After a few days, Pokémon Go is still sweeping the nation and helping young people uncover dead bodies, but rapper El-P (half of Run The Jewels) simply doesn’t get it. As you probably know, the game involves using your phone’s camera and GPS to walk around the real world and catch virtual pocket monsters, meaning it involves a lot of walking while looking down at a screen. Based on that concept, El-P tweeted a series of jokes this weekend about how it’s just a matter of time before someone playing Pokémon Go gets hit by a car:
then again i dont actually care. but i will laugh the second one of you gets hit by a car. or softly chuckle to myself. sadly. soft but sad.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
real shit someone is going to get accidentally maimed or killed off this pokemon shit.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
El-P then received so much backlash from Pokémon fans that he was actually taken aback, which suggests that this is the first time he’s ever encountered Nintendo fans on Twitter:
ive gotten more negative feedback from the pokemon community than i have from trump supporters. im actually impressed.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
He then tried to patch things up, but his position seemed to be mildly tongue-in-cheek for some reason:
ok i’ve thought about it and here is my improved, moderate stance: i want you to be happy, but i do not share this particular enthusiasm.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
i will be reaching out to leaders of the pokemon community. listening. understanding. improving myself and my capacity for empathy.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
After that, the truth came out and El-P revealed that his account had been “hacked,” and that all of the anti-Pokémon opinions actually belonged to some dastardly ne’er-do-well who wanted to destroy his reputation. Obviously, El-P loves Pokémon, so he decided to set the record straight:
hey guys sorry about those last tweets i was hacked. now im not hacked and its me and you love me. so… all good now.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
man what a day. savage and heartless bastard hacked my account and shit on the one thing that really binds us. just glad its over.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
hey guys just wanted to spontaniously show my support for pokemon. its fun and cute and fun. so. yeah that was just random.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
feel sorry or anyone whos heart has hardeneded so much that they cant even enjoy pokemon. pardon me, scrooge.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016
Finally, he posted a hot new track called “Pokémon Rapping,” which is the kind of thing that only a true Poké-fan would do:
Clearly, El-P is a huge Pokémon fan, so everybody should probably just stop yelling at him. Plus, he’s going to give a prize to whoever makes the best remix of “Pokémon Rapping,” so clearly he loves Pokémon and the Pokémon community.
best poke-man remix get a free t shirt and hoodie https://t.co/k4W3wMhJcu
— el-p (@therealelp) July 9, 2016