Soulja Boy tweeted that he’s “not scared of Nintendo” before referring to critics as “fa***t nerds,” with the homophobic messages being posted following negative reactions to his controversial consoles. The rapper came under fire due to comparisons between his consoles and those offered by Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation, with there being speculation that the ‘Crank That’ artist could face legal action.
After it was reported that the SouljaGame console was a version of the Chinese Shenzhen Yangliming PRO 4K console sold at a markup, many began criticizing Soulja Boy over the new hardware. In a series of now-deleted tweets, the rapper posted homophobic slurs in response to these criticisms, claiming that people didn’t want to see “a black man get money.”
In further inflammatory messages, Soulja Boy tweeted: “Nintendo ain’t gon do S***,” adding that critics “don’t know how business works lmao nothing is gonna happen.” He also suggested that those making YouTube videos criticizing his consoles should “eat a d***.”
Though he deleted the tweets, they were screengrabbed by other Twitter users and shared across the social network:
https://twitter.com/usernameez2ken/status/1076509143979180032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1076509143979180032&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetro.co.uk%2F2018%2F12%2F22%2Fsoulja-boy-says-not-scared-nintendo-deleted-homophobic-tweets-releases-rival-games-console-8277504%2F
Soulja Boy has now released four consoles, which each share similarities with current-gen and retro consoles. The Retro SouljaBoy Mini clearly emulates the design of Nintendo’s Game Boy, while the SouljaGame Fuze features a design similar to the PS4 and a controller that looks a lot like the Xbox One’s. Meanwhile, his SouljaGame console looks like an Xbox One, while the SouljaGame Handheld resembles the 3DS.
However, the design of the console isn’t the most concerning aspect of the hardware. Each console also comes with built-in emulated games, ranging from NES, SNES, and SEGA classics through to old PlayStation titles. With emulation being a form of piracy, it’s unclear how Soulja Boy plans to avoid legal action from the license-holders of the games he’s distributing on his platforms.
For now, Soulja Boy has been dismissive of criticisms of the consoles, though his now-deleted comments could land him in further hot water. We’ll have to wait to see how this one plays out, and if the potentially affected parties seek to dispute the legal acceptability of the rapper’s new hardware.
Image Credit: Greg Doherty / Getty Images
