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.
Pass It To Arab
Soulja Boy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pass it to Arab [repeat]
Pass it to Arab, watch my feet and my hands
Freaky cap on my head, Dv Zoos on my pants
Shades on my face,
Rubber bands on my neck
Do yo dance in the club,
Do it, I did it,
when you see it you already know
Hit the merrygoin,
twist my body as I take it slow
Imma crank it up fo Soulja
pass it on to me
Whatchu flinchin fo,
Cause you jumpin off on D
[Chorus]
Yeah, I'm in this thang,
Check my chain,
Club got crunk when they heard
That your boy came
I crank that Robocop
And make my shoulders drop
This snap(?) go by my socks?
Get low (get low),
do it foe (do it foe)
Superman (superman),
jig 'em foe (jig ?em foe)
Arab stand on deck,
read and write up on my teeth
Cross my feet, snap on beat,
I'll make that dance look lovely
[Chorus]
I crank my bapes (I crank my bapes)
I crank my dance (I crank my dance)
If you gon hate (If you gon hate)
I crank these hands (I crank these hands)
Don't stop , do it
Pool palace, and shoot it
Oh, do yo dance
Rolls up in and pop yo pants
I did it, don't jock my dance
Watch me crank that kick the can
Throw it up in the air
And we finda catch it foe
17 years old
And took over the whole show
[Chorus]
Uh, ah, Walk wit it now [repeat]
[Chorus]
The song "Pass It To Arab" by Soulja Boy features Arab as the second rapper. The chorus of the song repeats "Pass it to Arab" which can be interpreted as a call to pass the microphone or to pass the attention to Arab. There is a repeated mention of "crank" which refers to the dance craze Soulja Boy created with his previous hit single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". The line "Do it, I did it, when you see it you already know" reinforces this connection with the older song. The verse "I crank that Robocop, and make my shoulders drop" recognizes another one of his own popular dance styles.
The lyrics contain certain references to accessories and clothing favored by Soulja Boy and Arab. The line "Freaky cap on my head, Dv Zoos on my pants" mentions some of these. Rubber bands on his neck and shades on his face are also mentioned. The line "Cross my feet, snap on beat, I'll make that dance look lovely" expresses confidence in their dance skills. The mention of "17 years old" in the final verse refers to Soulja Boy's age at the time of the song's release. Overall, the song highlights the popularity of their previous hit and their ability to create different variations of the dance.
Line by Line Meaning
Pass it to Arab
Pass the joint to Arab
Watch my feet and my hands
Take a look at my footwork and hand movements
Freaky cap on my head, Dv Zoos on my pants
I'm wearing a unique cap and designer pants
Shades on my face, Rubber bands on my neck
I'm wearing sunglasses and rubber bands as accessories
Do yo dance in the club, and you know that it's on deck
Dance in the club because the party is on fire
Do it, I did it, when you see it you already know
I've done it before, and you already know what it is
Hit the merrygoin, twist my body as I take it slow
Dance moves that simulate a ride on a merry-go-round
Imma crank it up fo Soulja, pass it on to me
I will take the lead and make the dance more exciting
Whatchu flinchin fo, Cause you jumpin off on D
Why are you hesitant? Pledge your loyalty to me
Yeah, I'm in this thang, Check my chain
I'm present in the club, look at my bling
Club got crunk when they heard That your boy came
The club got wild and loud when I entered
I crank that Robocop And make my shoulders drop
I do the Robocop dance move and move my shoulders
This snap(?) go by my socks?
Not clear, but probably dancing with leg movements
Get low (get low), do it foe (do it foe) Superman (superman),jig 'em foe (jig ?em foe)
Instructions for dancing low and follow my moves
Arab stand on deck, read and write up on my teeth
Arab is next in line, look at the diamonds on my teeth
Cross my feet, snap on beat, I'll make that dance look lovely
Cross my feet and snap my fingers to the beat to make it look good
I crank my bapes (I crank my bapes) I crank my dance (I crank my dance) If you gon hate (If you gon hate) I crank these hands (I crank these hands)
I'm confident in my dance moves and style, and I don't care if haters criticize me
Don't stop, do it Pool palace, and shoot it
Don't quit, continue the dance and have fun
Oh, do yo dance Rolls up in and pop yo pants
Do your dance, and roll up your pants and show off your style
I did it, don't jock my dance Watch me crank that kick the can
I'm the originator of this dance, don't copy me, and watch me dance kick the can
Throw it up in the air And we finda catch it foe
Throw something up in the air and let's catch it together
17 years old And took over the whole show
I'm young, but I'm running the game with my music and dance moves
Uh, ah, Walk wit it now
Instruction to dance the walk
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind