Inven Global

Fortnite owes a lot of it's popularity to the hip-hop community. Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper and most infamously, Drake all share their love of Fortnite openly. Whether it is playing on stream or tweeting about it, it is fair to say that these rappers have significantly helped launched Fortnite into popular culture.

However, today we might have seen the very first sign of dissent among the hip-hop elite:

Can you copyright a dance move? Is this a reasonable thing for Chance the Rapper to expect? Whether it is or not, the implication that Epic Games is stealing from black creatives isn't a good look for a Fortnite's massive popularity.

Hours after the tweet, more rappers voiced their agreement:

Fortnite's Cultural relevance

Epic Games have leaned in all the right directions in order to keep Fortnite's cultural momentum rolling down the hill. Just look at their in-game dances: Fortnite references pretty much anything popular.

From the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King's IT to Marlon Webb's "Best mates" Vine, the games eclectic spread of iconic visual movements have never before been described as hurtful to creatives until Chance the Rappers recent tweets.  It isn't the first time video games have nodded to popular culture and it certainly won't be the last. Both World of Warcraft and Overwatch also include dances from popular culture and it has almost always been viewed as a positive thing.

However Chance The Rapper sees room for improvement. He even calls out specific dance moves and their origins to make his point:

Should the original dancers receive some sort credit or monetary compensation whenever a player purchases a specific dance? Depending on whether this sentiment grows in popularity and more artist begin to vocalize their complaints, Epic Games may be compelled to take some sort of action.