Soulja Boy releases questionable technology brand.

By Sarah Fischer

American rapper Soulja Boy has recently debuted his new website, featuring a multitude of electronics including the SouljaWatch, SouljaPhone, SouljaPods and SouljaHeadphones

At some point in nearly every artist’s career, there is a decline in popularity, and the artist must do whatever they can to remain relevant to their audience.

In order to retain relevance in the industry, many celebrities and music artists create their own brands of clothing or electronics. For example, American rapper Dr. Dre created the Beats headphones in 2006, which immediately became popular among fans, and Jay Z and Kanye West are well-known for their clothing brands Rocawear and Yeezy. Not many artists, however, decide to release their own gaming consoles.

The problem with this line, however, is none of the electronics featured on the website appear to have been constructed by Soulja Boy apart from the SouljaWatch. This is the only device the website claims is created by the rapper, and it has an uncanny resemblance to the Apple Watch.

The rest of the products also distinctly match recognizable devices, such as an HT70 Android phone called the “SouljaPhone,” an Anbernic gaming console called “SouljaGame” and “SouljaPods,” which resemble a slight knock-off version of Apple AirPods.

Many of the items can be found on Amazon, where some are even priced cheaper than the devices on Soulja Boy’s website. Some of these products, such as the Anbernic handheld game console, have a multitude of negative reviews on Amazon, referencing the low function and quality of the product. SouljaWatch.com does not provide customer reviews and when visiting the site, the items are frequently listed as “sold out.”

The idea to create an electronics brand or, more fairly, pasting his brand onto popular electronics already on the market has seemingly come out of nowhere from the rapper. Soulja Boy said his idea of entering the video game industry began when he created two video games called “Beef With Soulja,” released in 2016, and “Fighting Soulja—Draco Edition,” released in 2017, in a Dec. 7 interview with Rolling Stone.

Both games were made for iPhone, iPad and Android devices and were rated 4 out of 5 stars by users in the mobile store. In the Rolling Stone Interview, Soulja Boy said the success of the games led to the idea to create his own gaming console.

Soulja Boy’s endeavors have indeed received backlash from Reddit users, YouTubers and other fans, and it’s been rumored Nintendo has contacted him about potential copyright issues surrounding his SouljaGame console, which is an emulator that allows users to play classic Nintendo and PlayStation games, but nothing has been confirmed by the artist.

Overall, there may be very little potential in Soulja Boy’s recent endeavors, however good his intentions are. Game development in the industry is complex, and he seems to be under the impression that it will be an easy venture.

Soulja Boy’s new product line can be found at SouljaWatch.com.