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.
Rubber Bands
Soulja Boy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Call my boi right now let em kno wats goin downn
Look at these rubber bands x4
Bouncing left to right up n down
Call my boi right now
Let em kno wats goin down
Look at these rubber bands x3
Pull up, dance tryna snatch that rubber
Stacks falling off my back pack
While I holla wats up soulja
Dolla poppin, bet I throw it showing up
The middle finger showing
Up the index ring
Yeah I know my index thing
It's yellow diamonds yellow rings
It's soulja boy tell em man
Throw my chain in the rings
Shouts out to the mona lisa
Hanging on my wall with my grill,
Right next to the rubber bands dawg
For real
Chorus
Verse two
Hands down I got swag for the year
Rubber bands on my neck my ice on my dere
Make my grill disaper
Wen I smile in the sun
Wen u c the money game man
Girl u better run
Cuz we snatching chicks
And taking chicks
Aint no nedd to holla pardner
Just pass me the rubber bands
And the rest will fall in shawty
Holla if u hear me homey
Scream if u c me shawty
Be ready to scream
Cuz u up out to c me shawty
Chorus
Verse 3
Walk inside the mall girls screaming
Cuz I'm fresher dan a doll
New york different seasons
Boy I gotta ball
If I can't have a this then
I don't want it at all
This is how we boss
This is how we ball
Pop tags n we do it boy
Checking them haters off
N do it do it do it boy
Soulja tell em yeah
Tell em I'm the man
U can't get into my mansion
Unless u want some of this man
Repaet chorus twice
In this song, Soulja Boy enthusiastically speaks about his new-found wealth and what he has been spending it on. The significance of the rubber bands in his lyrics come from the fact that since he has a lot of money, he has needed something to hold it together, hence the rubber bands. The lyrics describe how he's bouncing left to right, letting his boy know what's going on, and remarking about these rubber bands. Soulja Boy brags about how his stacks are falling off his backpack, and how he's throwing his dollars around like they're nothing. He proudly shows off his bling, which includes yellow diamonds and yellow rings, adding that he's the one and only Soulja Boy.
In the next section, the artist mentions how he's got swag for the whole year, with rubber bands around his neck and ice on his "dere." He also talks about snatching and taking chicks, and how the rest will fall if someone passes him the rubber bands. He reiterates his status as a boss and confesses how he just checks off his haters like it’s nothing. In the last verse, Soulja Boy describes how he gets mobbed by girls the moment he walks into the mall. He further asserts his money and status, mentioning that he doesn't want anything he can't have and that nobody can get into his mansion unless they want to mess with him.
Line by Line Meaning
Bouncing left to right up and down
Jumping, moving energetically in multiple directions
Call my boi right now let em kno wats goin downn
Tell my friend to come over and hear what I have to say
Look at these rubber bands x4
Admire these rubber bands that I have
Bouncing left to right up n down
Jumping, moving energetically in multiple directions
Call my boi right now
Get my friend on the phone
Let em kno wats goin down
Inform him about what is happening at the moment
Look at these rubber bands x3
Admire these rubber bands that I have
Pull up, dance tryna snatch that rubber
Drive up and attempt to steal back the rubber band
Stacks falling off my back pack
Money is falling out of my backpack
While I holla wats up soulja
In the meantime, I am greeting Soulja Boy
Dolla poppin, bet I throw it showing up
I bet I can toss some cash to impress everyone
The middle finger showing
I am giving the middle finger as a sign of disrespect
Up the index ring
I am flaunting my index finger since I have a fancy ring
Yeah I know my index thing
I am obviously aware of how impressive my ring and finger look
It's yellow diamonds yellow rings
The diamonds on my jewelry are a rich, yellow color
It's soulja boy tell em man
It's me, Soulja Boy, announcing myself
Throw my chain in the rings
I am throwing my chains in the ring, so to speak, as a sign of my wealth
Shouts out to the mona lisa
I'm giving a shoutout to the famous artwork, the Mona Lisa
Hanging on my wall with my grill,
The Mona Lisa is on my wall next to my flashy teeth grill
Right next to the rubber bands dawg
On the same note, there are also rubber bands next to it
For real
This is all true.
Hands down I got swag for the year
I absolutely have style/passion/enthusiasm for this year
Rubber bands on my neck my ice on my dere
I have rubber bands around my neck and diamonds/Ice on my derriere
Make my grill disaper
When I smile wide, my teething grill gets covered and can't be seen
Wen I smile in the sun
When I smile outside in well-lit areas, this happens
Wen u c the money game man
When you see how successful/money-driven I am man
Girl u better run
It's best for you to run away and be safe
Cuz we snatching chicks
We are taking/gaining more and more women
And taking chicks
Moreover, we are stealing women
Aint no nedd to holla pardner
There's no need to shout, partner
Just pass me the rubber bands
Just give me the rubber bands
And the rest will fall in shawty
Everything else will just fall into place
Holla if u hear me homey
Shout if you can hear me, friend
Scream if u c me shawty
Yell if you see me, girl
Be ready to scream
Be in a screaming/yelling mood
Cuz u up out to c me shawty
Because you're about to see me, girl.
Walk inside the mall girls screaming
As I enter the mall, the girls are screaming
Cuz I'm fresher dan a doll
Because I'm much fresher/better than the rest
New york different seasons
New York has different and distinct seasons/weather conditions
Boy I gotta ball
I must continue having fun/showing off/being successful
If I can't have a this then
If I can't have this materialistic item,
I don't want it at all
then I don't want anything at all
This is how we boss
This is how we establish dominance
This is how we ball
This is how we continue to show off/flash our wealth and popularity
Pop tags n we do it boy
We're popping price tags and doing what we do best, boy
Checking them haters off
We're crossing off those who hate us or are critical of us
N do it do it do it boy
And we're going all out/going crazy, boy
Soulja tell em yeah
Yes, Soulja is speaking out again – he always does it
Tell em I'm the man
Let them know I am the one in charge/the boss
U can't get into my mansion
You can't enter my luxurious mansion
Unless u want some of this man
Unless you want to have an experience of being like me.
Contributed by Caleb W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Headshotheeem
Back when he was really rapping
GLOCKZTWURK
@TenAte108 He went from decent to trashcan
TenAte108
@GLOCKZTWURK myeah
Chase Money Rob
11 years & still at it 💯 SODMG4LIFE
Fab Rodgers
2020? Still hard af
Luc-R Etienne
quarantine brought me here
Paully
when this dude performs he has soo much determination and swagger in his eyes and performance. respect man
kniveskaos
this kid is the epitomy of what is wrong with hip hop right now
WaSu
I love this song
Ghost2821
Seriously, Soulja boy has come a long way from crank that. This beat is hot. I can digg.