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 feat 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 (feat. Arab) is a typical club song with a high-energy beat that encourages listeners to dance. The chorus repeats the phrase "Pass it to Arab" as Soulja Boy invites listeners to groove with Arab, with catchy and upbeat lyrics throughout the song. The lyrics suggest that Soulja Boy and Arab are skilled dancers, with mentions of different moves such as the Robocop and the Superman. Soulja Boy encourages listeners to join in and enjoy the party, setting the mood for a fun night out on the dancefloor.
In the verse, Soulja Boy raps about his unique style, mentioning the Freaky cap on his head and Dv Zoos on his pants, as well as the shades on his face and rubber bands on his neck, further emphasizing his cool and confident persona. He encourages listeners to "pass it on" or "pass it to Arab" and keep the party going. The dance move "Crank That" is referenced in the lyrics, which became a popular dance craze at the time of the song's release.
Line by Line Meaning
Pass it to Arab
Give the blunt to Arab
Pass it to Arab, watch my feet and my hands
Pass the blunt to Arab while noting my cool dance moves
Freaky cap on my head, Dv Zoos on my pants
I'm wearing a cool hat and designer pants
Shades on my face, Rubber bands on my neck
I'm wearing sunglasses and have rubber bands around my neck for fashion
Do yo dance in the club, and you know that it's on deck
Dance in the club and get ready for a good time
Do it, I did it, when you see it you already know
I created a cool dance move, and everyone knows it
Hit the merrygoin, twist my body as I take it slow
I'm dancing slowly and elegantly
Imma crank it up fo Soulja, pass it on to me
I'll make the party more lively and fun, pass me the blunt
Whatchu flinchin fo, Cause you jumpin off on D
Why are you hesitating? You should join in on the party
Yeah, I'm in this thang, Check my chain, Club got crunk when they heard That your boy came
I'm the life of the party because of my flashy jewelry and dance moves
I crank that Robocop, And make my shoulders drop, This snap(?) go by my socks?
I dance the Robocop and my shoulders move while something snaps near my socks
Get low (get low), do it foe (do it foe), Superman (superman), jig 'em foe (jig ?em foe)
Do the dance moves and mimic Superman
Arab stand on deck, read and write up on my teeth, Cross my feet, snap on beat, I'll make that dance look lovely
Arab is ready to dance and my teeth have neat designs on them. I cross my feet and snap to make the dance 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 show off my cool sneakers and dance moves. If someone hates, I'll just keep dancing
Don't stop, do it, Pool palace, and shoot it, Oh, do yo dance, Rolls up in and pop yo pants
Keep dancing and have fun at the pool palace. Dance like me and roll up your 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
I made up this dance move, don't copy it. Watch me do the kick the can dance, and let's throw the blunt up in the air and catch it
17 years old, And took over the whole show
I'm only 17 and already dominating the party with my moves
Uh, ah, Walk wit it now [repeat]
Let's all dance together and walk with it
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind