Soulja Boy was born DeAndre Cortez Way on July 28, 1990, in Chicago, Illinois. However, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was six years old and already found a strong interest in rap music...
Soulja Boy's career beginnings
When Way released the single "Crank That" in 2007, it was actually initially released on the internet by himself! It ended up becoming a massive rap hit in the U.S., staying #1 on the charts for seven non-consecutive weeks! This led to him signing with the major label Interscope Records.
After his success with "Crank That", he followed up with the single "Turn My Swag On", which sold more than 1 million digital downloads in the U.S.
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Way released a few albums in the mid-2000s, including The DeAndre Way, Super Dope, King Soulja 3, and Loyalty - but none garnered the amount of success that his original hit album achieved.
Soulja Boy today
Today, Way is still working on music and is already releasing singles off of his next album How Can You Blame Me? Just last year, he performed several times across the States, including a Las Vegas show.
In 2019, Way was sentenced to 8 months in prison, and was just released this past April 2020! Maybe with guest rap artists like Nicki Minaj and Chief Keef on his next upcoming album, it'll garner more success and luck for the young rapper!