Rapper Soulja Boy Teases Fortnite Dance Emote Inspired by His Iconic Song
Rapper Soulja Boy recently took to Twitter to announce that an iconic dance emote in Fortnite: Battle Royale, inspired by his hit song “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” may be added to the game soon. The viral dance moves from Soulja Boy’s song gained popularity when it was released in 2007 and sold three million copies digitally in the United States. Soulja Boy, who is also a partnered streamer on Twitch, frequently plays Fortnite along with other games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Sonic Dash.
Chance the Rapper’s Critique of Fortnite’s Use of Dance Moves
The inclusion of dance moves in Fortnite has drawn criticism from artists like Chance the Rapper. He suggested that Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, should credit the influences behind the emotes. Chance the Rapper emphasized that black creatives created and popularized these dances, but never received compensation for their use in the game. He proposed that the money spent on these emotes should be shared with the artists who created them.
The Origin of Dance Emotes in Fortnite
Fortnite features various dance emotes, including the Tidy Emote, which repackages Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” and the “Swipe It” emote, derived from 2 Milly’s “Milly Rock.” Although the dances were released prior to Fortnite, many players associate the moves with the game and are unaware of their original creators. This lack of attribution has been brought to attention by Overwatch League host Malik Forté, who highlighted the true origin of these dances.
Artists Seeking Compensation for Dance Emotes in Fortnite
2 Milly, one of the artists whose dance was included in Fortnite, expressed his belief that he should be compensated for the use of his move in the game. He argues that Epic, which has earned significant profits from the iOS version of Fortnite alone, should share some of those earnings with the creators of the dances.