While sitting in a downtown LA studio, Soulja Boy turns to me and says, "I invented the Internet." While we both know this isn't true, his intended point runs deeper than his inflated claim.
To his credit, Soulja Boy (born, DeAndre Cortez Way) began his career in hip-hop before YouTube was invented, before smart phones were a commodity and before social media was ubiquitous. In many ways he has since become hip-hop’s unofficial pioneer of the web.
Appearing on the cover of their first digital issue, VIBE Magazine referred to him thusly, “Soulja Boy is a new millennium hustler with a web army watching him swag surf.” Since he began making music in the early 2000s, the landscape of the web has changed dramatically along with the music industry’s approach to developing talent. Soulja Boy, already a music industry veteran at the age of 24.
Today, he has close to half a billion views on YouTube; 500,000 followers on Vine; 1.2 million on Instagram; over 4.5 million on Twitter and 8.5 million likes on Facebook.
“When they play my music video on TV, that’s one time for 3 minutes. But, the Internet is 24/7. A fan can wake up at 3 in the morning and pull up a Soulja Boy video.” It’s that notion that fuels his aggressive video output, making it a priority to “feed the internet, whether it’s a blog, 30 second trailer, or a music video -- visuals are what capture the people.”
Soulja Boy's Beginnings
Like many other young artists, Soulja began selling his music on CDs at school. At the age of 14, he was given a laptop and ran wild.
He laughs, remembering, “Once I found out about the Internet I never did any of that shit again.” Soulja flooded the web with music, pursuing every outlet, both social and download sites. It became his after school activity.
One of Soulja’s early approaches to the Internets’ publishing platforms was, if anything, unconventional. Using programs like Limewire, he’d upload his songs, tagging A-listers in the title fields (artists like, Michael Jackson and 50 Cent, to name a few), in hopes of catching a wider set of potential listeners. People eagerly -- and unknowingly -- downloaded his songs, only to realize later that it was not the King of Pops’ ‘Billy Jean.’ However questionable this method may have been, it gained him one thing above all else: exposure. And it was more than just a few people who gravitated toward his sound.
Before it was encouraged or expected for musicians to have a digital social presence, Soulja relentlessly stayed connected with his fans. His presence on Myspace grew dramatically, laying the groundwork for a dedicated core fan base. “It’s actually me, other artists have their team or label tweeting and talking to fans but I always thought it was dope to speak to the fans directly.”
In 2007 he released the self-produced, ‘Crank That.’ His fan-base not only embraced it but made it go viral -- eventually spring-boarding him into to the mainstream. In a meeting with Interscope co-founder, Jimmy Iovine, Soulja showed him the metrics on album and track downloads, most of which could be attributed to his MySpace community. Shortly after their meeting, Soulja was signed to Interscope.
Soulja has influenced Internet-born stars like Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller and even Justin Bieber (who he is often seen hanging out with on Instagram). He developed a kind of intimate stardom we've seen become the norm, making a celeb’s brand just as much about their lifestyle and swagger as their music.
When I ask him about advice for up and coming acts, without hesitation he rattles off, “Sell your content, don’t put out any mixtapes. Put your music on iTunes, Best Buy,
On July 29th the day after Soulja's birthday, he released King Soulja 3. Soulja enthusiastic about the project exclaimed "it goes hard -- its very hip hop. There are records I go crazy on." But, above all else he is focused on continuing the momentum. Currently he is on the We Made It tour promoting the album.
Aside from his music he's focused on his own indie label, Stacks on Deck Entertainment, which hosts a whole slew of hip hop artists. But what he seems most excited about is the clothing line, BLVD Supply, for which he's a spokesperson. Today, they’re in 2,000 locations worldwide, selling 100,000 units per month. With a pending
Recent collaborations with Drake and Nicki Minaj, has Soulja re-entering the spotlight. He's also rumored to be collaborating on upcoming projects with Diddy and Lil Wayne. And when you think he couldn’t get any busier, he’s been cast for a role in a new TV show this fall, Love and Hip-Hop in LA.
Soulja’s past is distinguished but his future is unwritten. While the rest of the music industry has caught up to Soulja and his methods, the digital-savvy artist is focused on continuing to stay a step ahead. With already a full careers’ worth of experiences, it will be interesting to see what happens next to one of the first, Internet-born successes.
Follow me on Instagram for video teasers.
With help from the illustrious Kelly Appleton.
