This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Versace

Type	Private
Industry	Consumer Goods
Founded	1978
Headquarters	Milan, Italy
Key people	Gianni Versace, Founder Santo Versace, Chairman & Co-CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris, Director & Co-CEO Donatella Versace, Artistic Director
Products	Textile - Apparel [1]
Revenue	€ 340.2 million (2011)
Employees	422
Website	versace.com

Gianni Versace S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒanni veɾˈsaːʧe]), usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion company and trade name founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.

The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, (though the Versace family are from Reggio Calabria) and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses. Versace designs, markets, and distributes luxury clothing, accessories, makeup, and home furnishings under the various brands of the Versace Group. In 1994, the brand became a household name after the widespread coverage of the Black Versace dress of Elizabeth Hurley.^[1]

Gianni Versace was killed by Andrew Cunanan on July 15,1997^[2]. His sister Donatella Versace, formerly vice-president, then stepped in as creative director of Versace and his older brother Santo Versace became CEO. Donatella's daughter Allegra Versace also owns 50 percent of the company since 2004 as wished by Gianni in his last will. Allegra also has the last say of the sale and other important details in the Versace clothing line.^[3]

Versace's Style Department employs a group of designers and stylists who work in teams. Each team is specifically dedicated to each fashion line or label. These teams operate under the close supervision and guidance of Donatella Versace.

Versace lines[link]

Some designs from the Fall-Winter 2007 Versace collection.

There are several lines that make up Versace: Atelier Versace, Versace Couture, Versace Sports, Versace Home Collection, Versace Jeans Couture, Versace Collection and Versus. In addition to clothing and accessories, it also operates a hotel, the Palazzo Versace. Palazzo Versace, opened in September 2000 in the Australian Gold Coast, is the first to be branded by an international luxury goods company. A Palazzo Versace is currently under development in Dubai scheduled to open in late 2013. On June 25th 2010, Versace announced the launch of Damac Towers interior design by Versace Home in downtown Beirut. While currently under construction set to opening 2013, it won the prestigious Bloomberg International Property Awards as “Best High Rise Architecture” together with “Best Interior Design” and several other awards.

Versace Couture, which contains high-end, often handmade apparel, jewelry, watches, fragrances, cosmetics, handbags, and home furnishings, is the house's main line. Traditionally, this is the only line presented on the runway which is shown during Milan's fashion week, but this has not been strictly the case in recent years. Couture dresses in this line may cost about $10,000 and suits cost approximately $5,000. Donatella Versace directly heads this line and designs a vast amount of the items. The other Versace label named Versace Collection,^[4] and again overseen by Donatella Versace, is the second high-end line of the group and is designed toward younger more fashioned people, the logo is discreet and consist in a hollowed V surrounded by the classic Greek frieze or is signed in all word with the word "collection" written smaller in black at the bottom line of the name Versace in hollowed letters or in white. The Versace Sport line was stopped in 2008 due to large counterfacting of this line, damaging the Versace group image.

Versace Jeans Couture, a casual clothing line, focuses on informal clothing and high-end denim and classic Versace print shirts. It is readily available and comparably affordable, but has been discontinued from the United States for the most part. This line is distributed through 56 boutiques and flagship stores, and 1800 multi-brand points of sale, including Internet-based shops. Versace Sport encompassed active wear and accessories. The name was often printed on t-shirts.^[5]

Gallery of selected past designs[link]

• 

  A Gianni Versace design in characteristic bold colours

• 

  A Versace corset top, similar to the controversial leather bondage-theme dresses made by Versace during the early 1990s.

• 

  A Gianni Versace design on display at a Florence, Italy museum in 2007.

Versace eyeglasses Versace eyeglasses are part of the Versace collection and manufactured under license by the Luxottica group

Versace going public[link]

In May 2006, it was reported in WWD that Versace chief executive Giancarlo Di Risio said Versace Group would consider a IPO (initial public offering) on the stock market by next year, ahead of a proposed schedule. This was due to a drop in operating losses from £62m to £4m for 2005, based on sales for the House during the prior 12 months.

