Parlé: What can we expect for your next studio album?
Soulja Boy: Right now, I’m working on the new album, The DeAndre Way. With this album, my flow is gonna be crazy, and will show every one just how versatile I am. It’s definitely gonna be a shocker, and will be a big step up for me. I really feel like this album will go platinum. I’ve got an all new sound, better lyrics. The record will also show my evolution since my first two albums. This album is definitely going to be more serious; I will be delivering better punchlines, better beats. I am taking my time with this album. It will be very musical, and will speak the truth.
Parlé: One of my favorite top three hits of yours, besides “Crank That,” and “Turn My Swag On” would definitely be “Marco Polo,” the song you produced for Bow Wow. What was it like collaborating with him?
Soulja Boy: It was weird! (Laughs) Nah, I mean, I grew up watching him, and he’s the same little dude I watched on TV all my life. All the girls love him, and when I finally met him, and got to work with him it was surreal. We were in a zone as soon as we got to the studio. That dude’s serious about his music, and I’m serious about it too, so it was cool.
Parlé: I know you experienced another “surreal” moment in your life when you were nominated for your first Grammy back in 2008 for “Crank That” as Best Rap Song. How did that make you feel?
Soulja Boy: It felt wonderful. I can’t explain it. Although I wish I could have won, I definitely wasn’t bitter about it. To be in the same category as Kanye and T-Pain was enough for me.
Parlé: You seem like you are a loyal dude, Soulja Boy.
Soulja Boy: What made you say that?
Parlé: Your boy, Arab appears alongside you in just about every one of your videos. I heard that you two grew up together, and you made a pact that if you made it big, he would too. Is that true?
Soulja Boy: It’s true. My homeboy, Arab, and I have been cool since the eighth grade. It was hard for both of us to make “real” friends, and we were both into this music game. It’s crazy, but since all the fame, our friendship has remained the same, and it’s only gotten stronger. He’s been there through the good times, and he’s been there through the hard times. He’s definitely good peoples. The dude’s also mad talented, and he is one of my artists under my joint-label with Mr. Collipark, Stacks on Deck Entertainment.
Parlé: What would you like to say to all of the MC’s, such as Ice-T, and critics who have labeled your music as “garbage,” claiming that you are a one-hit wonder who creates ‘mindless, catchy music, only lucrative for the ringtone market?’
Soulja Boy: In anything you do, there will always be haters. All I wanna say to them is go complain to Sound Scan. (Laughs)
Parlé: I mean on the flip side, when you’ve got Kanye West defending you against Ice-T, ‘saying that you crafted a new, original work for hip hop,’ how does that make you feel?
Soulja Boy: It makes me feel real good, especially coming from Kanye. I definitely respect his work and what he has to say, and it definitely was a good look. Shout out to my boy, Kanye!
Parlé: Is the Ice-T feud put away for good, or is it still brewing?
Soulja Boy: Nah, I’m done with that. The feud between me and Ice-T is dead. I’m too focused on my music.
