 Soulja Boy's quick ascent to pop stardom has been met with an especially bitter crosscurrent of animosity, mostly in the form of trash talk spilled down by his elders: Ice-T accused him of "killing hip-hop," and Method Man, while downplaying the hysteria of that claim, agreed that he was "garbage." This resentment stems from a supposed dumbing-down of the genre's level of discourse, exchanging complex narratives for snappy soundbites, a ridiculous claim for anyone who's analyzed a standard album's worth of lyrics. His detractors, aside from showing their increasing irrelevance, have been the ones hurting hip-hop, reductively forcing the genre into an anachronistic, often stagnant mold.
What's worth keeping in mind is that Soulja Boy, despite the threatening sight of a body smeared with tattoos, makes no inflated claims at hardness or street credibility. He was 17 when he started and, having just reached his 20s, has avoided the dreary invocation of pimps and guns and dealing. His songs, while still often crude and rough, are just as often sharp, joyful, and witty, exhibiting a virtuosity in melding pop sensibility with effervescent, ringtone-ready rap. The DeAndre Way doesn't exactly qualify as substantial growth, but it's another solid effort from an innovative MC who's been unfairly chastised by so many.
Soulja Boy's songs remain bizarre models of economy and naiveté, wielding repetitive hooks that pivot on mesmerizingly circular beats. Songs like "First Day of School," about his wardrobe, and "30 Thousand Million," about his budget, are deceptively venal and hollow, containing wacky gems like "Word around town's that my dick tastes like ribs." It's an aesthetic that merges the flashy decadence of late-'90s Bad Boy with the boozy lethargy of Southern rap, spinning songs that wallow in their own gaudy indolence....full text |
| Everything wrong before is wrong again on Soulja Boy’s third effort, The DeAndre Way. Just like 2008’s iSouljaboytellem, this 2010 effort offers fun and simple singles that live or die by their hooks, and if you’re in the midst of a full-on party, you’ll respond “bammer bammer bammer” just like you’re supposed to when the party rapper offers “Speakers Going Hammer.” “Pretty Boy Swag” brings welcome reminders of when everyone was asking for their chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side, and with the 50 Cent team-up “Mean Mug” being an enjoyable mix of G-Unit thugging and ringtone rap wilding out, The DeAndre Way has already offered up a weekend's worth of highlights. It’s the filler than undermines it all with expired snap beats driving tired old ideas while Soulja Boy himself spouts rhymes about crushes and high school, simply listing his “First Day of School” gear on the insufferable opener. In the end, this is the same mixed bag as last time round with a half point subtracted for diminishing returns, and another half point subtracted for lessons not learned....full text |
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