Stay Ahead of the Market with Benzinga Pro!
Want to trade like a pro? Benzinga Pro gives you the edge you need in today's fast-paced markets. Get real-time news, exclusive insights, and powerful tools trusted by professional traders:
- Breaking market-moving stories before they hit mainstream media
- Live audio squawk for hands-free market updates
- Advanced stock scanner to spot promising trades
- Expert trade ideas and on-demand support
If I’m going to make music for the streets or the clubs or whatever, I go at it with 110 percent. – Soulja Boy
If you’re into hip-hop, you’re probably a fan of the rapper Soulja boy. This artist, producer, and actor has a net worth of $35 million. The rapper got his claim to fame from his 2007 debut single, ‘Crank That,’ which peaked at the number one spot on the Billboard Top 100.
The single stayed on top of the charts for seven consecutive weeks, starting in September. His success led to him becoming one of the biggest talents in the rap game, with the Forbes list of Hip Hop Kings, seeing the artist place in 18th position that year.
Soulja Boy: The Facts
| Net Worth: | $35 Million |
|---|---|
| 📆 DOB: | July 28, 1990 |
| 🌎 Country of Origin: | United States of America |
| 💲 Source of Wealth: | Rapper |
| ✅ Updated: | 2023 |
Soulja Boy also has the reputation of being the first rapper to launch a successful YouTube channel. Many credit him for starting the trend of releasing music on the platform. Soulja Boy posted his first music video to his YouTube channel just three months after the launch of the platform in December 2005.
While many credit Soulja Boy with being the first to upload a music video to the platform, it was later discovered that Philadelphia rapper, Reed Dollaz, beat him to it, posting his video earlier. However, he didn’t gain nearly as much traction as Soulja boy.
In an interview, Soulja Boy claimed he didn’t make any money from releasing on YouTube in the early days. At the time, the platform didn’t have a partner program, and there was no advertising revenue available for creators.
Soulja Boy – The Early Years
Born July 28, 1990, in Chicago, Illinois, DeAndre Cortez Way is the son of Tracy and Lisa Way. He grew up in a household where the radio was playing all the time, developing a passion for rap music by the time he was six. In the same year, the Way family decided to pick up and move to Atlanta, Georgia.
During his time in Atlanta, Soulja boy developed a love for hip-hop, living in one of the cultural centers of the artform. However, he moved to Mississippi with his father when he was 14. There is little detail about his family life, especially his parents and siblings.
However, Soulja Boy does talk about his father from time to time, claiming that he’s responsible for pushing him into his rap career. He attended South Panola High School, and his father presented him with a recording studio setup for his room in his early teens. Soulja Boy credits his father for providing him the means to chase his dream of being a professional rapper.
Soulja Boy – Career
Soulja Boy was also one of the first hip-hop artists to see value in social media and how it could boost his career. The rapper started a MySpace and Twitter account, using it to connect with people in the industry while promoting his music.
In November 2005, he posted songs on the SoundClick website before opening his YouTube channel. In March 2007, Soulja Boy used his digital marketing savvy to self-release his first single, ‘Crank That (Soulja Boy)’ and followed up with the release of his independently produced mixtape, ‘Unsigned and Still Major: Da Album Before da Album.’
The artist would also go on to make a low-budget music video for the track, ‘Crank That,’ releasing it on his YouTube channel. By the end of May, some two months after dropping ‘Crank That,’ Soulja Boy signed with Interscope Records. Just four months later, ‘Crank That’ was topping the Billboard Hot 100 at the number one spot by September.
The track went on to earn Soulja Boy his first Grammy nomination. The artist released his first studio album, ‘Souljaboytellem.com’ in October 2007, with it reaching the number four spot on the Billboard 200, and going platinum with the RIAA.
He followed up his success with the release of ‘¡ SouljaBoyTellem’ fourteen months later, and his third studio album, “The DeAndre Way,” followed in 2010. It would be five years before the rapper released another studio album, choosing to drop ‘Loyalty’ in 2015. His fifth studio album, ‘How Can You Blame Me?’ dropped in 2019.
Soulja Boy worked with some of the top talents in the hip-hop game as a rapper. He’s featured in collaborations with legends like Sammie, Gucci Mane, Arab, Shawty Lo, and Arab.
Soulja Boy founded his record label, ‘Stacks on Deck Entertainment’ (SODMG), in 2004 before his career took off. After experiencing success, Soulja started signing artists but dropped all contractual commitments in May 2016 before signing Lil 100 and 24hr.
Soulja Boy is a smart entrepreneur, owning the clothing brands BLVD and S.O.D clothing. The rapper also has a successful Hollywood career, appearing in six movies and having guest appearances on 13 TV shows.
Soulja Boy – Endorsements
Soulja Boy is one of the biggest names in hip-hop, and he has a presence in Hollywood thanks to his appearances in Tv Shows and movies. So, it’s not surprising that he has brand endorsement deals with a fortune.
The rapper took to social media to announce an endorsement deal with World Poker Fund Holdings. This company owns CelebrityWorld.com, billed as a celebrity-owned social gaming platform.
At the time, Soulja Boy tweeted that the deal was worth $400 million. If that’s the case, Soulja has a lot more money than the $30 million claimed in this post, but there is no record confirming the deal and Soulja Boys cut.
Soulja Boy – Assets
The rapper resides in a mansion he purchased in Agoura Hills, California, a neighborhood just outside of Los Angeles. The artist paid an undisclosed amount in cash for the property. The rapper also owned a house in Atlanta, selling it before he moved to the west coast in 2010.
The artist doesn’t have any investment properties, and it’s unknown if he has any stock investments or other business interests outside what’s publicly disclosed.
Soulja Boy is also well-known for his collection of luxury cars, including models from leading supercar and luxury car brands like Porsche, Audi, Aston Martin, and others.
Soulja Boy – Business Interests
Soulja Boy also has an entrepreneurial spirit. He invested in ‘The Soap Shop,’ a manufacturing company based in Mississippi. The company sells several different types of soap, with a nationwide logistics and sales infrastructure in leading stores.
During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, the company saw a 3,000% increase in sales, cementing the brand in the mind of consumers.
Along with his soap company, Soulja Boy has investments in a cannabis business named ‘Soulja Exotics.’ He partnered with Grizzly Peak™ to create the cannabis line, and he has a direct role in managing the product quality of the venture.
Shortly after establishing this brand, he launched his sneaker line, ‘Soulja Stars,’ with a pair retailing for $279.Soulja didn’t stop there. The artist announced he was getting into the gaming space in 2016, releasing the ‘SouljaGame Console’ and ‘SouljaGame Handheld‘ products in 2018.
He also went on to launch the Souljawatch on his website a few months later. His gaming console comes preloaded with 800 games, retailing for $199.99. The handheld console has over 3,000 game titles, retailing for $149.99. According to sales figures, the rapper sold 5 million units of the consoles combined.
The rapper has a penchant to bend the truth, so there’s no way to guarantee those figures. He also claimed that Nintendo and Google were interested in buying his consoles. However, despite the initial success, the consoles were removed from the market just three weeks after their release, with an explanation from Soulja Boy for the withdrawal.
In 2021, Soulja Boy claimed he purchased the video game company Atari, but Atari denied the claim on Twitter. Soulja backtracked on his statement, saying he owned a ‘stake’ in Atari without divulging a percentage shareholding to the media.
Soulja Boy also jumped into the crypto and NFT space in 2021. Amidst the 2021 mania, the rapper took to social media to find developers to help him with launching his ‘SouljaCoin.’ The artist launched the project but was named in a class action lawsuit against various celebrities for pumping crypto coins to unsuspecting investors.
Soulja promoted the coin to his followers, and the lawsuit is still pending as of Q4 2022. He’s part of a long list of celebrities and influencers, such as Jake Paul, who was investigated by the SEC for their role in ‘pump & dump’ cryptocurrency schemes.
Soulja Boy released his S.O.D. (Stacks on Deck) Money Gang apparel line in 2008. The clothing line brings in decent revenue for the rapper, and it’s still running today.
Soulja Boy – Controversies
Like all other rappers, Soulja Boy is not without controversy in his career. In early February 2009, the rapper challenged fellow hip-hop artist Bow Wow to a street car in their luxury supercars. At the time, both artists were driving Lamborghini models, although there are no specifications on the type of models involved in the incident.
Bow Wow refused the challenge, leading to Soulja Boy accusing Bow Wow of renting the car to floss to his fans. Bow Wow responded by posting his pink slip for the car on social media, and the two started a social media beef.
Within days, the rappers were producing diss tracks on each other, with Soulja Boy posting ‘F*ck Bow Wow.’ Bow Wow responded with ‘What I Think About You.’ as with most hip-hop beef, this one ended in friendship. Bow Wow and Soulja Boy buried the hatchet, collaborating on the ‘Ignorant Shit’ mixtape.
In April 2013, Soulja Boy posted several death threats on Facebook to ‘Chief Keef,’ another popular rap icon. He ‘doxed’ Keef’s cellphone number on the site, telling his fans to call Keef and tell him Soulja Boy was coming after him with a loaded firearm.
Keef responded by saying he was in London, and Soulja Boy claimed his account was hacked, squashing the beef between the two artists. There was no direct proof that Soulja Boys’ accounts were hacked, and many believe that he was too embarrassed to admit his mistake, using the ‘hack’ as a cover story.
Soulja Boy Quotes
If I’m going to make music for the streets or the clubs or whatever, I go at it with 110 percent.
If I’m doing something, it’s coming from a kind heart.
The Internet had been a BIG help with my career. My advice to musicians, the Internet is the key. It gets your music heard all across the world.
Words are powerful. When I make mistakes, I just try to come back and clarify what I meant.
My first single I was nominated for a Grammy with ‘Crank That,’ and I lost a Grammy to Kanye West, but it was still such a big deal for me to be nominated anyway.
When I was in Japan on tour in 2010, I felt like I was 30 years into the future. I love technology, and they are so advanced with their phones, computers, everything. I think they had the iPhone way before we did in the U.S. I love gadgets, games, social media, and I try to stay ahead on all that stuff, but they get it all first.
Swag defines an artist, period. Lil Wayne has his super-tattooed pierces and dreads swag. Jay-Z has his New York, grown man, Beyonce, and 40/40 Club swag.
Now that I’m in the position I’m in now, I like to take all my creative ideas and put ’em on the Internet for my fans to interact with. Give ’em something to do.
I hate it when people come up to me on trains and ask, ‘Are you Soulja Boy?’ If people want pictures or autographs, that’s cool, but I don’t like the dumb questions.
When I was 10 years old, my mom used to play Tupac while she cleaned the house.
Stay Ahead of the Market with Benzinga Pro!
Want to trade like a pro? Benzinga Pro gives you the edge you need in today's fast-paced markets. Get real-time news, exclusive insights, and powerful tools trusted by professional traders:- Breaking market-moving stories before they hit mainstream media
- Live audio squawk for hands-free market updates
- Advanced stock scanner to spot promising trades
- Expert trade ideas and on-demand support
