Soulja Boy Tell Em: Misunderstood By Many

At only 18 years old, he had North America in the palm if his hands. Soulja Boy Tell'Em, the creator behind the smash single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" become one of most catching songs last year. While earning wide recognition across the nation, the song quickly landed on the Billboard's Hot 100 single chart and was able to grab a Grammy nomination all in the same year.

It is no secret Soulja Boy's rise to stardom was quick, but he has proved he is no one-hit wonder. In January of this year he released his second single "Yahhh," which once again had people following his every word.

Now, ready to release his sophomore album, Soulja Boy takes time out of his busy schedule to talk to Ballerstatus about many subjects including his instant fame, his "Soulja Girl," and why he thinks he has some haters.

BallerStatus.com: In your biography, it says that you describe your life as a TV show. Has it hit home yet that you've accomplished so much being so young?

Soulja Boy: Right now it's just crazy man. I've only been signed for one year, so I've seen a lot in a short period of time. From doing all these award shows [to] being in high school and touring across the world -- going to Tokyo, Germany and London [and] all over the world, performing for people and making all this money it's crazy right now, just like a TV show.

BallerStatus.com: How did the name "Soulja Boy" come about?

Soulja Boy: My mom was always calling me Soulja Boy. That was always what I wanted my rap name to be when I was younger. We had some legal issues with the name, so I had to change it. The label told me I had to change the name. So I was thinking, on every song that I would create, before I started rapping -- going into the verse or the hook -- I would say "Soulja Boy Tell'Em," and it was real catchy. So I changed it to Soulja Boy Tell'Em.

BallerStatus.com: Since you came out, you've created a lot of trends, the biggest being the dance. What was it like seeing basically everyone do your dance, from little kids to even celebrities?

Soulja Boy: Mannnn! When I first came out with the Soulja Boy dance and I saw the different Youtube videos. At first I was like "Man, this is crazy," and then I started seeing the cartoons, like the SpongeBob, and then I saw celebrities doing it. I remember the first person was Beyonce and then that's when I knew! And after that, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Denzel Washington. So it got to a point when everybody knew how to do the dance. I would do interviews and somebody would be like, "Ay man would you show me how to do the dance?" And in my head I'm thinking, I know you know how to do the dance.

BallerStatus.com: So I'm sure by now you saw the video of the lady who was nicknamed "Soulja Girl" on the train. What did you think about it?

Soulja Boy: Man, that video crazy man. Actually, I was at V103, the radio station in Atlanta, and they were talking about it. I was like "What are you guys talking about?" And they said, "this so sad man." It's this girl on the Marta train and she's cussing out an old lady and while she's cussing her, she's singing all of your songs. I was thinking that doesn't make sense. Why would she be cussing somebody out singing my songs? I saw the video and I said "Ah man, this is messed up" (laughs).

BallerStatus.com: You have a huge fan base. Did you think you would have so many fans in a short period of time?

Soulja Boy: Before I actually signed the deal, I had a lot of fans on the internet. I had people requesting my songs on the radio stations and I wasn't even on it yet. I was doing concerts like six months straight before I got signed, so I already knew I had fans. Once I came out, my fan base just expanded. After I signed the deal, the change was crazy man. I just always loved to be in front of the crowd, to perform. I always love to just do my thing and have people love me for what I do.

BallerStatus.com: But with all this success, it seems haters are not far behind. Recently Ice-T came out and made some remarks about your music being garbage. What do you think about that?

Soulja Boy: What I think about that is on the Youtube video. Google it and type in Soulja Boy responds to Ice-T and everything I could say about that situation is on the video. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. Comments were made, opinions were stated. I said whatever I had to say and I left it alone.

BallerStatus.com: Why do you think certain people are not accepting your type of music?

Soulja Boy: Because certain people are not where I'm at right now. Certain people are just not used to Soulja Boy Tell'Em. I'm the newest of the new [and] the youngest of the young. I come out with music that's brand new that people are partying to down here in Atlanta. If other people don't understand it, I'm sorry ... turn the channel and make your type of music and leave me alone.

BallerStatus.com: Now, Kanye West came out and defended you after the Ice-T remarks. What is it like knowing he was in your corner even though his style of rap is different from yours?

Soulja Boy: We have different styles of music, but at the end of the day we're doing it for the same reasons. When Kanye came out and defended me with that situation, I was like "That's what's up." That's new school sticking together. He was supportive of me because he understands where I'm coming from and I guess Ice-T misunderstood.

BallerStatus.com: How would you describe your style?

Soulja Boy: I describe it as unique. I describe it as brand new. I describe it as misunderstood by many. I describe it as Soulja Boy Tell'Em The Future.

Ballerstaus.com: Speaking of music you have a new album on the way, when is it coming out?

Soulja Boy: We're shooting for late October, early November. The record is going to be crazy. I actually worked with Polow [Da Don], he produced. I actually did production for Bow Wow, his first single off of his next album, so I got him on a feature for my album. I'm reaching out to different producers and different artists because the first album I did like 90% of the production, so I'm reaching out to them to see what they can do for my album.

BallerStatus.com: You also have a new shoe line coming, tell us about that.

Soulja Boy: The new shoe line is crazy. It's a company based out of Dallas, Texas. I was on the Chris Brown tour (me, Chris brown and Bow Wow), and I met up with them and I asked about the clothes they were wearing. They told me it was Yums, so they got in contact with the owner [and] chopped it up that night before we went out the next morning. Three weeks later, we got the deal done. I did promotions for it on "106 & Park" [and] the response was crazy, crazy orders. So hopefully six months to a year, Yums will be on top.

BallerStatus.com: What is the look for the new shoe?

Soulja Boy: You can go to YumsShoes.com. The shoe is a different color. We got orange, we got grape ... we got the cupcake shoes, we got the lemonade shoes, which is the yellow ones. It's like a different flavor. We have a special pattern sole at the bottom of the shoe -- you can see through it and once you see through it, it has a different design under each shoe. Once the Soulja Boy shoe releases, it's going to sell out.

BallerStatus.com: So if you were to design a shoe for Ice-T what would it look like?

Soulja Boy: It would be the same shoe I design for myself. I guess I would give him an all white shoe.

BallerStatus.com: And if that's not enough, you have a cartoon coming out?

Soulja Boy: I have a cartoon coming out and I didn't want it to be like a regular cartoon like South Park or The Simpsons. I wanted it to be cartoons [characters] living in the real world. If you want more information on [the cartoon], you can go to SouljaBoyTellEm.com.

BallerStatus.com: So it seems like you're a busy man lately. You have your album coming out, your shoe line and now a new cartoon. Do you have anytime to just relax and chill?

Soulja Boy: Mannn! I do. Actually I'm at home right now. When I'm here, I'm super busy too, but when I'm chilling I still have something to do.

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