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25-Apr-08
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Soulja Boy
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Soulja Boy Tell'em
Background information
Birth name DeAndre Cortez Way[1]
Also known as Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, S. Beezy
Born July 28, 1990 (1990-07-28) (age 17)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Origin Batesville, Mississippi,
United States
Genre(s) Pop Rap, Dance-pop, Snap
Occupation(s) Rapper
Years active 2003–present
Label(s) Stacks on Deck Ent., Collipark Records, HHH, Interscope
Associated acts Arab, Jibbs, Hurricane Chris, Bow Wow, Omarion, Mr. Collipark
Website http://www.souljaboytellem.com
Notable instrument(s)
FL Studio
DeAndre Cortez Way[1] (born July 28, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper. In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the Internet, and it became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007. Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 Initial reception
2.2 References in popular culture
3 Discography
3.1 Albums
3.2 Singles
4 Guest appearances
5 References
6 External links
Early life
At age seven, Way moved from Chicago, Illinois to Atlanta, Georgia[2][3], where he became interested in rap music.[4] At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions. [2][3]
Career
In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the video-based social community YouTube. Following positive reviews on the site, Soulja Boy then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace.[5][6] In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned and Still Major, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Soulja Boy" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first air play and Soulja Boy met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.
On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts.[7] Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio[8][4], was released in the United States on October 2[9], peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[10] On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (aka Souljah Boy of the Home Dogs) who claims he first created the stage name 'Souljah Boy'. [11] For the 50th Grammy Awards, Soulja Boy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". He lost to Kanye West's & T-Pain's "Good Life."
Initial reception
The album Souljaboytellem.com was met with mostly negative reviews,[1][2][3][4]despite a positive one from All Music Guide[9][12] Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one hit wonder.[13][14][15][16]
Critics and hip-hop figures such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Jermaine Dupri cite Soulja Boy as artistically typical of contemporary rap trends such as writing for the lucrative ringtone market, and the ascendence of "Southern hip hop", emphasizing catchy, mindless music that discards rap's traditional emphasis on message.[17][18][14] Soulja Boy identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop.[18][17] Despite this, his music has been banned from some school dances for sexual, pro-violence content or innuendo. In the original YouTube video for Shootout, Way demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.[19]
References in popular culture
Soulja Boy recently became an item in the first round NBA playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards. In a bout of trash talking before the start of the series, Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson called Cleveland superstar LeBron James "overrated," prompting James to say that he wouldn't return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy."[20] Soulja Boy made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards; his music was played over the PA system[21], perhaps in mockery of LeBron's comment. Despite his team losing the game by more than 30 points and LeBron posting poor numbers (compared to his exceptionally high averages), LeBron claims that the trick had no effect on him, and that his young son is a big fan of Soulja Boy's.
Discography
Albums
Unsigned and Still Major
Released: February 19, 2007 Souljaboytellem.com
Released: October 2, 2007
Chart position: #4 U.S.
US Sales: 866,834[22]
RIAA Certification: Platinum Singles
Year Title Chart positions [23][24] Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap U.S. Pop AUS CAN IRL NZ UK UWC
2006 "Bapes" (featuring Arab) - - - - - - - - - - Unsigned and Still Major
2007 "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" 1 3 1 2 3 5 3 2 2 7 Souljaboytellem.com
"Soulja Girl" (featuring i15) 32 13 6 45 - 75 - 10 - -
2008 "Yahhh!" (featuring Arab) 48 34 17 48 72 72 18 3 49 -
"Let Me Get 'Em" - 115 - - - - - - - -
"Donk" - 106 - - - - - - - -
Guest appearances
"Clumsy (ColliPark Remix)" (Fergie featuring Soulja Boy)
"Girlfriend (Swizz Beatz Remix)" (Bow Wow and Omarion featuring Cassidy and Soulja Boy)
"Get It Poppin" (Tyra B featuring Soulja Boy)
"They Lookin' At My Neck" (Trackstar featuring Soulja Boy)
"Get Silly" (V.I.C. featuring Soulja Boy)
"My Dougie" (Remix) (Lil Wil featuring Soulja Boy)
"Kaveman" (Jibbs featuring Soulja Boy)
References
^ a b Soulja Boy's MySpace page Several sources such as VH1 list DeAndre Ramone Way. See: Harris, Lauren. Top 20 Singles of the Year (11-15) VH1: December 18, 2007
^ a b Cordor, Cyril. Soulja Boy biography at All Music Guide
^ a b Let The Kids Grow by Jack Erwin. XXL Magazine. January 2008. Page 69
^ a b Soulja Boy at SoundClick
^ Soulja Boy @ YouTube
^ Soulja Boy @ MySpace
^ Vibe Magazine. Ayo, Technology by Brent S. Grier. November 2007. Page 50.
^ "Rap City" (September 2007). BET.
^ a b Jeffries, David. "Souljaboytellem.com" Overview. All Music Guide: 2007
^ All Music Chart - Souljaboytellem.com
^ Yahoo! News Blog - Soulja Boy Sued Over Name (December 9, 2007)
^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2007-10-05). Music Review: Souljaboytellem.com. Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. “At least he owns a cool domain name. D”
^ Robinson, Patrick. Soulja Boy - Souljaboytellem.com Review. 411mania.com, LLC. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. “...not a chore to listen to in that sense and Soulja Boy does show some signs of youthful enthusiasm.”
^ a b B-Easy. "Superboy". The nappyafro Staff. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. “I know it’s supposed to be a fun album for the pre-teen/teen kids, but for me personally I need more substance.” Rating: 1/5
^ Griff. Soulja Boy - Souljaboytellem.com. Okayplayer.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. “This one's definitely geared for the kiddies... does an excellent job of catering to current industry trends with ringtone themes ... and dance moves galore ... Despite all the criticism that he’s received from hip-hop purists, it’d be naive to think Soulja Boy hasn’t changed the face of hip-hop”
^ The Review - Review of Souljaboytellem.com
^ a b Huge hits don’t spell success for new rap stars. msnbc.com. Associated Press (2007-10-19). Retrieved on 2007-12-11. “Labels aren’t developing acts and more are writing ringtones, veterans say”
^ a b Nekesa Mumbi Moody (2007-10-18). New rap stars find success fleeting. Yahoo! Music. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. “Seventeen-year-old Soulja Boy says that's what people want to hear these days.”
^ Harrington, Richard. "Soulja Boy Cranks It Up Big-Time", Washington Post, December 21, 2007, p. WE12. "... some school dances and skating rinks have banned the song for sexual slang and innuendo, though naive teens seem to be more interested in the dance and the beat than in the lyrics."
^ http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/12057426597770.xml&coll=2
^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280424027
^ http://ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=52497
^ Soulja Boy - Music Charts aCharts.us
^ Artist Chart History - Soulja Boy Tell Em Billboard.com
External links
Official website
Official SoundClick
Soulja Boy at MySpace
Soulja Boy's YouTube channel
MTV News Raw: Soulja Boy
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