SouljaGame

DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peaked at number 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, for seven non-consecutive weeks in 2007. He then released his debut album '' Souljaboytellem.com'' (2007), which also included the single "Soulja Girl".

His second album ''iSouljaBoyTellem'' (2008), included in the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 20 singles "Turn My Swag On" and "Kiss Me thru the Phone".

Way was listed at number 18 on the ''Forbes'' list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings of 2010 for earning $7 million that year.

Early life

Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at the age of six, where he became interested in rap music. At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father.

Musical career

2004–2007: Early recordings and building an Internet following

Way's father provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions. In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, he established accounts on YouTube and Myspace. In March 2007, he released his first independent album '' Unsigned & Still Major: Da Album Before da Album''.

2007–2011: ''Souljaboytellem.com'', ''iSouljaBoyTellem'', and ''The DeAndre Way''

Also in March 2007, Way recorded "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", followed by a low-budget video demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. On May 2, "Crank That" was released as a single; by month's end it had received its first airplay, and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records. On August 12, "Crank That" was used on the television series ''Entourage'', and on September 1 it topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts. During the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", but lost to Kanye West and T-Pain's " Good Life".

Way's major label debut album, '' Souljaboytellem.com'', was released in the United States on October 2,Jeffries, David. "Souljaboytellem.com" Overview Allmusic: 2007 peaking at number four on both the ''Billboard'' 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. The album was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio. ''Souljaboytellem.com'' received a favorable review from Allmusic, but received mainly negative reviews from other sources such as ''Entertainment Weekly''. Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he would likely be a one-hit wonder.

The follow-up to ''Souljaboytellem.com'', ''iSouljaBoyTellem'', was released on December 16, 2008, to negative critical reception. The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. It was performed on YouTube Live on November 22, 2008, with an introduction from MC Hammer. "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (featuring Sammie) followed, peaking at number three on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Rap Tracks charts. Chris Brown was originally Way's first choice to sing the hook, but had respectfully turned down the offer. Way then tried to do it on his own with Auto-Tune but he found it unacceptable. It sold over 2 million digital copies in the United States, becoming his second song to reach the two million mark in downloads. On January 26, 2009, Way released the third single "Turn My Swag On". It topped the US Rap Charts and peaked at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. it has sold more than 1 million digital downloads in the United States.

Way said his third studio album, ''The DeAndre Way'', was intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he said he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem. The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. On October 30, 2009, Way released three mixtapes: ''Paranormal Activity'', ''Dat Piff'' and ''Cortez''. It was announced on February 18, 2010, that the first single from the album was going to be "All Black Everything" but the single was cancelled and the track was put on another promotional mixtape, ''Legendary''. The album's title was changed to ''Dre'' in an early 2010 commercial with a video snippet for "Do It Big" as the first single but this was cancelled as well. The album title was reverted to ''The DeAndre Way'' in July 2010.

On June 8, 2010, the official lead single from the album was " Pretty Boy Swag". The single reached number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number five on the Rap Songs chart. Artist Chart History - Soulja Boy Tell EmBillboard.com The album's second single was due to be "Digital" which was instead used on his promotional mixtape ''Best Rapper''. Then it was announced that " Speakers Going Hammer" was going to be the second single, but " Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010, as the second single instead. On October 13 Way performed "Pretty Boy Swag" and a snippet of his third single "Speakers Going Hammer". On October 19, 2010, Way released "Speakers Going Hammer" on iTunes with the single peaking at number 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. Way backed-out of the Summerbeatz, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy, in order to embark on his "Who They Want" tour in support of his upcoming album. ''The DeAndre Way'' was released on November 30, 2010, and has so far sold only 70,000 copies, making it Way's lowest-selling album.

2011–2018: Mixtapes, EPs, independent albums, and ''Loyalty''

In 2011, Way released a series of mixtapes. The first, on January 22, was titled ''Smooky'' and had cartoon cover art of Way doing a 360 on a bicycle. On March 17, Way released the mixtape ''1UP'' which had cover art based on the ''Naruto'' anime, with Way stating: "If I was in a video game, this mixtape would advance me to the next level with an extra life. Power up with the new offering." On April 20, Way released his mixtape ''Juice'' with cover art based on the film of the same name. Way said he would also release a mini-movie of his own to go along with the mixtape, and that he was headed to greatness with the mixtape. On July 15, Way released his mixtape titled ''Bernaurd Arnault EP (Limited Edition)''. Then on August 1, Way released another ep mixtape titled ''21: EP''. On August 31, Way released the mixtape ''The Last Crown'', the cover of the mixtape is based on the artwork the Flammarion Engraving. In September 2011, Way confirmed that he is working on a new album, ''Promise'', which would be released in October. Way also released the cover and title of his second independent album via Twitter, titled ''Skate Boy'', with a notice that it would be available in stores on November 1. On September 19, Way released the mixtape ''Supreme''. On October 30, ''Skate Boy (Deluxe Edition)'' was released as a mixtape, rather than an album. On December 30, 2011, Way released another mixtape titled ''Gold On Deck''.

