Soulja Boy

DeAndre Cortez Way born July 28 1990 known professionally as Soulja Boy formerly Soulja Boy Tell Em is an American rapper songwriter and record producer He rose to prominence with his selfreleased 2007 debut single Crank That Soulja Boy which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 for seven nonconsecutive weeks After its commercial rerelease by Collipark Music an imprint of Interscope Records the song and its followup Soulja Girl both preceded the release of his debut studio album Souljaboytellemcom 2007 Despite unfavorable critical reception it peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single Yahhh His second album iSouljaBoyTellem 2008supported by the Billboard Hot 100top 20 singles Turn My Swag On and Kiss Me thru the Phone featuring Sammiewas met with moderate commercial reception and a further decline in critical reception Way was listed at number 18 on the Forbes list of HipHop Cash Kings of 2010 as he earned US7 million that year His third album The DeAndre Way 2010supported by the top 40 single Pretty Boy Swagsaw a steeper decline in commercial reception leading him to part ways with Interscope in favor of an independent career Way is noted for his pioneering use of grassroots social media and digital marketing strategies during his mainstream popularity Outside of recording he has pursued side ventures including video game development record production for other artists and his record label Stacks on Deck Entertainment through which he has signed rappers including Lil B and Riff Raff He has received a Grammy Award nomination as well as three BET Award and four Teen Choice Award nominations