The DeAndre Way
Encyclopedia
The DeAndre Way is the third studio album
by American
rapper Soulja Boy
. It was released on November 27, 2010. He also planned to release his novel, Teenage Millionaire, on the album's release day. Soulja Boy stated the album would be the "biggest album of his career." He planned to go on The DeAndre Way Tour after the album was released.
, and Eminem
. Soulja Boy collaborated with American rappers Gucci Mane
and Birdman on "Swag Flu" and with Canadian teen pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber
on "Rich Girl". Nicki Minaj
, Snoop Dogg
, 50 Cent
, Kanye West
, Lil Wayne
, Drake
, Trey Songz
, Jamie Foxx
, Busta Rhymes
, Chris Brown, Ray J
, and Arab were in works to be on the album but Trey Songz, 50 Cent, and Arab were the only artists who appear on the album out of those names. S.O.D. rapper JBar was to be on the album but was not. A track with 50 Cent called "Mean Mug" was released on September 23.
The album has sold 100,000 copies in the United States, making it Way's lowest selling album. On April 23, 2011, four months after the album's release, during a interview with Complex Way stated that internal disagreements with Interscope
influenced the album's disappointing record sales. Way also blamed the timing of the album was not good as well.
Way also stated that he felt helpless because of communication with Interscope was lacking, and he believed the label failed to listen to him. He claims that his souring relationship with producer and mentor Mr. Collipark
, who for the first time did not do any production work on Way's album, gave him less power to negotiate with record execs.
Even though the two have since made up, Way stated that because of the disappointing album sales he was about to give up on his music career, but he didn't because of his other mentor 50 Cent
, who was also a guest on the album, told him not to and to keep going.
" was released as the official lead single from the album on June 8, 2010. The single has reached number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100
, number six on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart and number five on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The single has gone on to sell over 1,000,000 copies.
"Blowing Me Kisses" was released as the second single from the album on August 31, 2010. "Speakers Going Hammer
" was released as the third single from the album on October 19, 2010. A music video was filmed and released for the track "Mean Mug" which features 50 Cent
.
's previous albums. IGN
stated "For a party-ready southern hip-hop album it gets the job done, but anyone looking for something more substantial needs to look elsewhere." Slant Magazine contributed, "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." However Rolling Stone
labelled the album "bland and jaundiced".
Whilst HipHopDX states that it "lacks any evidence of creativity".
chart, number eight on the Rap Albums chart, and number eighteen on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rapper Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy
DeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....
. It was released on November 27, 2010. He also planned to release his novel, Teenage Millionaire, on the album's release day. Soulja Boy stated the album would be the "biggest album of his career." He planned to go on The DeAndre Way Tour after the album was released.
Background
Soulja Boy wished to work with artists such as Jay-ZJay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, and Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
. Soulja Boy collaborated with American rappers Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane
Radric Davis , better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House and followed with albums such as Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released...
and Birdman on "Swag Flu" and with Canadian teen pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
on "Rich Girl". Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
, Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
, Trey Songz
Trey Songz
Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...
, Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
, Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
, Chris Brown, Ray J
Ray J
William Ray Norwood Jr. , better known by his stage name Ray J, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.-Early life:...
, and Arab were in works to be on the album but Trey Songz, 50 Cent, and Arab were the only artists who appear on the album out of those names. S.O.D. rapper JBar was to be on the album but was not. A track with 50 Cent called "Mean Mug" was released on September 23.
The album has sold 100,000 copies in the United States, making it Way's lowest selling album. On April 23, 2011, four months after the album's release, during a interview with Complex Way stated that internal disagreements with Interscope
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
influenced the album's disappointing record sales. Way also blamed the timing of the album was not good as well.
Way also stated that he felt helpless because of communication with Interscope was lacking, and he believed the label failed to listen to him. He claims that his souring relationship with producer and mentor Mr. Collipark
Mr. Collipark
Michael Crooms, better known by his stage name Mr. Collipark and also known as DJ Smurf, is a hip hop producer and the president of his own Atlanta-based record label, Collipark Records....
, who for the first time did not do any production work on Way's album, gave him less power to negotiate with record execs.
Even though the two have since made up, Way stated that because of the disappointing album sales he was about to give up on his music career, but he didn't because of his other mentor 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
, who was also a guest on the album, told him not to and to keep going.
Singles
"Pretty Boy SwagPretty Boy Swag
"Pretty Boy Swag" is the first official single released by Soulja Boy from his third studio album The DeAndre Way. The song was produced by G5 Kids and is thought to be about Wesley "CaliSwagg" Washington. Pretty Boy Swag has peaked at number #1 on Atlanta radio stations Atlanta Radio Hot v103 and...
" was released as the official lead single from the album on June 8, 2010. The single has reached number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, number six on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart and number five on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The single has gone on to sell over 1,000,000 copies.
"Blowing Me Kisses" was released as the second single from the album on August 31, 2010. "Speakers Going Hammer
Speakers Going Hammer
Speakers Going Hammer is the third official single from The DeAndre Way by American rapper Soulja Boy. The song features production by Boi-1da. The song was released to iTunes on October 19, 2010. The song peaked at #48 on the Hot R&B & Hip Hop tracks Billboard...
" was released as the third single from the album on October 19, 2010. A music video was filmed and released for the track "Mean Mug" which features 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
.
Reception
Upon release, The DeAndre Way has received mixed reviews from music critics. However it has garnered slightly better critical reception than Soulja BoySoulja Boy
DeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....
's previous albums. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated "For a party-ready southern hip-hop album it gets the job done, but anyone looking for something more substantial needs to look elsewhere." Slant Magazine contributed, "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." However Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
labelled the album "bland and jaundiced".
Whilst HipHopDX states that it "lacks any evidence of creativity".
Chart performance
The DeAndre Way sold 13,360 copies in its first week, a significant drop from his previous two albums. It debuted at number ninety on the U.S. Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, number eight on the Rap Albums chart, and number eighteen on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Track listing
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004.... |
8 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
90 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | November 27, 2010 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Universal Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
Standard, Deluxe |
| United States | November 30, 2010 | Interscope Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:... |
||
| Canada | ||||
| United Kingdom | Universal Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
|||
| Germany | December 4, 2010 | |||