Soulja Boy

DeAndre Cortez Way, better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer.

In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned & Still Major: Da Album Before da Album, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Crank That" dance.

By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records. 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.

It was a No. 1 hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007. This makes him the youngest person (16 years, 10 months) to write, perform, and produce a No. 1 song on the Hot 100, a title that was previously held by Deborah Gibson (17 years, 11 months) for almost two decades. Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, was released in the United States on October 2, 2007 peaking at No. 4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song for “Crank That (Soulja Boy)."

The follow-up to Souljaboytellem.com, iSouljaBoyTellem, was released on December 16, 2008. "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.

The official lead single from the album The DeAndre Way, "Pretty Boy Swag", was released in June 2010. The single has reached No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Rap Songs chart.