Dec 17 2008
Can Someone Explain to Me Why Soulja Boy is Still Relevant?
Not only is he still relevant, but he’s getting major press. Apparently I’m doing something wrong with my life. Clearly I need to take some lessons from DeAndre “Soulja Boy Tell’em” Way and get my Internet empire up and poppin’. Lord knows I will never understand this boy’s success, but it is what it is. From MSNBC:
Looking like a spoiled kid forced to sit in on his dad’s business meeting, DeAndre “Soulja Boy Tell’em” Way slumps in a black leather chair at Billboard’s New York offices, twiddling his thumbs on his two-way. He’s distracted.
With BlackBerry in hand, the 18-year-old rapper/producer laughs out loud at an incoming message, then looks up at his best friend, Arab, who is smirking back at him. The two have tuned out the dialogue around them, leaving Soulja Boy’s manager, Derrick Crooms, to handle the matters at hand. They are having their own chuckle-worthy conversation via their mobile devices, and they’re not letting anyone else in on the joke.
It’s easy to dismiss Soulja Boy as a run-of-the-mill teenager, but appearances can be deceiving. His breakthrough was due in part to his Internet fame, and many consider him a Web-savvy business prodigy.
Read the rest of the article. It goes on to talk about his other business ventures and his desire to have a music empire all his own. While I question his musicality I will say the kid is smart. He seems to have a real sense for business, what he wants and the willingness to put in the work that’s necessary to get it.
In that regard, his business acumen and work ethic, I think he is a real role model for other youth. Granted, his lyrics can at times leave a lot to be desired and that foolishness he put our about slave masters and whatnot shows his age and his need to grow up, but all and all I can’t hate on the kid. Shake my head perhaps, but not hate.
I wish him the success he’s striving for and hopefully he matures and becomes a new breed of music mogul, one that understands and utilizes new technology, not is afraid of it and tries to stifle its growth.
