MTV writer: Soulja Boy is a performance artist and none of us are in on the joke (seriously)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1599138/20081111/soulja_boy_tellem.jhtml?rsspartner=rssBloglines

Imagine if everything you knew about Soulja Boy Tell'em was wrong. That he was not a hyperactive, cash-craving demon hell-bent on destroying hip-hop. That his songs were not shameless stabs at ringtone royalties, his lyrics not indecipherable and lightweight, his image not clownish and gaudy. Imagine if he were secretly more brilliant than you could ever imagine, that his entire career has been one deceptively subtle bit of social commentary, and that you are just not smart enough to be in on the joke.

I ask you to consider all this, because I am fairly sure that it is all true. Soulja Boy gets a bad rap (pardon the pun). He is not a pariah. He is not, as some of his hip-hop forefathers have claimed, "garbage." He is simply the greatest performance artist of our generation, a genius whose body of work — be it his songs, his persona, his merchandise or his endless parade of YouTube musings — is solely committed to satirizing hip-hop culture.

That most people don't get the joke is almost more of a comment on his success. If you look at some of the best moments of performance art in recent history — say, Andy Kaufman's turns as abusive lounge lizard Tony Clifton or Gregg Turkington's groan-inducing Neil Hamburger routines or even Norm MacDonald's purposeful tank job at the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget — they are almost always misunderstood by those not in on the joke.

These are well-crafted pieces of art, designed to tweak, to provoke and, often, even to enrage anyone not smart enough to catch on (like Stamos in the MacDonald bit or, say, Ice-T with Soulja Boy). The truly great artists create works that somehow manage to transcend sheer annoyance and enter the realm of astute commentary — some bit or character or act that pokes holes in social contrivances and points out the inherent ridiculousness of a given situation or notion. Soulja Boy does this basically every time he opens his mouth.

There are about a million examples of this. The first is "Crank That," an amazingly misogynistic song about a sexual act that's probably banned in several countries, yet was marketed to tweens and ended up on more than a few critics' "Best Songs of 2007" lists (mine included). Or the follow-up single, "Yahhh!," which ditched the concept of a hook altogether in favor of Soulja shouting "Yarhghhrhhhrhhfhrwhhwhwh!" like the Great Cornholio. There is the fact that he named his major-label debut SouljaBoyTellem.com, or that he lent his name to a brand of sneakers that come in colors like "Grape," "Lemon Lime" and "Smores," or that he walked around with puff paint on his sunglasses and thousands of dollars of diamonds around his neck.

To the unaware, all of that made Soulja Boy a walking stereotype, a one-stop shop for all that is wrong with hip-hop culture: the sexism, the braggadocio, the idea of style over substance. He caused people to cringe and to lash out, because what they saw made them angry. But really, that's only because they weren't aware that this was all an act, that the entire concept of Soulja Boy "the character" was a rather elaborate bit of performance art designed to point out the inherent ridiculousness of all of those stereotypes. Or, at least, I hoped so.

But recently, two things have sewn it up for me, the first being a series of YouTube clips Soulja began posting in August called — cringingly enough — "Rich N---a Sh--." In the first video, the character of Soulja is taken to new heights: waking up on a Gucci-fied bed, donning a "Soulja Boy" robe, blowing his nose with a $100 bill and riding around his barely filled house on a Segway because "only poor-ass n---as walk." In subsequent chapters, he approaches two homeless men and makes them beg for money, shows off a room in another of his houses in which only those who have $50,000 in the bank are allowed to enter, plays a few minutes of "Grand Theft Auto" on a massive TV, and rides a souped-up go-kart around a gated community.

It's perhaps the greatest example of performance art I've ever seen, if only because it takes just about every other stereotype possible and satirizes it in one fell swoop. The character has become huge, preening and grotesque, like a villain in professional wrestling or a bad bit of vaudeville. There is no way he could be taken seriously, only he is, which sort of proves just how brilliant Soulja really is (because, really, no one could be that dumb). But, things had only begun.

Late last month, Soulja did an interview with respected cultural critic Touré, in which he submitted to a form of the Proust Questionnaire. When asked, "What historical figure do you most hate?," Soulja was apparently stumped, to which Touré prompted: "Others have said Hitler, bin Laden, the slave masters ... "

"Oh, wait! