- Soulja Boy Tell'em Prepping Second DeAndre Way Single, 'Speakers Going Hammer'
'The hook is catchy. ... And it's another hit,' Soulja Boy says about the Boi-1da-produced track.
By Jayson Rodriguez
Soulja Boy Tell'em
Photo: MTV News
Soulja Boy Tell'em is basking in the success of yet another hit in "Pretty Boy Swag." But the young superstar is still keeping his promise to deliver more lyrically inclined numbers.
The "Crank Dat" rapper is prepping the second single from his forthcoming The DeAndre Way album, "Speakers Going Hammer," produced by Drake collaborator Boi-1da. And according to Soulja Boy, the song will show off his improving rhyme skills.
"Basically, it's all about the sound of the music," SB told MTV News about the track. "I got bars on this one. First verse, second verse, all bars, another anthem, as far as the hook. The hook is catchy. The video is gonna match the song perfect. And it's another hit."
Earlier this year, the teen rapper told MTV News he's earned the respect of some of his older peers with his new material. Soulja Boy said Kanye West has become one of his biggest supporters. The two reportedly worked together on a number of tracks for West's next effort. During their studio sessions, SB played the Chicago star some of his records and the result was surprising.
"When I was in the studio, I played him a couple of joints, and then he just said, 'Damn, he's really starting to go hard,' " Soulja Boy explained. "And I was like, 'Yeah, you feel me?' ... Out of all the artists to get the go-ahead or the co-sign from, it was Kanye.
"Me working with him, collaborating on different beats," he continued, "him showing me a lot of stuff I didn't know. Me showing him a lot of stuff he didn't know. He had an ear for my sound. Of course I had an ear for all the stuff he did. Genius! You know what I mean?"
Are you excited to hear a more lyrical Soulja Boy? What did you think of "Pretty Boy Swag"? Tell us in the comments!
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- B.o.B, Soulja Boy Tell'em, N.E.R.D, More Rock BET Awards Pre-Show
Drake, T.I., Nicki Minaj chat on the red carpet before main show.
By Hillary Crosley
N.E.R.D. at the 2010 BET Awards
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images
Before the 10th annual BET Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night (June 27), N.E.R.D kicked off a pre-show by performing "Hot and Fun" on a Murakami-inspired flatbed truck, surrounded by fans.
Afterward, the guys chatted with "106 & Park" hosts Rocsi and Terrence J about their most anticipated show performances. "I got to see my man 'Ye do it," Pharrell said of Kanye West's opening performance at the main show. "It's gonna be hot."
Atlanta MC B.o.B followed, rocking his hit "Nothin' on You," featuring a new singer, Rico Barrino, filling in for Bruno Mars. Barrino, who is the brother of "American Idol" winner Fantasia, recently joined B.o.B as an artist on T.I.'s Grand Hustle record label, and their performance served as the singer's introduction.
T.I. came out to chat with B.o.B and Barrino following their performance. "This is my first time actually attending and being nominated three times," B.o.B said. "I feel like three [nominations are] a charm."
"I'm looking forward to the surprise performances," T.I. added, donning a blue suit with a matching tie. "[B.o.B] don't even know yet, but I hooked it up. I got you performing on the big stage. So I'm looking forward to that performance, and it's going to be a collaboration that the world ain't ready for."
In a nod to "Glee," the Crenshaw High Elite choir sang renditions of each of the Viewer's Choice Award nominees a capella, including Beyoncé's "Sweet Dreams," Rihanna's "Hard" (featuring Young Jeezy), Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" (featuring Alicia Keys), Trey Songz's "Say Ahh" (featuring Fabolous), Monica's "Everything to Me" and Young Money's "Bedrock" (featuring Lloyd).
Jermaine Dupri and his newest So So Def songstress Dondria were next up, dressed in all white and sporting a purple foxtail -- a trend for the evening. The pair performed a Bootsy Collins-inspired remix of Dondria's single "You're the One" over the beat of "I'd Rather Be With You."
A new West Coast group called CaliSwag followed with their performance of "Teach Me How to Dougie" before Drake chatted with Nick Cannon, who was also hosting the pre-show's red carpet.
"I'm performing this song called 'Fireworks,' a bit of 'Over' and a surprise," Drake teased.
Cannon also asked the wildy popular MC about his honesty on his debut LP, Thank Me Later. "When I was trying to figure out what approach I was going to take, none of the stories made sense," said Drake, sporting a black leather jacket, white tee, jeans and sunglasses. "I was like, 'If I'm really going to do this and really take it somewhere, I've really got to be myself.' So the more and more I started doing it, the more open I became and the more I was willing to share with my audience. Those are the best compliments: 'I love your music, I relate to it.' So I'm going to keep it going."
Performances by Mishon and Roscoe Dash followed (some of their dancers also sporting foxtails), and Soulja Boy Tell'em debuted his new single "Pretty Boy Swag" in an all-white outfit, complete with his signature white sunglasses.
However, the standout moment was Nicki Minaj's all-white bustier and flowing skirt with a train, topped with an orange Marilyn Monroe wig.
"Young Money better win something, because 'Bedrock' is platinum," Nicki told Cannon when asked what she was anticipating, before adding that last year, "I was watching this on TV."
Before the pre-show (which saw visits from Cassie, Lauren London, Ciara, J. Cole, Taraji P. Henson, Rick Ross, Diddy and Ludacris) ended, the president of BET, Deborah Lee, shared a little secret about Prince's Lifetime Achievement Award tribute.
"I know it's going to be an all-female tribute, and I did hear a little rumor that Patti LaBelle is one of the women," Lee said. "I know it's going to be fabulous."
What were your favorite pre-show performances? Let us know in the comments!
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- Kanye West Commends Soulja Boy's 'Hard' New Tracks
'Out of all the artists to get the go-ahead or the co-sign from, it was Kanye,' Soulja tells MTV News.
By Jayson Rodriguez
Soulja Boy Tell'em
Photo: MTV News
NEW YORK — Soulja Boy Tell'em has vowed to prove himself as an MC on his next album, The DeAndre Way.
For the effort, the rapper has already said he wants Jay-Z and Eminem onboard. So far, he's been in the studio with Kanye West, and Soulja said 'Ye was impressed with his upgraded material.
"When I was in the studio, I played him a couple of joints, and then he just said, 'Damn, he's really starting to go hard,' " Soulja Boy told MTV News on the red carpet of BET's "Rip the Runway." "And I was like, 'Yeah, you feel me?' ... Out of all the artists to get the go-ahead or the co-sign from, it was Kanye."
Recently, Soulja Boy and West have been collaborating on material for 'Ye's next album. West requested the teen sensation to help produce tracks for him.
Soulja Boy spoke to MTV News late last year, after he created three tracks "back-to-back-to-back" for West, and said the sessions were beneficial to both musicians.
"Me working with him, collaborating on different beats," he said of working with West. "Him showing me a lot of stuff I didn't know. Me showing him a lot of stuff he didn't know. He had an ear for my sound. Of course I had an ear for all the stuff he did. Genius! You know what I mean?"
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- Roscoe Dash Says 'All The Way Turnt Up' Is 'New Age Crunk'
'Roscoe, he goes hard,' Soulja Boy Tell'em says.
By Shaheem Reid
Roscoe Dash
Photo: MTV News
Roscoe Dash's "All the Way Turnt Up" is so hot that artists such as Ludacris and Lupe Fiasco had to jump on it and put it on their mixtapes — but Soulja Boy Tell'em openly lobbied via Twitter to appear on the record officially.
"When I first heard the 'All the Way Turnt Up' song, Roscoe reminded me of myself," Soulja said recently on the Atlanta set of the video. "I was like, 'That sounds like a "Turn My Swag On" times 10. I gotta get on that. Roscoe, he goes hard."
Dash, who is a new signee to Soulja Boy's recording home Interscope Records, obliged the request.
"The definition of 'All the Way Turnt Up' is a new age crunk — a 2010 crunk," said Dash, whose stage surname was inspired by the fastest of "The Incredibles." "I'm not afraid to be different, or do things other people would be afraid to do or do different because they're afraid of what somebody else might say. I don't have that thought process."
