Could and should Eminem be the next concert special for Fortnite?

Fortnite seems to be planning an Eminem concert for Fortnite.

Fortnite isn’t just known for its insanely fun Battle Royale gameplay. They’re a multi-genre-defining game platform that dabbles in various types of gameplay and entertainment aspects. You can build, race, battle, or even watch episodes of Dragon Ball depending on your tastes.

In Fortnite, there’s an island and event for you. One of their big gimmicks as of late has been their concert series, where they’ve had the likes of Travis Scott and Ariana Grande (among others) do virtual concerts for fans to enjoy.

They’re considering adding another name to that lineup, in the hip hop and rap icon Eminem. The rapper, who rose to fame in the 90s with his Real Slim Shady song, is currently a part of the game with the Icons Radio station playing his music non-stop on 40-odd minute loops.

The current word is that all of this is setting up a concert and eventual costume release of the rapper but should Fortnite be bringing in such a polarizing figure to their game?

Fortnite should avoid the likes of Eminem

Music is subjective and most of Fortnite’s decisions focus on whether or not an artist is popular and will bring them major publicity. That’s fair, but they have got to do a better job with who they bring in. Fortnite has to avoid being dogged down by problematic artists or having to do go to great lengths to distance themselves from these acts after the fact.

When looking at some of the names they brought in so far, like Grande and Scott specifically, they have had some controversial moments in their career, and both musicians don’t exactly make friendly family music. Grande famously was caught on camera destroying food products for her own amusement and Scott, retroactively, has been scrubbed from the game over his part in the Astro World deaths.

Eminem has had even more controversies, specifically his choice of lyrics, and remains a polarizing figure that will bring negative attention to the brand due to his past actions. While by no means the worst possible person they could dig up, he still remains a controversial figure in the music industry, and Fortnite would be wise to focus more on inclusive acts.