Faces of Versace and celebrity culture[link]

Versace has many fans among well-known celebrities. Elton John has long been a wearer of Versace, often featuring custom items covered in diamonds or Swarovski crystals. Other notable fans of the Versace fashion house are Tupac Shakur, Carlos Coy, Elizabeth Hurley, Axl Rose, Beyoncé and Princess Diana, who was offered, but declined, £1,000,000 to appear on the catwalk in Versace to celebrate her divorce from Prince Charles.^{[citation needed]} Jennifer Lopez is known to wear Versace in many of her red carpet fashions. Many of the dresses that Lopez has worn have brought much publicity to the fashion house. Lopez wore the Jungle-Dress at the 2000 Grammys, which became famous for its plunging neckline. Lady Gaga is known to be a fan of Versace, especially vintage Versace. In her 'The Edge of Glory' music video, she is adorned in Gianni Versace's final collection and in 2011 promised to wear only Versace for 2 months. She cites Gianni and Donnatella Versace as major influences on her.

Versace is unique among Italian fashion houses due to its frequent use of a celebrity "face" for the House in advertisements. The contract provides for the use of the celebrity's image, and in return, the celebrity is paid both monetarily and with free Versace clothing. Madonna, for example, was paid $10.5m and given free Versace clothes for 2 years for her contribution to Versace advertising campaign in 2005.

Some of the celebrities that have been the face "for Versace" are Madonna (1995 and 2005), Ashton Kutcher, Ian Somerhalder, Kevin Richardson, Demi Moore, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lil' Kim appeared prominently in fashion shows and editorial advertisements for the brand. During the summer of 2003, The Corrs—who were then recording and promoting their fourth studio album—signed a contract to become the face of Versace for 5 years, Milla Jovovich for ad campaigns and Halle Berry was the face of Versace for Spring/Summer 2006. The current celebrity face of Versace is January Jones, actress.

Versace used the models Carolyn Murphy, Milla Jovovich, Angela Lindvall, Daria Werbowy, Miriam Escott IV, Christy Turlington, Gisele Bündchen and Kate Moss to front the Fall/Winter 2006/7 campaign, and used actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the face for the men's campaign. The 2008 Spring/Summer campaign featured Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey as the face of its men's line and Gisele Bündchen for the women's line. The line has also used models like Isabeli Fontana, Maryna Linchuk, Natalia Vodianova, Mariacarla Boscono, Karlie Kloss, and Catherine McNeil and of course, Versace will always be remembered for the use of legendary supermodels, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Helena Christensen among others.

Versace boutiques[link]

The Versace boutique in Milan, Italy

Fifth Avenue, New York City

There are currently 82 boutiques in the world:

The first to be opened outside of Italy was in Glasgow, Scotland in 1991.

North America

• Atlanta
• Bal Harbour
• Costa Mesa
• Beverly Hills
• Dallas
• Houston
• Las Vegas (Forum Shops, The Crystals)
• Los Angeles
• New York City
• South Coast Plaza
• Tysons Galleria
• Vancouver

Boutiques were previously operated in Montreal, San Francisco, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Chevy Chase, Philadelphia, and Maui, among others, but have since been closed. Versace also features 123 retail areas in a variety of luxury multi-designer department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

South America

• Lima opening in 2011
• São Paulo

Central America

• Paradise Island

Europe

• Bari
• Berlin
• Brussels
• Dnipropetrovsk
• Donetsk
• Frankfurt
• Geneva
• Istanbul
• Izhevsk
• Kiev
• London
• Lugano
• Marbella
• Milan
• Moscow
• Munich
• Nicosia
• Paris
• Porto Cervo
• Prague
• Rome
• Sofia
• St. Moritz
• Tallinn
• Venice
• Vienna
• Yekaterinburg

Middle East

• Abu Dhabi
• Doha
• Dubai (Dubai Mall, BurJuman)
• Jeddah
• Khobar
• Kuwait City
• Manama
• Riyadh

Asia

• Almaty
• Baku
• Bangkok
• Beijing
• Chengdu
• Dalian
• Guangzhou
• Hangzhou
• Harbin
• Hefei
• Ho Chi Minh City
• Hong Kong
• Jakarta
• Kuala Lumpur
• Kunming
• Macau
• Mumbai
• Nanjing
• New Delhi
• Qingdao
• Shanghai
• Shenyang
• Shenzhen
• Singapore
• Suzhou
• Taipei
• Tianjin
• Vladivostock
• Xi'an
• Zhengzhou

Africa

• Casablanca (opening soon)

Australia

• Gold Coast
• Melbourne
• Sydney

Versace headquarters is in Milan. There is a Versace Hotel and Spa called the Palazzo Versace. They are in Gold Coast, Australia and Dubai which opened in 2010.

Versace precious items[link]

Gianni Versace and Frank Muller launched the first Versace watch collection line in 1994. The name of the first collection was Atelier and it became a must among fashionistas and Versace brand lovers.

Since then, the collection of Versace timepieces has evolved and the range of products of the Medusa fashion brand has greatly been expanded.

Versace watches line is produced under license agreement in Switzerland. Timex Group bought the license in 2005 but the Versace watch line is still produced and operated from Switzerland by Vertime SA.

Since the discontinuation of the Atelier collection a new line from the Italian fashion house, Versace Precious Items evolved. The collection includes watches, fine jewelry, and writing instruments.

Lamborghini Murcielago Versace had agreed to make the first ever designer car in the world in the make of a white Lamborghini Murcielago all white exterior and interior with all black rims.

In 1984, the Ford Motor Company offered the Versace edition Lincoln Mark VII. It continued into 1985 but was discontinued after that.

In 2010 Versace unveiled the first Versace mobile phone, the Versace unique, also the first ever 'luxury' multi-media, sapphire-crystal touch screen mobile phone. It comes in a variety of colours, from grey mink to hot pink, lilac to pop red, and costs from $5,600 to $16,000, depending on the trims, available in stainless steel or solid gold. The interior software was done by Modelabs and LG. It is hand-assembled in France, and available only in select Versace boutiques.

References[link]

External links[link]

	Italy portal
	Companies portal
	Fashion portal

• VERSACE.com Company web site
• VERSACEcollection.com Versace Collection web site
• PalazzoVersace.com Versace Hotel at the Gold Coast in Australia
• VersacePreciousItems.com Watches from Versace
• VersaceHomeCollection.com Furniture Collection from Versace
• VersaceCD.com Versace Ceramic Design
• Designs for Versace Home by Bulgarian artist Ilian Rachov
• Photo of Beyonce in Versace dress

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (December 2011)

Robert Williams (born May 6, 1987), better known by his stage name Meek Mill, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was briefly signed to T.I.'s label Grand Hustle Records and in February 2011 signed to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. In March 2011, Mill was included in XXL's "Freshman Class of 2011".^[1]

In 2011, he released his debut single, "Tupac Back", featuring Rick Ross, from his label's compilation album Self Made Vol. 1. That same year he released another single from the album, "Ima Boss", also featuring Ross. The song was later remixed, featuring T.I., Birdman, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled Swizz Beatz and Ross. The remix charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #51. "Ima Boss" is so far Meek Mill's most successful song, peaking at #20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

In February 2012, MTV listed Meek Mill as the #7 hottest MC in their annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list.^[2]

On May 7, 2012, Mill released the second fresh installment in his Dreamchasers series. The mixtape features guest appearances from Drake, Jeremih, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz and more.^[3] Mill has stated his favorite tracks off the tape are "Amen," "A1 Everything" and "Racked Up Shawty" with French Montana and Fabolous.^[4] On May 10, it was announced Meek Mill signed to Roc Nation management.^[4]

Discography[link]

Collaborative albums[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• BloodHoundz – Grimey, Thirsty, Starving, Hungry (2005) (with Mel Love, Dat NIG*A LiL & Young Pooh) +
• BloodHoundz – Blood in Blood Out (2005) (with Mel Love, Dat NIG*A LiL & Young Pooh)
• The Real Me (2007)
• The Real Me 2 (2008) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers (2008) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers 2: Hottest In The City (2009) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers 2.5: The Preview (2009) (Hosted by DJ Cosmic Kev)
• Flamers 3: The Wait Is Over (2010) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Mr.Philadelphia (2010) (Hosted by DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar)
• Dreamchasers (2011) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Dreamchasers 2 (2012) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Same Dream (2012) (with Ace Hood)

Singles[link]

As lead artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Guest appearances[link]

References[link]

Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy at YouTube Live doing his signature dance in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	DeAndre Cortez Way[1][2]
Also known as	Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Born	(1990-07-28) July 28, 1990 (age 21) Chicago, Illinois
Origin	Batesville, Mississippi, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Stacks on Deck/Collipark Music/Interscope
Associated acts	Arab, Mr. Collipark
Website	thedeandreway.com

DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur.

In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the internet, and it later became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.^[3] On August 17 Way was listed at #18 on the Forbes list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings of 2010 earning $7 million for that year.^[4]

Way has currently released three studio albums and one independent album: his debut studio album Souljaboytellem.com (2007) was certified platinum by the RIAA. However, his next two albums, iSouljaBoyTellem (2008) and The DeAndre Way (2010) did not match the commercial success of his debut, the latter only selling 100,000 copies,^[5] despite the success of several singles across both albums, such as "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" and "Turn My Swag On" (iSouljaBoyTellem) and "Pretty Boy Swag" (The DeAndre Way).

