Following in the hallowed tradition of MC Hammer's "Hammerman" cartoon, [artist id="2814953"]Soulja Boy Tell'em[/artist] has launched his own animated series, titled ... what else? "Soulja Boy Tell'em: The Animated Series."

Combining live-action and throwback animation, the first episode of the online series finds a cartoon SJB performing at a talent show and cruising around town in his signature Segway -- which, in the 'toon world, is improbably pimped out with a sidecar. (Check out a review of Soulja's cartoon over in the Newsroom.)

As in real life, everything the "Bird Walk" rapper does is taped by a member of his posse, and the 2-D MC -- forced to return to high school in the midst of his superstardom -- is obsessed with haters who disrespect him despite his mountain of ringtone sales.

The real-life co-star of the first episode is none other than "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" sidekick Alfonso Ribeiro (a.k.a. the uptight Carlton Banks), who plays the role of the, well, uptight principal of the school. "Of course, Soulja Boy, with the help of his animated friends, is continually doing whatever he can to get out of his daily school routine," reads a description of the series from SJB's Web site. "The school's principal ... is always hot on Soulja Boy's heels to keep him in line."

The debut is essentially a music video for the tune "Soulja Boy Tell'em," from the rapper's latest album, iSouljaBoyTellem. It will apparently serve as the theme song for what is promised to be a regular online series created by Buddy System Studios, which previously worked on "Robot Chicken."

"I always wanted to do a cartoon since I was younger," the rapper said in a statement announcing the project. "I am excited, because I think that the subject matter will give my fans what they would expect from me."

Future episodes will be available at Tellem.TV.