An established rapper, Soulja Boy first ventured into the hip hop realm with his debut single, Crank That (Soulja Boy) in 2007. Interested in rap ever since he was a young boy, he’s been recording his own beats since his teen years. After posting his work onto Myspace and Youtube for several years, he landed a record deal with Interscope Records in 2007.
Born on July 28, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois, Soulja Boy spent the initial half of his childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, before moving to Batesville, Mississippi at the age of fourteen. Already interested in rap then, his father soon provided him with a recording studio as a means of letting him explore his musical talent. By the mid 2000’s, the aspiring rapper was posting the songs that he’d recorded onto Soundclick.
How Soulja Boy Became Famous
Then in 2007, he hit it big with the song, Crank That (Soulja Boy) Released online, it quickly went viral on the web, garnering thousands upon thousands of views. In fact, it was such a hit that it eventually landed him a music deal with Interscope Records later that year. Through the label, the song was soon re-released as an official single on May 2, 2007. A massive success, it leaped to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the Hot Rap Songs chart in the US.
Globally, the single also charted in Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, New Zealand, and the UK, among other countries. Inspired by recent dance crazes, the official music video for Crank That (Soulja Boy) has since been viewed over 303 million times on Youtube. As of 2014, it has also been downloaded more than 5 million times in the United States.
Soulja Boy’s Album Releases
That fall, Soulja boy dropped his debut album titled, Souljaboytellem.com on October 2, 2007. Preceded by two singles, it came packed filled with fourteen tracks including Snap & Roll, Let Me Get Em, Pass it to Arab, Report Card, and Don’t Get Mad. Featuring guest appearances from Arab and i15, it ended up entering and peaking on the Billboard 200 at number four, with 117,000 units sold in the first week. Later reaching the top of the Rap Albums chart, it also managed to chart at number nine in New Zealand.
Then in 2008, the rapper came out with his second full length album, iSouljaBoyTellEm. A mix of southern hip hop and pop rap, most of the songs were produced by the artist himself, with help from Drumma Boy, Polow da Don, Mr. Collipark, and Jim Jonsin. Supported by three singles, Bird Walk, Turn My Swag On, and Kiss Me Thru the Phone, it peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Top 200 despite and number eight on the Top R&B Albums chart. To date, approximately 400,000 copies have been sold domestically.
Two years later, his third album hit stores. Titled, The DeAndre Way, it consisted of ten titles including Mean Mug, Pretty Boy Swag, Blowing Me Kisses, Grammy, and 30 Thousand 100 Million. Soon after being released, the project sold 13,4000 copies in the US within the first week. Soulja Boys lowest-selling album, it peaked at number 90 on the Billboard Top 200, number 18 on the US R&B Albums Chart and number 8 on the US Rap Albums Chart. The album eventually gave rise to a few charting singles including Speakers Going Hammer and Pretty Boy Swag.
After a five-year long break, Soulja Boy released his fourth album, Loyalty through his own imprint, Stack on Decks Entertainment. Originally announced in the fall of 2014, it boasted fifteen tracks including Don’t Nothing Move But the Money, We Don’t Fight, Still Wippin, Trap Party, Foreign Whip, and Gold Bricks.
Awards Received by Soulja Boy
Since his debut, the artist has received several awards and recognitions including a BET Hip Hop Award for Best Hip-Hop Dance, and an Ozone Award for Patiently Waiting: Mississippi.
Aside from his two wins, he’s also been nominated for three BET Awards (e.g. Best New Artist, Viewer’s Choice), a Grammy Award (e.g. Best Rap Song), four Teen Choice Awards (Choice Rap Artist), and a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award (e.g. Favourite Male Singer).
Soulja Boy on Television and Film
Like many other popular rappers, Soulja Boy has also graced the screens of television. While it isn’t his main focus, it has appeared in the shows What’s at Stake? (2008), School Girls (2009), Malice N Wonderland (2010), and Officer Down (2013).
In 2011, he also starred in the documentary, Soulja Boy: The Movie which centred around the experiences of his life. The film, which consisted of many clips from his DeAndre Way Tour, was released direct-to-video on October 18, 2011.
As a reality star, he was one of the main cast members in the VH1 series, Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood (2014) from season one to season three. Some of his cast-mates at the time included Teairra Mari, Ray J, Lil’ Fizz, Hazel-E, and April Jones. After two years on the show, he eventually left in 2016.
As far as other talk shows and other programmings go, he’s also been invited onto The Ellen Degeneres Show, My Super Sweet 16, When I was 17, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Bachelorette.
Soulja Boy Snapchat Name – souljaboysodmg
One of the earlier ones to the party, Soulja Boy joined Snapchat back in the fall of 2013. If you’d like to add the rapper to your friend’s list, you can do so by clicking here.
Soulja Boy’s Other Social Media Accounts
Soulja Boy’s Facebook Account
If you’d like to follow the artist on Facebook, you can do so by liking his official page over at @souljaboy.
Soulja Boy’s Instagram Account
Want to see some photos/videos posted by the rapper? Why not follow his Instagram page at @souljaboy where he already has over 4 million fans?
Soulja Boy’s Twitter Account
Looking for an easy way to stay up-to-date with the star? You can find him on Twitter over at @souljaboy.
Soulja Boy’s Youtube Account
If you feel like listening to some of his tracks, you can view his MVs over on his official Youtube channel, @SouljaBoy. As of 2017, his videos have been viewed over 421 million times!