On October 18, 2011, Soulja Boy released his documentary bio pic, Soulja Boy: The Movie.

As of 2011, Way has confirmed he is working on his fourth studio album, entitled Promise, which will be released in July 2012.^[6]

Early life[link]

DeAndre Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at age 6,^[7] where he became interested in rap music.^[8]

Career beginnings[link]

At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.^[7] In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, he then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace.^[9][10] In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned & Still Major: Da Album Before da Album, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

Music career[link]

[edit] 2007-08: Souljaboytellem.com

Soulja Boy performing "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" in February 2008.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts.^[11] Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio,^[8][12] was released in the United States on October 2,^[13] peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.^[14]

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". He lost to Kanye West's and T-Pain's "Good Life".

Souljaboytellem.com received a favorable review from Allmusic,^[13] but received mainly negative reviews from other sources such as Entertainment Weekly.^[15] Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one-hit wonder.^[16][17][18]

[edit] 2008-09: iSouljaBoyTellem

The follow-up to souljaboytellem.com, iSouljaBoyTellem, was released on December 16, 2008, to negative critical reception.^[19] The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart it was performed on the first YouTube Live on November 22, 2008, with an introduction from MC Hammer.^[20] "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", with Sammie, followed, peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.^[21] Chris Brown was originally Way's first choice to sing the hook, but respectfully turned down the offer. Way then tried to do it on his own with Auto-Tune but he found it unacceptable.^[22] It sold over 2,000,000 digital copies in the United States, becoming his second song to reach the two million mark in downloads.^[23][24]

On January 26, 2009 Way released his third single "Turn My Swag On". it topped the US Rap Charts and peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has so far sold more than 1,000,000 digital downloads in the United States. It became Soulja Boy's third song to sell 1 million or more downloads.^[24]

[edit] 2009-2010: The DeAndre Way

The DeAndre Way^[25] is Way's third studio album, Way has stated that the album is intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he stated he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West,^[26] Eminem,^[27] among others. The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. On October 30, 2009 Way released three mixtapes Paranormal Activity, Dat Piff & Cortez.^[28] Then it was announced on February 18, 2010 that the first single from the album was gone be "All Black Everything" but it was cancelled & was just put on his promotional mixtape Legendary.^[29] The album was titled "The DeAndre Way" but was changed in early 2010 to Dre with a commercial video snippet for "Do It Big" as the first single but it was cancelled as well.^[30] However it was reverted back to The DeAndre Way in July 2010.

But on June 8, 2010, the official lead single from the album was "Pretty Boy Swag". The single has reached #34 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.^[31] The album's second single was due to be "Digital" but it was just used on his promotional mixtape Best Rapper.^[32] Then it was announced that "Speakers Going Hammer" was gone be the second single, but "Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010 as the second single instead.^[33] On October 13 Soulja Boy performed "Pretty Boy Swag" & a snippet of his third single "Speakers Going Hammer". On October 19, 2010 Way finally released "Speakers Going Hammer" on iTunes the single peaked at #48 on the Hot R&B & Hip Hop tracks Billboard.^[34] The DeAndre Way was released on November 30, 2010 it has so far has only sold 70,000 copies making this Way's lowest selling album. Soulja Boy was to be part of the Summerbeatz tour held in Australia alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy in November 2010, but in lieu of his current album release date Soulja Boy had declined the offer & just embarked on his Who They Want tour.

[edit] 2011-present: Mixtapes and Promise

On January 22, Way released his first mixtape of 2011 Smooky which cover featured a cartoon version of Way on a bicycle doing a 360.^[35] Then On March 17, 2011 Way released the mixtape 1up which cover was based on the Naruto anime Way stated "If I was in a video game, this mixtape would advance me to the next level with an extra life. Power up with the new offering".^[36] On April 20, 2011 Way released his mixtape Juice which cover was based on the Juice the movie Way stated he would also released a mini movie of his own to go along with the mixtape Way stated that he was headed to greatness with the mixtape.^[37] In September 2011, Way confirmed he is working on a new album, called Promise, which will be released in October.^[38] Way also released the cover & title of his second independent album via Twitter, entitled "Skate Boy", which he said would be available in stores November 1, also via twitter.^[39][40]

Other ventures[link]

Stacks on Deck Entertainment[link]

