Is Soulja Boy Right?

Did Soulja Boy create the modern day social media blueprint.It's hard to argue his influence after the success of the 2007 hit "Crank Dat".However the internet and social media are two separate things...what do you think?
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Soulja Boy Breakfast Club Interview

[@LdotSdot210]

canibus was the first rapper on the internet.

[@DRespect]

Man I can't tell you how many internet rappers I heard from 2000-2004 who were HEAVILY influenced by Canibus....he is responsible for something in there...all those old message board text battles ...there is something there

[@NateTheNoble]

He was simply the first rapper to get big off of a social media platform...that’s it. His hustle has always been phenomenal. I remember in 2008 he already had several businesses going with music, sneakers and clothes. Keep in mind he was still only 17 at the time. Dude is the only rapper to be a millionaire before the age of 18 WITHOUT a major label behind him. And for those saying he was lucky is ignorant. I remember he used to go hard on MySpace. When it comes to producing and marketing the man is a one of a kind. He made hip hop fun when everyone was still trying too hard to be a “gangsta”. I never loved it, but I appreciated it for what it was at the time

[@C_The_Guy]

Big Gucci Soulja belongs on the Mt Rushmore of Hip Hop for his pioneering. Without him, we wouldnt even have these smartphones right now.

[@gregmax1321]

PREACH

[@zero1188]

soulja boy birthed D respect channel

[@DRespect]

ACCURATE

[@alberto8132]

Big soulja birthed all these sound cloud rappers

[@davidawonaike1188]

Bustin nuts and cheeks not rly

[@johnnyscifi]

Yea, and they all suck. Just like him...

[@florida_mane6267]

He was a crack mama

[@OkinawaGabs]

Chief Keef & Lil B were really big as a social media artists.

[@jvgcgjkckhckchckckhhc]

wouldnt say chief keef was that savy with social media

[@florida_mane6267]

Lil B > Literally Jesus 🙌

[@zaprunes6306]

Soilja boy was way before those artists

[@MichelangeloParker]

he isn’t talking about simulcasting. he’s saying the fact that he’s responsible for the fact that they’re putting it on youtube, and not on TV.

[@DrWNoLs]

Yup. I dont know why D respect played dumb on that one. This isn't about 60s technology, it's about a site that only existed in the 2000s, KZbin. That simple.

[@joeficent50tvreactions71]

Yes he's the influential artist of our time. He paved the way for them, the reason why you find that difficult to accept is because no one takes him seriously. If it was Jay-Z that said that you won't have disputed it because jay has respect. So yes Soulja is that guy. He's a legend👍🏽

[@STRONTIumMuffin]

Soulja Boy does what Nintendont

[@florida_mane6267]

NINTENDO AIN'T GON DO SHEET

[@MrJayLundy]

I think Soulja Boy was right in his assertion of being hip hop’s social media pioneer. Here’s why: His KZbin vlogs were composed similarly to what most rapper’s IG Stories/Live would look like today (Big Draco’s Lamborghini RC chain would be par for the course in 2019) On Twitter he was the first artist of note to use trending topics to gain a bigger following. He also promoted The DeAndre Way more on twitter than on Facebook or MySpace when it was upcoming. Interscope didn’t use its advertising dollars until AFTER Pretty Boy Swag dropped. He essentially used his YT channel as an extension of his social media when the medium was in its infancy. Much like how Bryson Tiller and Alicia Keys were putting their fans on to H.E.R. a couple of years ago, Soulja shone a light on Lil Wil, (My Dougie) the guys who did Whoop Rico, etc. There are facts in his statements these last few days, however it gets lost in the absurdity and sensationalist delivery of Soulja Boy.

[@ryanl6037]

his gucci headband kinda nice tho

[@ek400lux3]

wdym, that thing is falling apart

[@allenhenderson6138]

It’s like 10 years old there’s a super old picture of him with the same headband on like 10 years ago

[@royalblue3318]

😂😂😂😂...it look like elastic from his underwear

[@InheritedPowerG8]

It looks like that paper wrap the barber put around yo neck before you get yo haircut 😂😂

[@florida_mane6267]

It's like his security blanket

[@zmangour]

What does simulcasting have to do with what Soulja said, all he said was he paved the way for the next generation, because the industry people used his career as a blueprint for newer artists, he never said he was the most influential, Kanye did what about him ?

[@amitabhgoswami9755]

The thing about it is Soulja Boy kind of just got lucky too, if he wasnt the first someone else would've been. I guess you could say that about a lot of "pioneers" but I have to imagine there were tons of people posting there music on Myspace the same time as him he's just the one that blew up first.

[@C_The_Guy]

Amitabh Goswami he wasnt lucky, it was his destiny. Every story has a hero. He's just the one we needed, not the one we deserved.

[@godhobb2019]

@@C_The_Guy batman quote 😂😂😂

[@helupstoney1340]

You must be young. His grind was unmatched at the time. He was on limewire before many of us knew what it was. He was under everybody comments on MySpace.

[@YesserSirMrSir]

Alot of people were probably posting music, but nobody else had the idea to use click bait, nobody else was as consistent, nobody else grinded harder, it's not luck, luck is taking away from the hard work he put in to get to where he is

[@amitabhgoswami9755]

@@helupstoney1340 I'm 23 idk if that counts as young but I often feel old compared to people on the internet lol. So Crank Dat was huge when I was in middle school but I didnt really listen to music or use the computer as a kid. In fact I remember when I first heard the name Soulja Boy I thought people were talking about an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'll admittedly say ya'll are probably right, I dont know much about Soulja Boys grind and so it is maybe ignorant of me to say he just got lucky

[@joshuasutton983]

Big Soulja not taking no L's in 2019. #respectthelegend

[@C_The_Guy]

Joshua Sutton Tekashi may have taken 2018, but 2019 soulja taking his spot back

[@NA-uj4kn]

He’s right he was the first one too do it . Dude was on stream.me in like 2006

[@julioacceus253]

Not inaccurate, but no one owes him shit.

[@jaysatlarge]

D respect your wrong im sorry He was first period so he put thing in motion that simple

[@BigDuace]

Soulja is right ,he did create a new method

[@OutofTheLyingsDen]

He’s right about being influential in some aspects but at the same time he’s clearly delusional about a lot of things he’s supposedly “responsible” for. Entertaining interview tho.

[@florida_mane6267]

Ironically Soulja Boy is becoming the very thing he used to made fun of.

[@BigDuace]

Da dance move and the ringtones,for real ya need to stop hating

[@C_The_Guy]

Lets be foreal. Big Gucci Soulja belongs on the Mt Rushmore of Hip Hop for his pioneering in the game.

[@DRespect]

Mt Rushmore term is a bit loaded he belongs in the book of hiphop...if were gonna limit it to a hand full of people...hes got no shot

[@Cyrunix]

Soldier boy got PTSD from that shoot out and no one is acknowledging it. That soldier boy challenge was a cry for help.

[@qqqqqqqq1407]

just because he was one of the first to get popular on social media does not mean he is responsible for new social media rappers. The new rappers would have gotten big on social media with or without him. That's the way the world was heading back then.

[@-KillaWatt-]

Viral in 2007 meant you got close to around a million views. Sometimes it only meant a few hundred thousand. It was nothing like today where artists can put up 1/7 of the entire world's population in views. 2007 was also the same year the iPhone came out so that also played a big part in allowing Soulja to hit the amount of people he needed to make waves.

[@JD8899-l9p]

He right

[@coolnesss16]

Rappers would've gotten big with or without Soulja their were other rappers building fan bases and making Mixtapes using the internet during that time frame without being signed.

[@kurtrambus2728]

Good job!!

[@xAckarax]

I think your wrong when you claim "you can't walk away from your phone" its not attached to the body. Also how you gonna compare a comedian's come up (dane cook) to a rapper? Stop hating, Soulja the GOAT.

[@Flow349]

I’d give budden just as much credit if not more credit for how he used the internet back in the day

[@Anthony-wv9kd]

F.L.O.W. Wtf shut your ass up budden gtfoh nigga like it or not Soulja boy set the blueprint

[@Flow349]

odessa texas clearly you wasn’t around for the “Internet Soldier” days or the original Joe Budden TV. He was probably one of the first ones doing vlogs....but regardless the cursing and shit is a little much.