In 2012, Way released additional mixtapes while his album continued to be delayed. On January 9, Way released a mixtape for the beginning of the year, titled ''50/13'', with the cover based on that of ASAP Rocky's mixtape ''Live. Love. ASAP''. On January 24, Way released a collaboration mixtape with his artist Young L titled ''Mario & Domo vs. the World'' with cover art based on the video game ''Super Mario Bros.'' On March 23, Way released a mixtape titled ''OBEY'' which featured the promotional single "Too Faded". On June 3, 2012, Way talked about his upcoming album ''Promise'' and said he has released so many mixtapes in the last two years because he feels he has to put out a lot of music and be as creative as possible. On June 11, Way released another collaboration mixtape with rapper Vinny Chase titled ''Double Cup City''. On September 4, Way released the sequel mixtape ''Juice II'', in which Way returned to his old production style with the beginning lines "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em". It is Way's most-downloaded mixtape. His mixtape titled ''Young & Flexin'' was released on November 6. On December 25, 2012, Way released ''LOUD'', which was his first mixtape distributed on iTunes.

2013 was marked by further album delays while Way's record deal expired, and he continued to release mixtapes. On February 22, Way released his first mixtape of the year, titled ''Foreign''. In March, it was rumored that Way was signing to Cash Money Records after getting a face tattoo saying "Rich Gang" the same weekend he was seen with his manager and Cash Money artists Birdman and Bow Wow. This continued after he added "Rich Gang" or "YMCMB" to his social media platforms. Way had earlier reported that he was no longer with Interscope Records after his record deal ended in February. Way also announced that his album ''Promise'' had been retitled '' USA DRE''. On March 15, he released the first single from the album, titled "Handsome". Following that, on March 25, he released the EP, ''All Black''. On April 24, Way released his mixtape ''Foreign 2''. Three days later, Way revealed the cover art to his next mixtape titled ''King Soulja'' which was released on May 5. On May 26, Way released his second EP titled ''Cuban Link''. On June 13, Way announced another album title change, to '' Life After Fame'', and that it would be released to stores on July 30, 2013. On June 25, Way released his first single from the album titled "Ridin Round" to iTunes, but it was later dubbed a promotional single. On June 30, Way released ''Life After Fame'' as a mixtape instead of an album. On September 24, Way released his mixtape titled ''23''. On November 30, Way released his mixtape ''The King''. On December 28, 2013, rapper/singer Drake collaborated and remixed Way's intro track "We Made It" from his mixtape ''The King''.

In 2014, Way continued work on his fourth studio album while collaborating with other artists and releasing additional mixtapes. On March 18, Way released his first mixtape of the year titled ''King Soulja 2''. On April 20, Way released his first digital album ''Super Dope'', featuring an appearance from rapper Busta Rhymes. On May 19, Way produced, co-wrote and was featured on Nicki Minaj's promotional single "Yasss Bish", which received positive reviews from music critics. On June 8, Way announced that he was currently working on his new mixtape project ''King Soulja 3'', which would feature appearances from Lil Wayne, Drake, Migos, Young Thug and Wiz Khalifa. On June 29, Way released ''King Soulja 3'' as his second digital album via iTunes, featuring appearances from Gudda Gudda and Rich The Kid. On October 31, Way released his mixtape ''Young Millionaire'', featuring appearances from Sean Kingston, Cap.1 and Rich The Kid. On November 17, Way announced via his Instagram that he had signed a new label deal with Universal Music Group and also revealed the title, cover art and release date for his fourth studio album, ''Loyalty'', originally scheduled for release on December 2, 2014, but pushed back to February 3, 2015.

In 2015, following the release of his fourth studio album, ''Loyalty'', Way released additional singles, mixtapes and a digital album. For this upcoming digital album, ''King Soulja 4'', Way released the single "Whippin My Wrist (Too Rich)" on February 27; it charted on the ''Billboard'' Trending 140 at number 48. On May 16, Way released his mixtape ''Swag The Mixtape'' featuring appearances from Migos, Peewee Longway, Troy Ave, Johnny Cinco, Chief Keef, Pack Strong, Paul Allen, Chella H, Calico Jonez and Kyle Massey. On May 26, fellow Atlanta, Georgia artist Rich The Kid announced that he and Way would be releasing a collaboration album titled ''Get Rich''. On June 3, via Twitter, Way revealed the title, cover art and release date to his upcoming fifth studio album, ''Blessed'', which was scheduled for release on July 28, 2015, but experienced several delays. On June 30, Way released a mixtape titled ''25 The Movie''. On July 17, Way released a new single titled "Actavis" featuring Migos, taken from his fourth digital album ''King Soulja 4''. On July 23, Way released his mixtape titled ''M & M: Money and Music''. On July 30, through his independent label Stacks on Deck Entertainment, Way released his fourth digital album, ''King Soulja 4'', featuring appearances from Migos, ReeseMoneyBagz, Dae Dot and Sean Kingston. On September 1, Way released the single "Diddy Bop". On September 24, Way released a single titled "Gratata" along with an accompanying music video. On September 28, Way released the mixtape ''Plug Talk''. On November 9, Way premiered a single titled "Make It Rain". On November 24, Way released a mixtape titled ''S. Beezy''.

In 2016, Way released his fifth and sixth digital albums in addition to numerous mixtapes, singles and videos. On January 14, Way released a single titled "Drop The Top" and on January 24 he premiered its music video. On January 24, Way released a standalone single titled "Stephen Curry" after the NBA basketball player, and on February 6, Way also had a music video for the song. On February 10, Way released another mixtape titled ''Finesse EP''. On February 14, Way released a mixtape titled ''King Soulja 5'', the fifth installment to his ''King Soulja'' mixtape/album series. On March 15, through his independent label, Way released his fifth digital album, ''Stacks On Deck'', featuring appearances from Agoff, King Reefa, Lil Yachty and Rich The Kid. On May 12, Way released a single titled "Day One". On June 9, through his label Stacks on Deck Entertainment, Way released his sixth digital album, ''Better Late Than Never'', featuring appearances from Lil Twist

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