In case you missed it, Drake and Travis Scott's historical foray into Fortnite livestreaming ultimately went on to break Twitch records. Yet Drizzy's digital escapades were but one chapter in a long marriage of hip-hop and gaming. Plenty of prolific and legendary rappers have proven adept in the digital era, and you'd be surprised at how competitive they can get. Perhaps the two worlds are closer than we might think.
While it's unclear whether or not Drake will continue down this geek-friendly path, here are ten of the rappers who already have earned their stripes as bonafide gamers. Some of them might even surprise you.
Schoolboy Q
Despite his rugged exterior and equally formidable lyrics, ScHoolboy Q is one of hip-hop's proven gamers. He has previously professed his love for some throwback Nintendo 64 classics like GoldenEye, Mortal Kombat & Mario Kart. Speaking with Montreality, Q dubbed himself a gamer, admitting his status as a Call Of Duty fiend. "I play that every day. As soon as I land home, I'ma turn my game on."
In an 2016 Power 106 interview (around 14 minute mark), ScHoolboy was really feeling himself, boasting about his COD prowess, but only against real life opposition. "Zombies is for scrubs," claims Q. "I live breathe this shooting game shit. N***s who play the shooting game shit don't fuck with zombies."
Logic
This man right here may very well be hip-hop's quintessential gamer. Not only has Logic launched his own gaming channel, where he has reviewed several Naughty Dog classics like Uncharted 4 and the Last Of Us, but he also incorporated Mario Kart into his live show. The rapper is clearly passionate about the art of gaming, and seems to connect with the culture on a deeper level.
During an appearance on Hot Ones, Logic boldly dubbed himself an elite hip-hop gamer, calling out fellow contender Vince Staples to "come see him at PlayStation." Needless to say, Logic's prowess is not to be taken lightly.
Post Malone
Post Malone's Call Of Duty Twitch reveals everything you need to know about his gaming style. After effectively busting out a solitary team kill, the Psycho singer hilariously screams out "I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU ALL." Only those that dare cross him can understand the extent of his wrath. It's clear that Posty is a capable gamer in his own right, and his Twitch streams successfully brought in tens of thousands of viewers. In case you still thought he might be lacking, Post actually sat down with PC Gamer, where he broke down his ideal gaming computer. There's levels to this shit.
Lil Yachty
Is it really a surprise that the self styled "king of the youth" would be an avid gamer? Yachty has been known to hit up Twitch with some good old fashioned livestreams, playing games like Call Of Duty, Fortnite, and more. His commentary is always entertaining; even when he rages, he somehow manages to sound positive.
Is there anything Uncle Snoop can't do? Aside from being a prolific artist, entrepreneur, and overall legend, Snoop has also developed a knack for online gaming. Not only is he a perfectly capable Madden player, but he's also taken to Twitch for some entertaining streams of SOS. Admittedly, he didn't actually play during the SOS stream, but the fact that he appeared at all is a testament to his dedication. Still, his Madden prowess is well documented; apparently, he even made DC Youngfly rage quit mid-game.
T-Pain
T-Pain once told Rolling Stone that gaming in the studio helped him write songs. In that same interview, he revealed that his wife was actually studying video game development. He once spoke about his average day, which featured an obscene amount of game-time. T-Pain explained to Vice that "on a normal day I can easily set in a solid sixteen hours." During the same conversation, he opened up about his love for Lets Plays and livestreams.
It's no wonder he eventually took up the practice himself; Pain has definitely earned some serious points for his Overwatch livestreams, in which he tries out Reaper, Soldier 76 & more.
Vince Staples
One can only imagine the level of shit-talking that would go down if Vince Staples was beating you at video games. The Big Fish Theory rapper has been understood to be a formidable opponent; if you have Logic personally calling you out for a challenge, you know he must be serious. Vince previously spoke about his history with gaming, which kicked off with Mortal Kombat, Crash Bandicoot, and Mario.
He proceeds to boast about his formidable NBA 2K prowess, warning opponents to rage quit at their own peril. "Nah, you can’t quit me. You will never live it down. You have to sit there and get that ass-whooping." He also dubs Logic the "biggest geek in rap," and comes through with a friendly Ether. "Don’t ever tell him you play Counter-Strike. He’ll go buy a computer and say “okay, let’s play right now.”
Check Vince talk about gaming during Hot Ones below, around the 3:30 mark. "I'm playing grown man games. If you can't win a championship or kill nobody in the game, it's not for me bro."
The Game
Not only does The Game boast a stellar discography, but the West Coast legend is apparently a pretty intense Madden player. Years ago, The Game was apparently ranked the #6 best Madden NFL 09 in the world, with a record of 174 wins and 31 losses. Even as recently as 2017, Game was still putting the hurt on the Madden community, going so far as to best one of the UK's top one hundred players. Judging from the way Game was relentlessly clowning the dude, it seems as it the session was child's play.
Waka Flocka
Waka Flocka may be frequently warring with some of hip-hop's younger generation. In reality, he probably has more in common with them than he might think. The Flockaveli rapper has been known for his gaming prowess, and back in 2015, he hit up Activision's E3 booth to play some Call Of Duty Black Ops. Flocka has also stepped into the livestream game on occasion, and can be seen playing some Grand Theft Auto Onlin below.
Lupe Fiasco's storied love of fighting transcends real life; the martial artist has even mastered the art of digital combat. Unlike many of his peers who excel at sports games or COD, Lupe has dedicated his time and efforts to elevating his Street Fighter prowess. In fact, Lupe actually beat one of the world's best Street Fighter players, in a match that many purists felt was staged. Perhaps Lupe was simply that good. Either way, it's cool to see his appreciation for the fine art of fisticuffs carry over into the digital realm. The mere fact that he even got the opportunity to go head to head with a champion is a testament to his ability.