[@LdotSdot210]

@@Flow349 remember Saigon talking about there's no winning against Joe Budden because of the internet soldiers he had behind him? brave new world shit...

[@Flow349]

ldotsdot lol exactly if you don’t know you just don’t know but budden been on the internet for a longggg time. Him and Charles hamilton

[@barrasurbanas6780]

D with the facts 💯

[@TStamp-lw4ku]

5:24 The sound when a character spots another on DBZ

[@3Horus]

Soulja Boy came with receipts. He weren’t finna play dat day

[@waunsofly07]

If jimmy Iovine and dr. Dre made a KZbin video agreeing with Soulja everybody would not be disagreeing

[@thenewlegend25]

Draaake!

[@stanball6202]

Draaaaaaaaaaaake?

[@devinboggan1812]

BIG DRACO!!!

[@shudawnjackson1814]

I just blew 8 mins of my life.

[@DRespect]

It took you 8 mins to type this comment?

[@royalblue3318]

😂😂😂

[@danzeljohnson3341]

I watch a good chuck of your vids bro. You been getting a ton of backlash. Dont let the comments get to you

[@florida_mane6267]

@@DRespect #rektlikeapornstarsasshole 💥😎😎😎✌🔥🔥

[@LabzDex]

As far as the first big social media viral artist, I think ASAP Rocky might have a claim to that with “Pe$o” in 2011.

[@soun.slayer]

Big Draco!!!

[@RanterInShades]

The only area I think Soulja Boy is influential in is popularizing stupid dance-rap, but even then he probably wasn't the first.

[@florida_mane6267]

T-Pain was arguably the first in that regard

[@iteitsmeok]

soulja boy is the 2nd coming

[@Brenomenon]

A$AP Rocky with the video for Purple Swag in 2011 predates Keef by a little bit. Not quite as big a song, but he built a career off it

[@FlipWarBucks]

Lil B did it 2nd and best. Same shoes an all. Fight me an my cat if you feel different.

[@florida_mane6267]

Only an idiot would disgrace the Based God

[@cipherclothingco]

He’s trolling for the most part but he’s right he did a lot of things first but he’s becoming more of a meme to stay relevant. Plus people leave out Lil B who Soulja was connected with.

[@Stackztootrill]

You overthinking it fam

[@DRespect]

I have to

[@Kevo6492]

Soulja Boy loses all legitimacy talking about influencing and shit when he's out here selling knockoff Chinese consoles that have already been on the market for a minute just slapping his name on them and acting like he made them.

[@LikeYayHigh]

Soulja boy was signed to Collipark when crank dat came out.. you really slipping

[@solomonkamara866]

Bruh, you stretching. Respeck the Drako

[@drewphonix7685]

Big Dreco taught Master Roshi the Turtle Wave. Google it

[@disarmyouwitha]

You seem to differentiate internet from social media by what device, effectively. You can walk away from your computer / you can’t walk away from your phone. It’s just curious is all. But I’m often very interested in hearing people describe the internet.

[@DRespect]

Myspace/early twitter days were desktops and laptops...I think I had T-Mobile Sidekick in 2005....AOL's AIM service was the closest thing I had to connect to people outside of my contact list I hear you "But I’m often very interested in hearing people describe the internet."...I feel the same way Let me describe what I meant Walking away from the internet is referring to the accessibility of the content .....Bobby Shmurda's Hot Ni**a was more impactful because of memes of his dance....Maybe less views but back in the Old days people weren't going to youtube to watch videos...they were embedded on websites....on Myspace I remember embedding videos to automatically play when someone got to my page...but youtube wasnt a home it WAS kind of a tool Twitter IG Are tools you can interact and market with....This isnt the "Internet"...Do you need a wifi connection to use them ...YES...but I see them as tools to sell or connect But i think Soulja's era wasn't about strategy....it was cat videos and Charlie bit my finger...there was a huge element of luck to it....which is great because it makes his hit more organic... I think its an interesting topic to dive into in the future..once I form a stronger argument

[@disarmyouwitha]