"Turnt Up" went through some controversy last year when Dash, born Jeffrey Johnson Jr., had guest stars Travis Porter on the record. They put the song out on their mixtape and fans thought the record was actually Travis Porter featuring ATL (Dash's former moniker) instead of the other way around. The trio have been dropped from the song, as Roscoe is trying to forge his own brand.
"When I heard the beat I said, 'I have to make something different than anything that's out right now,' " Dash explained. "Roscoe Dash is somebody who's versatile and has a big wide body of different sounds. I just run with it and make good music."
The video for "All the Way Turnt Up" premieres soon and Dash's debut album Ready Set Go! is slated for a May 11 release.
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- Soulja Boy Tell'em Drops '2 Milli' Teaser Video
Futuristic clip features a 30-second snippet of the DeAndre Way song.
By Hillary Crosley
Soulja Boy Tell'em
Photo: ExclusiveAccess.Net
After shooting a video for Roscoe Dash's "All the Way Turnt Up" remix recently in Atlanta, Soulja Boy Tell'em has leaked a teaser clip for his track "2 Milli," from the forthcoming album The DeAndre Way.
"My album is complete, but I record every day just to do it," Soulja said. "I been had my single; I just leaked a lot of songs that people liked just as much as [a single. This] time, I'm going to do it right, so this time, when I drop the song, there's going to be a visual and it's going to be money."
The 30-second "2 Milli" clip opens with a shot of a space ship-like elevator, and the screen widens and trails down a long metallic hallway while sparks fall from the ceiling.
"I always knew one day I would become the best rapper," Soulja Boy boasts in the clip. "I just want to thank all my fans. I dedicate this to you. I call it '2 Milli.' "
As Soulja Boy begins rhyming, the elevator takes him up the side of a computer-generated skyscraper and into a futuristic cave, where he plays with the floating windows of a touch-screen computer before the clip fades out.
"I did what I wanted/ N---as did what they could/ A lion wouldn't cheat, but a Tiger would," he raps. "I only keep real n---as in my stable/ A million-dollar chain, I'm feeling like Gucci's label/ So icy, I really don't care/ Haters green as a pool table, and they're twice as square/ Had to cut a couple bi---es/ Them n---as need stitches."
The DeAndre Way is slated for later this year. The young MC recently inked a record deal for his Stacks on Deck Entertainment with Universal Motown Records, home to Lil Wayne, and label head Sylvia Rhone.
"Sylvia Rhone really believes in my imprint," Soulja Boy told MTV News. "Anybody that I truthfully believe in and work on, I believe that they could be bigger than me and definitely be a superstar."
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'That sounds like a 'Turn My Swag On' times 10. Man, I gotta get on that,' rapper says of collaboration.
By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by James "FLX" Smith
Soulja Boy Tell'em
Photo: MTV News
Soulja Boy Tell'em recently broke from recording his forthcoming album, The DeAndre Way, to team up with up-and-coming rapper Roscoe Dash for a remix of the hit "All the Way Turnt Up." The clip debuted on Monday (February 22) and is currently the Jam of the Week on "MTV Jams."
"When I first heard the 'All the Way Turnt Up' song by Roscoe Dash, it reminded me of myself," Soulja Boy told MTV News. "I was like, 'That sounds like a "Turn My Swag On" times 10. Man, I gotta get on that.' "
The pair filmed the clip in an Atlanta warehouse, but Soulja Boy is clear that the video shoot was only a short break from his dedication to his producing craft.
"My album is complete but I record every day just to do it," Soulja said. "I been had my single, I just leaked a lot of songs that people liked just as much as [a single. This] time, I'm going to do it right so this time when I drop the song, there's going to be a visual and it's going to be money."
The teen said he's learned a lot from positive people around him, including Kanye West. "Kanye's always been supportive of my music and he wanted me to do a remix for 'Robocop' on his 808s and Heartbreak album," he said. "He gave me a lot of advice in the studio. He's real cool."
The young star says that he's grown up since the world's first introduction to "Crank Dat."