Way founded his record label Stacks on Deck Entertainment in 2004. While Way was signed under Interscope and Collipark Music, he claimed that his label had distribution deals with Universal Music Group and eOne Music.^{[citation needed]}

Current artists

• Soulja Boy (Interscope/Collipark Music/SODMG)(CEO)
• Ja-Bar (TOKE Team/SODMG)
• Arab (Boss Money/SODMG)
• KillaCam (SODMG)
• 350 (SODMG)
• Rashad (SODMG)
• Antonio aka Tony The Deity (SODMG)
• J-Money aka J. Futuristic (SODMG)
• Spinning 9 (SODMG Germany/SODMG)
• M2ThaK (SODMG)
• Calico Jonez (SODMG)
• Riff Raff (SODMG)
• Young Sam (SODMG)
• Agoff (Ocean Gang/SODMG)
• Young L (Ocean Gang/SODMG)
• John Boy (FyreHouse/SODMG)
• Chief Keef (Glory Boyz/SODMG)

Managed DJ's

• DJ Whoogie

Managed Producers

• Soulja Boy
• G5Kids
• Kwony Cash
• R3$ource
• Jay Clink
• Supa Crank It
• Lil Keis

Record production[link]

Way also produces records, including his own. In 2009 Way produced V.I.C.'s single "Get Silly" which went certified Gold & Bow Wow's single "Marco Polo". Way beats often contain the beginning lines "Soulja Boy Tell 'em" But as of late Way has produced beats without using the lines. Also in 2009 Way was also supposed to been producing for Kanye West's fourth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy & Kanye was supposed to been producing for Ways third studio album The DeAndre Way but for unknown reasons neither of them used each other's beats.^[41] On May 13, 2011 Way stated that he had produced & submitted beats for 50 Cent's fifth studio album^[42]

Fashion designing[link]

On March 5, 2008 Way released his official clothing line of S.O.D clothing.^[43] Then also in 2008 Way released his own brand of the popular shoe line entitled "Yums".^[44]

Acting career[link]

In January 7, 2009 Soulja Boy announced that he was supposed to been releasing his own cartoon entitled Soulja Boy: The Animated Series but only one episode was ever released.^[45][46] On April 22, 2011 Way announced that he would be making his acting debut playing the main role as Bishop on the Juice remake & that it would air on BET in sometime.^[47] On July 21, 2011 Way released the trailer to his upcoming documentary about his life entitled Soulja Boy: The Movie that was released on October 18, 2011.^[48]

Personal life[link]

Legal issues[link]

On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (a.k.a. Souljah Boy of Mo Thugs Family) who created the stage name "Souljah Boy" in 1996.^[49]

On October 7, 2009, Way was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia on one count of obstruction, a misdemeanor, for running from police when he'd been ordered to stop while filming a video in an abandoned house. The rapper was released on $550 bond.^[50]

In May 2011, Way and his labels were sued by a local Pennsylvania promoter for failing to make promised payments in connection with a rescheduled concert.^[51]

On October 18, 2011, Way was traveling west on I-20 in Carroll County, Georgia with four other men when their vehicle was pulled over for a vehicle equipment violation. The police officer who made the stop searched the vehicle and found more than five ounces of marijuana. Way was arrested and released on bond during the same day.^[52]

Victim of robbery and battery[link]

On December 30, 2008, Way was robbed and battered in his home. Initial reports indicated that the robbers were six masked men with AK-47s and pistols but on December 31, 2008, video clips surfaced on the Internet of two masked men claiming sole credit for the crime.^[53] Soulja Boy described the incident to MTV News a month later: He had come home very late at night after attending an album release party and was recording songs with friends when the robbers came in pointing their guns.^[54]

Family tragedies[link]

On the night of March 22, 2011, Way's little brother Deion Jenkins was killed in a car crash.^[55] Then on March 24, 2011 Way's older brother threatened to commit suicide.^[56]

Controversies[link]

Way's music has been banned from some school dances for sexual or violent content and/or innuendos. However, he has denied these claims.^[57] In the original YouTube video for "Shootout", Soulja Boy demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.^[58]

Nas[link]

On February 25, 2008, Way said in an interview that "Nas killed hip hop and his own career".^[59] Way later apologized for his comments.^[60]

Ice-T[link]

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick" and criticized Way for "killing hip-hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube.^[61] The two then traded videos back and forth over the Internet.^[62] Rapper Kanye West defended Way by arguing that the younger artist created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music.^[63] The feud was parodied in a 2010 episode of The Boondocks.

