DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, dancer, and record producer. In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the Internet, and it became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007. Career In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the video-based social community YouTube. Following positive reviews on the site, Soulja Boy then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace.[4][5] In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned and Still Major, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Soulja Boy" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Soulja Boy met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records. Partnership with Arab Soulja Boy has a partner in rapping, Arab (pronounced "ay-rab"), who is featured in the first verse of Soulja Boy's single, "YAHHH!", which reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Pop 100, number 34 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 17 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks. Soulja Boy has a tribute song to Arab on his debut album, souljaboytellem.com, entitled "Pass It to Arab". Not only is it a tribute, but Arab is also the song's producer and is featured on it. souljaboytellem.com Souljaboytellem.com received a favorable review from Allmusic[8] but a negative one from Entertainment Weekly;.[12] Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one hit wonder Critics and hip-hop figures such as Snoop Dogg, Method Man,[16] 50 Cent, and Jermaine Dupri cite Soulja Boy as artistically typical of contemporary rap trends such as writing for the lucrative ringtone market, and the ascendence of "Southern hip hop", emphasizing catchy, mindless music that discards rap's traditional emphasis on message.[17][18] And even one article about his songs and heavily criticizing his musical style has dubbed Soulja Boy the "Nickelback of hip hop."[19] Soulja Boy identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop.[17][18] Despite this, his music has been banned from some school dances for sexual, pro-violence content or innuendo and, ironically, many of his recent recordings feature violent content and sexual innuendo.[20][21][22] In the original YouTube video for "Shootout", Way demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.[23]