"What's different about this album is just me as an artist, period," said Soulja Boy. "My lyrics and word play, my punch lines, my metaphors is on another level, my beats, my production skills ... I just like to go to the studio and zone out. I learned how to take constructive criticism a lot better, so I just sit back and watch the game, seeing what everybody's doing, who's hot, who's selling, what's going on. My intentions are good for this third album, just ready to do it."
In preparation for The DeAndre Way, Soulja Boy recently released three mixtapes: Cortez by DJ Whoo Kid and Neptune, Paranormal Activity with DJ Scream and DatPiff with DJ Holiday. The official album is slated to hit shelves sometime this year.
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- Chris Brown Releases Collaboration With Soulja Boy Tell'em On Mixtape
'Bad' makes its way onto the singer's Valentine's Day offering with DJ Drama, In My Zone.
By Jayson Rodriguez
Chris Brown
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage
Chris Brown's much-discussed collaboration with Soulja Boy Tell'em was released over the weekend as a part of the singer's Valentine's Day mixtape effort with DJ Drama. The project, titled In My Zone, features a number of remakes, as Brown borrows notable songs such as Trey Songz's "Say Aah" and "I Invented Sex," and Timbaland and Drake's "Say Something."
The track with Soulja Boy, "Bad," was initially slated for inclusion on Brown's Graffiti album. He told MTV News about the track last November and described the number as "a nice little joint."
"Well, me and him, we been on tour together and we're friends, so I was just like, 'Yo, I gotta do a record with Soulja Boy,' " Brown explained of the tune, which was produced by Bangladesh ("A Milli," "Diva"). "Because me and him are always gonna have, like, this kind of energy, just as far as kids, and with him, he does records that are, like, the easiest records ever. I'm not discrediting him, 'cause they're big records, but he could talk about, 'I got my shoes on, I got my hat on, but I'm fresh though,' and it could be something funny. But it's always something that can be catchy for kids, and I wanna do something that's real cool for everybody."
"She looking at me, I'm looking at she, she's bad as a mutha," Brown sings over the staccato production.
"She bad, she bad, she badder, hop up in my Jag, my Jag, my Jaguar," the "Crank That" rapper spits.
Soulja also spoke to MTV News last year about the track, saying if he and the "Crawl" star ever collaborated, the outcome would have to be phenomenal.
"My approach to it was, if me and Chris Brown ever did a song together, it got to be the best song ever," he said. "When people hear it, it gotta be automatic, be in all the kids' heads, all the girls definitely gotta love it, all the females gotta love it. That was my approach to it. I was just thinking, 'What is the slickest lines I could say to a female to make them fall in love with this record?' "
What do you think of Chris Brown and Soulja Boy Tell'em's song "Bad"? Did their collaboration live up to the hype? Let us know in the comments below, or upload a video to Your.MTV.com!
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- Soulja Boy Tell'em Breaks Down His Three New Mixtapes
'I'm just trying to go hard,' he tells Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid
Soulja Boy
Photo: S.O.D.
This Week's Main Pick
Street Kings: Soulja Boy Tell'em, DJ Neptune, DJ Whoo Kid, DJ Scream and DJ Holiday
Holding It Down For: Hip-Hop's new school
Mixtapes: Cortez (Whoo Kid and Neptune), Paranormal Activity (Scream) and DatPiff (Holiday)
Real Spit: "Twitter King," "hottest rapper alive" -- Soulja Boy Tell'em is making bold declarations. Now, a couple of months removed from his stint on tour with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Young Money, Mr. Tell'em has been back in the lab.
We caught up with him in L.A., where he was working on a track for Rihanna. Her team asked him for a beat, Kanye West asked him for a few beats in a separate instance, while Snoop Dogg, Gucci Mane and Chris Brown have called him for guest appearances. Soulja's next album, The DeAndre Way, isn't due until 2010. In the meantime, the young gun is also keeping his name out there with three mixtapes.
"I'm just trying to go hard," he said about putting Cortez, DatPiff and Paranormal Activity out simultaneously. "I look up on Datpiff.com, Gucci got, like, three mixtapes back to back, you know what I'm saying? I say, 'Aw, man, I gotta go in.' I came out here to L.A., just got back from doing a show overseas. I say, 'You know what? Book the whole month in the studio. We 'bout to go in. I called up all my Djs, and we doin' it. We goin' in.'
