We set out to test the possibility that thematically priming participants with exposure to a familiar, contemporary introduction VE (with a hip-hop theme) could increase their levels of presence in a culturally unfamiliar, historical VE (a San storytelling VE). Our findings show that the relationship between priming and presence are more complex than previously thought. Specifically, for those participants who were primed with the hip-hop introductory VE, only those who chose hip-hop music as their favorite music genre derived any benefit from the introductory VE in terms of presence scores (measured on the Igroup questionnaire). This implies that thematic priming interacts with personal preference and that introductory VEs of this sort do not necessary improve the presence experience for all users