​ D Respect It's definitely interesting how the web has changed from "Everyone has their own website", where you might use KZbin as a tool to post a video to your page (in a time where there was no really good way to share a video with someone online) to "Everyone has a profile (on X giant media site)" -- where we go to find people at these Hubs of the internet, rather than in their own home on the internet. The web has also consolidated and picked up on this idea since the advent of "Social Media" sites like MySpace -- Most ppl only go to a few different websites nowadays.. Google, Facebook, KZbin, etc. And there has been a huge shift in how people use the internet.. and the internet's capabilities. You can now stream (legal) movies to your phone without being connected to WIFI -- that's incredible. xD On top of this, sites like KZbin have grown a lot with the web.. KZbin used to have NO ADS remember?? xD But now it's a place for content creators to make money. It was a huge shift. I def. agree that Soulja came up in a time when the internet was.. different. It was very funny hearing him talk about taking his songs and uploading them to Limewire with the wrong song name.. very creative thinking that helped push him further than other people just using "myspace music" to promote themselves.

[@AdamWestTheDrunk]

Idk what you're talking about D, cat videos are still the shit

[@bgcorporation]

He must be really desperate for money because he pushed the first console and immediately got hit with a lawsuit. Then he pushed his second console and I think is getting hit with yet another lawsuit. Now this? Desperation man.

[@TheChosen1inc]

bgcorporation its doing what he wanted it to do, now everyone talkin bout him

[@florida_mane6267]

Yet he's put here calling everybody a thief

[@DrWNoLs]

I think you took his points in bad faith. Soulja Boy clearly is the blueprint for someone like Lil Pump. He didn't neccessarily show artists anything they wouldn't figure out, but he proved to record labels that this lane can make real money which then influenced the game. Label first. Did Soulja not have the first smash hit from KZbin? I can't think of any other where the content was enthusiastically released on KZbin for the sake of getting on the radio. That's why he pointed out the Breakfast Club. Not that he created simulcasting, rather that he created the necessity of hip hop content on KZbin even if you're already on the radio. No paywall, not bonus content, it is the primary focus. I'd actually argue Soulja Boy had a strong influence on how Mac Miller would release singles w/ the KZbin video first.

[@DrWNoLs]

Put it this way. "How many views did that get?" became a relevant question in hip hop starting with Soulja Boy. Fastforward to now and 6ix9ine is ON THE RADIO bragging about KZbin views that interview will get. Think about that. It's easy to assume it would always be the norm, but that is unbelievable to imagine you made it on the radio reverting to talking about the internet FIRST. Soulja Boy's music is wack as fuck btw just thought I'd mention.

[@florida_mane6267]

@@DrWNoLs Kiss me through the phone still bumps in the whip though

[@DrWNoLs]

@@florida_mane6267 Truuuuue. Gotta give him that.

[@FormerlyKnownAsArt]

Lmao @ the cat videos comment

[@trey3eaz994]

Souljahelped Sosa too , he was signed to sod

[@isaiahmoseley5503]

Soulja boy is absolutely right..but 5% heck naw!

[@ghostaccountlmao]

1) Nothing is as viral as Gangnam Style so let's just take that off the table 2) Maybe he is in fact the first viral, internet rapper. I don't know. My fucking beef with Soulja is that he thinks because he's first he has a claim. Naw nigga. That's now how it works. If Soulja had a stroke one day before uploading his song or whatever and it never hit the internet, does anyone really believe NO ONE would've tried to get hot through social media/internet viral marketing? Hell naw. Sit the fuck down. He didn't revolutionize anything, he got lucky. If it wasn't going to be him, it would've been someone else. So get over it.

[@DRespect]

my point about gangum style was to separate periods of the internet ...but i'll grant you that I agree...at some point someone would have done it...its not like Grandmaster Flash creating the break mix on the turntables...different level of pioneering

[@nutritiousbigspaniel3856]

But it's a shit song. I listen to Alan Silvestri or The Bee Gees then listen to "crank that" and I instantly laugh. His console's are pretty bad ass though

[@florida_mane6267]

Why the Bee Gees of all artists. 😂

[@aaron777glock]

Yo