"On this mixtape, of course, I got Gucci on there a lot. ... Drake, Nicki Minaj, Trina -- I don't know, man, there's a lot of people you got to check out. But me, though, mainly, your boy S.Beezy, me myself and I. You can see me with three different styles."
Joints to Check For
» "Holiday Season" (DatPiff). "The first song, 'Holiday Season,' how that song came about, [DJ Holiday said,] 'Man, you have to say my name on the line so we can make the mixtape more personal,' " Soulja said. " 'This is the Datpiff mix with DJ Holiday out in Atlanta.' So I said, 'Man, you know what? Instead of just saying your name in a song, I'm just going to do a whole song with the "Holiday Season" [title],' because he was hittin' me up like, 'I need a "Holiday Season" drop.' I just flipped it. It came out crazy."
» "I'm So Cocky" (Cortez). "That right there, that's just self-explanatory," Soulja said. " 'I'm so cocky with it,' I'm sayin', from the style to the lyrics to my music, everything. I'm cocky, period. With these girls, with this money, when it comes to being a boss, you feel me? All that."
» "Twitter Goin' Ham" (DatPiff). "I just felt it was only right, man. I woke up one morning, I had like 1.7 million followers -- 300,000 to go before I hit 2 million. And I was like, 'Man, my Twitter go ham!' I type a message in, and my @ replies just been going stupid like a chat room. I had this crazy beat, and I was just like, 'Twitter going ham/ Twitter, Twitter, going ham.' That just kept going on over in my head as I was on Twitter on the computer, and I went in the studio and dropped it. That's one of my favorite ones."
For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.
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- Soulja Boy Tell'em Cooks Up Beats For Kanye West, Rihanna, More
'Me as a producer, I think I've grown tremendously,' he tells Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid
Soulja Boy Tell'em
Photo: Jared Milgram
Behind the Beats: Soulja Boy Tell'em
Soulja Boy Tell'em has jumped from behind the knobs into the forefront as a performer — he just released three mixtapes on Halloween: Cortez, Paranormal Activity and DatPiff. But don't forget, the young G still knows how to make beats. One of Soulja's biggest fans, Kanye West, recently had the Southern millionaire in the lab working for him.
"Me as a producer, I think I've grown tremendously," Soulja told us recently in L.A. "I've been in the studio with Kanye. I did three tracks for him back-to-back."
Soulja says the sessions were give and take.
"Me working with him, collaborating different beats," he explained. "Him showing me a lot of stuff I didn't know. Me showing him a lot of stuff he didn't know. He had an ear for my sound. Of course I had an ear for all the stuff he did. Genius! You know what I mean?
"The process with Kanye — he'll come in and it depends on what it is," Soulja continued. "If I'm making the beat from scratch, I'll just work. If he's got a sample ... It was three different samples that we was working on. On one of them, he was like, 'I want this to go here, I want you to do this.' I like when an artist pushes me how he was pushing me. He doesn't go easy on me. I make it and be like, 'Here.' Nah, I had to go over it several times. It can be frustrating too. At the same time, sitting there trying to make a beat for the person that's right in front of you, it can be a lot of pressure, but it's all fun. At the end of the day, we're making hit music."
Soulja is also cranking out tracks for his next LP, The DeAndre Way.
Next Wave of Flav
On Jamie Foxx: "I was in the studio with him a couple of days ago working on a new beat for him. All the artists that reached out to me for beats — like Rihanna — my portfolio is only getting longer and longer."
On Rihanna: "With this particular project [it was] like, 'Whoa!' because [her rep was] like, 'Yo, I need you to do something for Rihanna's album. You got 11 hours. Go!' It was like, 'What? I'm all out of pocket.' How do you make something that's gonna be a #1 hit so fast? But it's been done before because I made 'Crank That' in 30 minutes."
Five-Star Stellar Hits
» "Crank That"
» V.I.C. - "Get Silly"
» Bow Wow - "Marco Polo"
» "Gucci Bandana"
» "Donk"
» "Yahhh!"
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