Chance the Rapper wants Epic Games to pay artists for Fortnite dances and emotes

Speaking on Twitter, Chance the Rapper has suggested that Epic Games should be putting actual rap songs behind Fortnite’s dances and emotes. That way, the artists themselves gain money. The 25-year-old Chicagoan burst into mainstream consciousness a couple of years ago winning BET’s Best New Hip-hop Artist award in 2016. Since then, he’s become an ardent fan and supporter of Fortnite.

Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them

— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2018

Asking for the bling in Fortnite

That’s the tweet in question. It currently sits at more than 26,000 re-tweets and 128,000 likes.  The Emmy-nominated artist also preferred that he’d rather watch heroes dance to a real song, rather than the generic celebration and dance music that Fortnite currently has. Chance would also like to buy Hype, Look Alive, and Swipe, giving credit to rapper 2 Milly. Another rapper, Blocboy JB also chimed in saying that artists needed the money, tagging Fortnite’s and Madden’s Twitter accounts in the process.

Even though Epic Games has often had great relations with its fan base, we honestly don’t foresee this happening quite yet. At least not in the form that Chance the Rapper wants it. Even though the developers cater to player base demands now and then, licensing actual music in Fortnite can be a complicated issue. They’d have to go through not just the artists, but their recording labels, and then negotiate a deal. It also needs to be said that if Chance’s wish were given a chance, pun intended, additional expenses might mean having to increase the prices of dances and emotes.

Dance/emote features in other games

One need also look at past games which had their own emotes or dance system. World of Warcraft and Destiny come to mind. They are/were, for a time, juggernauts in the gaming industry in their own right. And yet, these emotes and dances were not bought from their original artists. They are merely there to pay homage to the artists who paved the way. Chance’s suggestion might set a dangerous precedence and provide more questions than answers. Should Blizzard have paid MC Hammer and The Bee Gees for their dance moves in World of Warcraft? Should Bungie have handed out cash to WWE and John Cena for his “You Can’t See Me” taunt being included in Destiny? How about to the creators of Grease or to Michael Jackson’s estate?

We get it, we really do. But this idea could lead to developers getting more expenditures in a dance or emote feature that, quite frankly, never became an issue in previous decades. What do you think about Chance the Rapper’s ideas for Fortnite and Epic Games? Agree or disagree? Let us know.