Early life
Born DeAndre Ramone Way in Chicago, Illinois on July 28, 1990, Way moved from Chicago to Atlanta, Georgia at age seven, where he became interested in rap music. At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.
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. 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 airplay 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. Way’s major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio, was released in the United States on October 2, peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (aka Souljah Boy of the Mo Thugs) who claims he first created the stage name “Souljah Boy”.
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 and T-Pain’s “Good Life”.
The teen rapper recently inked a deal with Dallas-based company, Yums Shoes, for a line of his own sneakers called the “Block Star” and an apparel line. “The Soulja boy exclusive shoe will be released in the fall along with my album,” he said. “The Soulja Boy cartoon will also be released in the fall, so there’s three things to look out for.” The line will be unveiled at the fall Magic fashion trade show in Las Vegas later this year, and the rapper will appear in both television and print ads for it.
Soulja Boy says he will not use better lyrics and get more respect from the rap game, although he could, because it will ruin his reputation and image.
Initial reception
The album Souljaboytellem.com was met with mostly negative reviews, despite a positive one from Allmusic. Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one hit wonder.
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. And even one article about his songs and heavily criticizing his musical style has dubbed Soulja Boy the “Nickelback of hip hop”. Soulja Boy identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop. Despite this, his music has been banned from some school dances for sexual, pro-violence content or innuendo and, ironically, many of his recent recordings feature violent content and sexual 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.
Feud with Ice-T
In June 2008, on DJ Cisco’s Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T criticized Soulja Boy for “killing hip-hop” and his song “Crank That” for being “garbage” compared to the works of other hip-hop artists as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. Soulja Boy responded in a YouTube video by mocking Ice-T’s age (Ice-T was born in 1958) and claiming that he needed to support his family through his brand of music. Ice-T proceeded to offer a video response to Soulja Boy’s reaction in which he neglected to offer an apology while reiterating his belief that Soula Boy’s music was “garbage”. Rapper Kanye West defended Soulja Boy by arguing that Soulja Boy created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music. Soulja Boy followed suit by buying Ice-T a flaming set of gigantic popcorn machines.
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.” 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. 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.
Crank Dat Dance
Soulja Boy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soulja Boy Off In This Hoe
Watch me Crank And
Watch me Roll
Watch me Crank Dat Soulja Boy
Then Super Man Dat Hoe
Now, Watch me Yua....
(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)
(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)
Now, Watch me Yua....
(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)
Now, Watch me Yua....
(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)
(Verse 1:)
Soulja Boy Off In This Hoe
Watch me Lean And Watch Me Rock?
Super Man Dat Hoe
Then Watch me Crank Dat Robocop?
Super Fresh, Now Watch Me Jock
Jocking On Them Haterz Man
When I Do Dat Soulja Boy
I Lean To The Left And Crank Dat Thang
(Now Yua)
I'm Jocking On Yo Bitch Ass
And If We Get The Fightin
Then I'm Cocking On Your Bitch
You Catch Me At Yo Local Party
Yes I Crank It Everyday
Haterz Get Mad Cuz
"I Got Me Some Bathin Apes"
(Chorus x2)
(Verse 2:)
I'm Bouncin On My Toe
Watch Me Super Soak Dat Hoe
I'ma Pass It To Arab
Then He Gon Pass It To The Low (Low)
Haterz Wanna Be Me
Soulja Boy, I'm The Man
They Be Lookin At My Neck
Sayin Is Them Rubberbands Man (Man)
Watch me Do It (Watch Me Do It)
Dance (Dance)
Let Get To It (Let Get To It)
Nope, You Can't Do It Like Me
Hoe, So Don't Do It Like Me
Folk, I Seen You Tryna Do It Like Me
Man That Shit Was Ugly
(Chorus x4)
The song "Crank Dat Dance" by Soulja Boy is a catchy and repetitive tune that quickly became a viral sensation when it was first released in 2007. The lyrics of the song revolve around the dance moves associated with the song that are named after the artist. In the chorus, Soulja Boy invites listeners to join him in performing the dance by shouting out "Watch me Crank And Watch me Roll", which is a reference to the motion of the dance where one's arms and legs swing back and forth in a rolling motion as if winding up a crank.
In the verse, Soulja Boy starts by announcing his presence in the club by declaring "Soulja Boy Off In This Hoe" and proceeds to explain the various moves associated with the dance, such as "Super Man Dat Hoe" and "Crank Dat Robocop". He then boasts about his fresh style and how he jocks on the haters who try to imitate his style. He also talks about his Bathing Apes sneakers that he is proud to show off. In the second verse, Soulja Boy speaks to the haters who want to be like him but can't quite get the moves right, and he challenges them to "watch me do it" as he expertly performs the dance moves.
Overall, the song is a fun and exuberant celebration of Soulja Boy's unique dance style that invites listeners to join in on the fun and show off their moves.
Line by Line Meaning
Soulja Boy Off In This Hoe
I, Soulja Boy, am present in this space
Watch me Crank And
Observe me initiate the crank motion
Watch me Roll
Observe me roll my body in a dance move
Watch me Crank Dat Soulja Boy
Observe me execute the specific dance move known as Crank Dat Soulja Boy
Then Super Man Dat Hoe
Then, execute the Super Man Dat Hoe dance move
Now, Watch me Yua....
Now, observe me repeat the Crank Dat Soulja Boy dance move
I'm Jocking On Yo Bitch Ass
I am making a fool of you and your female companion
And If We Get The Fightin
And if we engage in physical combat
Then I'm Cocking On Your Bitch
Then I will retrieve and use a firearm against you and your female companion
You Catch Me At Yo Local Party
You may find me at a gathering in your local area
Yes I Crank It Everyday
I execute the Crank Dat Soulja Boy dance move daily
Haterz Get Mad Cuz
Jealous individuals become angry due to my success
"I Got Me Some Bathin Apes"
I have obtained Bathing Ape brand shoes
I'm Bouncin On My Toe
I am executing a dance move that involves bouncing on my toes
Watch Me Super Soak Dat Hoe
Observe me execute the dance move known as Super Soak Dat Hoe
I'ma Pass It To Arab
I will transfer the dance move to Arab
Then He Gon Pass It To The Low (Low)
Then he will transfer the dance move to someone else
They Be Lookin At My Neck
People often look at the jewelry around my neck
Sayin Is Them Rubberbands Man (Man)
They ask if the objects on my neck are rubber bands
Watch me Do It (Watch Me Do It)
Observing me execute the dance move is entertaining
Dance (Dance)
The activity I am engaging in is dancing
Let Get To It (Let Get To It)
It is time to begin the dancing
Nope, You Can't Do It Like Me
The observer is not capable of executing the dance move as well as I can
Hoe, So Don't Do It Like Me
I advise against attempting to copy my dance moves
Folk, I Seen You Tryna Do It Like Me
I have witnessed you attempting to mimic my dance moves
Man That Shit Was Ugly
Your attempts at copying my dance moves were unattractive
Contributed by Liliana L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@lina5054
My last three brain cells during my math finals
@TheKingOfGreatness
dead
@Plukitas
Most underrated comment on YouTube
@trannysaurusrex7766
You had me dying xD😂
@hahahagotem1008
G 🤣😂😭
@kimmeshaolton5653
Same😂😭
@presleybyers4475
THIS VIDEO LITERALLY MAKES ME SMILE EVERYTIME I SEE IT
@user-if4is7uk6k
Until this day too 😮
@lizc6393
Ditto
@demontiming3234
Same