Soulja Boy throws rock hand signs at a Fortnite event red carpet

Soulja Boy

2007public figureclassic

Published September 28, 2026

Soulja Boy is the online alias of Atlanta rapper DeAndre Cortez Way, whose 2007 breakout 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' turned him into an early YouTube-era hitmaker and, a decade later, into a recurring internet meme figure. A December 2018 launch of rebranded emulator consoles and a January 2019 Breakfast Club rant about Drake produced some of the most-quoted lines of that stretch.

hip hop memes celebrity reaction memes dance memes catchphrase memes late 2000s memes

Overview

The Soulja Boy meme cluster pulls from two eras of his career. The first is the 'Crank That' dance craze around 2007 and 2008, when the song's simple choreography spawned endless YouTube parodies and dance uploads1. The second wave hit in late 2018 through early 2019, when a stretch of dubious product launches and combative interview quotes gave the internet fresh material to work with2.

The most-quoted line from the console fiasco is 'Nintendo ain't gon do SHIT,' a tweet Soulja Boy fired off after critics warned his SouljaGame handheld could bring lawsuits3. A few weeks later on The Breakfast Club, his 'Drake? DRAKE?! The n***a that got bodied by Pusha-T?' delivery became the 'Draaake?!' screenshot that Instagram accounts spent January 2019 captioning with phrasal templates4.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (early career) / Twitter (viral meme spread)
Date
2007

DeAndre Cortez Way started uploading tracks to SoundClick in 2005 and posted his first YouTube video on March 15th, 20061. His single 'Crank That (Soulja Boy),' released May 2nd, 2007, spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song1. A November 22nd, 2009 re-upload of the official music video has since passed 375 million views on YouTube5.

How It Spread

On December 5th, 2018, Soulja Boy announced the SouljaGame Console and SouljaGame Handheld through his Twitter account2. Users quickly identified the units as ANBERNIC emulators rebranded with his name and marked up in price, with the handheld advertising 3,000 titles that included pirated Nintendo classics2. He fired back at critics online, telling anyone worried about a Nintendo suit they had nothing to worry about and declaring 'Nothings going to happen everything is legit'3.

The rollout kept expanding. On December 15th, 2018, he added the SouljaGame Fuze priced around $640 and the SouljaGame Mini at $99, with the Mini identified as another ANBERNIC device while the Fuze's contents stayed unclear6. Coverage also floated the possibility that a Trademark Counterfeiting Act violation could carry a lengthy prison sentence7.

The persona hardened into meme fuel a few weeks later. On a January 2019 Breakfast Club sit-down, Soulja Boy claimed he taught Drake everything he knows, and the 'Draaake?!' clip hit more than 13 million views within days4. On January 25th, 2019, San Antonio artist Colton Valentine painted a mural of the interview screenshot on the side of Supremes Sports Bar, which Complex, Uproxx and San Antonio Current all picked up4.

Timeline

2005

DeAndre Cortez Way begins uploading songs to SoundClick under the Soulja Boy name.

2006-03-15

Soulja Boy uploads his first video to YouTube.

2007-05-02

'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' is released; it later spends seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

2009-11-22

An official re-upload of the 'Crank That' music video is posted to YouTube, later passing 375 million views.

2011-10-18

The biographical documentary Soulja Boy: The Movie is released.

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