Soulja Boy Tell'em › Lyrics

Public Enemy's Chuck D once called rap "CNN for black people." But Soulja Boy demonstrates how easily the channel has flipped to QVC instead. Product placement is a primary weapon in the teenaged rapper's arsenal, and in the lyrics... Read More

Public Enemy's Chuck D once called rap "CNN for black people." But Soulja Boy demonstrates how easily the channel has flipped to QVC instead. Product placement is a primary weapon in the teenaged rapper's arsenal, and in the lyrics gracing his major label debut, SouljaBoytellem.com, he extols the virtues of essential street gear ("Bapes") and accessories ("Sidekick") -- although apparently with some misgivings, as he raps, "Man, I can't believe that I'm rappin' 'bout a phone."

Elsewhere, the Chicago-born, Mississippi-raised, Atlanta-based MC (real name DeAndre Cortez Way), who was just 16 when he cut the album, throws out minimalist beats and chanted dance instructions on the brag-heavy hit "Crank That (Soulja Boy)." "Snap and Roll" and "Let Me Get Em" follow suit, the lyrics of the latter disavowing violence even as it's driven by a hail of rhythmic gunfire.

Fame at an early age comes with a price, and Soulja admits as much on "Report Card," when he retaliates against his F-laden academic evaluation with the demand that his teacher "Throw some D's on that bitch." On "Yahhh!" Soulja and hypeman Arab describe the perils of being famous: "Everybody wants to talk, everybody wants to jive/Everybody wants a handshake, or want a high five." The besieged dueo simply wants everyone to "get out my face!"

More amenable are the girls Soulja finds in the strip club, as in the lyrics to the single-minded rants "Donk" and "Booty Meat." "Don't Get Mad," meanwhile, is a message to parents who don't understand why their kids like Soulja Boy and follow his distinctive fashion sense: "If you don't get that it's a movement/I ain't saying you stupid, you just need improvement."