In May 2011, Way's feud somewhat reignited with Ice-T again regarding The film Juice. Way stated he would also released a movie of his own to go along with his mixtape of the same name again somewhat reignited with Ice-T following a statement during Ice-T's interview with Shade 45 in late April 2011. Ice-T stated that Way's role as Bishop, which was famously originated by Tupac Shakur was not an issue. But Ice-T would find the fact that the film being remade is problematic saying ""What?” he said. “But that’s Pac… At some point, somebody gotta stop it. I came out. I made some statements. Man, I don’t know. Do you, dude, do you. If the masses accept it, it shows you the state we’re in… Come on man, you think I’d try to remake Pac’s movie? Good luck though, I'm not a hater...eh." Way himself barraged Ice-T with retaliatory tweets on the same day, joking that someone should "get this guy a hairline." ^[64][65]

Charles Hamilton[link]

On December 9, 2008, Charles Hamilton commented in a interview by saying that Way was making it harder for new artists to be signed.^[66] Way responded by saying "X out the Sonic and fuck with Mario, you might want to got damn eat a mushroom."^{[67][further explanation needed]} Charles Hamilton responded with the diss song "I'm You Last Year With Talent".^[68] Then the diss song "Word Aight".^[69]

Bow Wow[link]

On February 2, 2009, Way challenged Bow Wow to a race in their Lamborghinis and claimed Bow Wow's Lamborghini was a rental.^[70] On February 4, 2009 Bow Wow proved that he owned his Lamborghini and said "its halloween in Bankhead for you everyday nigga..you scared..you all nervous and shit". Way responded on twitter by saying "HE FUCKED UP!!!! IM BOUT TO SHITTTT ON THIS NIGGA!! LOL!!!!!".^[71] On February 7, 2009 both artist sent diss songs to each other such as Way's "Fuck Bow Wow" & Bow Wow's "What I Think About You".^[72] Later that day during a phone conversation both rappers settled their differences.^[73]

Fabolous[link]

On December 28, 2010, Fabolous during a radio interview commented on the claim that Way does cocaine, saying "pretty boy swag but never coke my nose though",^[74] a reference to Way's song "Pretty Boy Swag. "Soulja Boy went on a tirade^[75] on Twitter in response, saying "I ignore dis foo like 5x before this. fuck that. If you send some niggaz to spray me @myfabolouslife at least I die I real nigga fuck you boy." 50 Cent also took to Twitter to say, "leave him the f*** alone before somebody get hurt." Way and Fabolous ended their beef on a radio interview.^[76]

U.S. Military[link]

In September 2011, Soulja Boy released the song "Let's Be Real". One of the lines of the song went: "Fuck the FBI and the army troops ... fighting for what? Be your own man ... I'll be flying through the clouds with green like I'm Peter Pan."^[77] After the song was released, Soulja Boy was highly criticized by the military members and their families, especially in regards to the timing relative to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.^[78][79][80] Soulja Boy apologized, "When I expressed my frustration with the US Army, not only did my words come out wrong, I was wrong to even speak them." He adds, "So, I write this to give my sincerest apology to all members of the United States military services, as well as their families that were offended by my most recent lyrics."^[77] Representatives for Soulja Boy have indicated that the song has been pulled from his upcoming album, Promise, and will not be available for sale. They are also attempting to remove the video from the internet.^[81]

On September 7, 2011, the New York Times cited the U.S. military has announced an official ban on Way's music. Way apologized for the content of the song and has offered to do free performances for American soldiers.^[82]

Discography[link]

Tours[link]

• America's Most Wanted (2009)
• Who They Want (2011)
• The World Is Yours (2012)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

• BET Awards
  • 2007: Best New Artist (Nominated)
  • 2008: Viewer's Choice Award: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)
  • 2009: Viewer's Choice Award: "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

• BET Hip-Hop Awards
  • '2007: Best Hip-Hop Dance (Won)'

• Grammy Awards
  • 2008: Best Rap Song: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

• Ozone Awards
  • '2007: Patiently Waiting: Mississippi (Won)'
  • 2008: Best Breakthrough Artist (Nominated)
  • 2008: TJ's DJ's Tastemaker Award (Nominated)

• Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
  • 2007: Favorite Male Singer (Nominated)

• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2009: Choice Music: Rap Artist (Nominated)
  • 2009: Choice Music: R&B Track for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)
  • 2009: Choice Music: Hook Up for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone"
  • 2009: Choice Music: Artist (Nominated)

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one in the United States

References[link]