What Is DeAndre “SouljaBoy” Cortez Up to These Days?
It might not be a question many are asking in the Year of Our Lord 2025, but if they were, the answer would probably surprise them. According to his latest post on Instagram, DeAndre “SouljaBoy” Cortez—the rapper behind the 2007 hit “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”—is once again trying to hawk someone else’s retro handheld consoles under his own made-up brand.
SouljaGame Flip appears to be nothing more than a rebranded Retroid Pocket Flip 2, except it costs more than double—$435 versus $210—and will be shipped from an unknown warehouse. “Not a single gamer buying this. Especially at that price,” one Instagram user earnestly responded. Another added, “Play some games on it. Where’s the gameplay? Is it an emulator??? Rather get a Steam Deck for less that does more.”
This Instagram post promoting what some are calling scalper performance art was spotted by Retro Dodo, who reached out to the company that manufactures the Retroid devices. A company representative told the site, “I didn’t know about this. This is not any kind of official licensing deal. He does not have permission to rebrand our products and sell them as his own. The Retroid Pocket Flip 2 is patented in the U.S. by ourselves.”
This isn’t the first time Soulja Boy has pulled a stunt like this. Back in 2018, he started flipping Chinese-made retro emulation devices, some of which came preloaded with ROMs for Nintendo games—something Nintendo, known for its litigious nature, did not take lightly. After being threatened, Soulja Boy posted on X, “I had to boss up, I didn’t have a choice.”
Yet, that hasn’t stopped him from returning every few years with a new fake Soulja Boy handheld. In 2022, he was promoting another stolen Game Boy knockoff. Since then, the retro handheld market has only grown, making this venture potentially more lucrative than ever—but also more likely to attract criticism.
One Instagram user commented, “[Soulja Boy] has been rebranding consoles before Xbox did with the ROG Ally X.”
Whether this latest move will gain traction or fade away like previous attempts remains to be seen, but the pattern is clear: Soulja Boy continues to dip into the retro gaming market with rebranded devices, walking a fine line between entrepreneurship and controversy.
https://kotaku.com/souljaboy-is-selling-someone-elses-retro-handhelds-for-as-much-as-a-switch-2-he-does-not-have-permission-2000640828
