.
Mission Objectives[]
In order to complete the mission the player must:
- Go to the beach party.
- When you get to the beach party, go and talk to the DJ.
- Get a score of 2500 or greater to gain access to the sound van.
- Steal the sound van.
- Get the van back to the garage.
Rewards[]
The reward for completing this mission is an increase in respect. The mission Madd Dogg's Rhymes is unlocked.
Although it is stated in walkthroughs for the game that the Dancing Minigame inside nightclubs is unlocked after completing this mission, it is in fact unlocked from the beginning of the game if Carl enters the Alhambra club.
Transcript[]
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Walkthrough[]
CJ comes over to see OG Loc at his new workplace - the Burger Shot in Marina. He greets Loc with friendly banter.
Loc responds with more banter and asks CJ if he hasn't run off back to Liberty City yet.
CJ says that he hasn't and that he won't.
Loc is happy to hear this and the two shake hands.
Loc tells CJ that he's planning a house party for his new album.
Loc also says that there's a slight problem regarding his plans: he's missing a sound system.
CJ says that he's okay with getting Loc the sound system, as long as he's not invited to the party.
Loc asks CJ what he meant.
Loc says that CJ will be sorry he didn't want to come once he hears how good Loc raps.
CJ says that he's not into rap anymore after becoming a real gangster.
CJ says that he's only interested in rappers that are actual gangsters anymore.
Loc says that he's perfect for CJ if that's the case.
CJ doesn't relent and still tries to tell Loc he's not interested without being upfront with him.
CJ changes the subject and asks Loc what exactly he wants CJ to acquire.
Loc compliments CJ's willingness to help him out.
Loc says that he spotted someone with a great sound system going through the drive-thru at the Burger Shot.
Loc tells CJ that he thinks that the people he saw were heading to a party at the Santa Maria Beach.
Loc says that he'll go with CJ and show him a couple of his rhymes on the way.
Loc breaks down in a rap.
CJ quickly shuts him up.
CJ says that he'll go and steal the sound system on his own.
CJ tells Loc that he believes in him.
CJ says goodbye to Loc.
CJ must now go to the beach party and steal the sound system for Loc.
CJ heading to the party at the Santa Maria Beach.
As CJ arrives at the beach party he decides that he should talk to the DJ.
CJ arriving at the party.
CJ approaching the DJ.
The DJ greets CJ.
CJ and the DJ begin chatting.
The DJ invites CJ for a dance.
CJ accepts the invite.
CJ must now make a good impression to gain access to the sound van and for a private talk with the DJ.
CJ dancing with the DJ at the beach party.
After they're done dancing, the DJ compliments CJ and invites him into the sound van for a private talk.
CJ, once again, accepts the invite.
The DJ invites CJ in.
CJ must now steal the sound van along with the equipment that Loc needs.
CJ getting into the van.
As CJ begins driving away with the equipment, the party goers get angry and start shooting at him.
CJ making his way to the lockup in Commerce.
CJ arriving at the lockup in Commerce.
CJ parking the sound van in the lockup.
Mission passed.
Video Walkthroughs[]
Trivia[]
- The mission's name is a reference to the saying "life's a bitch".
- The name of this mission also appears on signs advertising Little Haiti in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, where the "EA" in "BEACH" has been written over with "IT" by a vandal, making it read "LIFE'S A BITCH".
- The song playing during the introduction cutscene is later used for a porn movie played at The Voyeur Cinema in Manhunt 2, during the episode Safe House.
- The song playing during Carl's dance is "Hollywood Swinging" by Kool & the Gang, which can also be heard on Bounce FM.
- The song "Pretend We're Dead" by L7 always plays at the party when not doing the dance activity. This song can also be heard on Radio X.
- Deleted dialogue reveals that the garage used to store the sound van is owned by LB. Unused dialogue from the party-goers, along with leaked mission sources, also reveals that this mission was originally set at Playa del Seville, with Seville Boulevard Families apparently running the party. [1]
- This is one of the four missions that cannot be completed if the player has used an excessive amount of cheats. The other three are Burning Desire, Photo Opportunity, and Madd Dogg.
- Most of the dancers are carrying MP5s. If the player fails the mission or kills them after the DJ bails out of the sounds van, the dancers will drop their weapons once they are killed.
- There is a cheat code with the same name of the mission.
- In the original PS2 version of the game, the player needed 4000 points to gain access to the van. In later versions, the target is reduced to 2500 points.[2]
- It is possible to skip the dancing minigame, which makes the mission easier: The player can recruit a Grove Street member (some can be found at Santa Maria Beach) and try to enter the van. When the member gets in the van they can shoot him from distance, which will open the door. They player can then steal the van and continue the mission as normal.
- A part of this mission can be seen in a video clip about the beach party from the game's official website. However, the video shows the appearance of Quads, which are not present in the actual mission process. It is possible they once existed in the beta version, but ended up being replaced for unknown reasons.
- The same video also shows that the song that played at the party was originally "Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba" by Harlem Underground Band, which can be heard on Master Sounds 98.3.
- If the player chooses to quit dancing after reaching the target score, it will also result in a mission failure.
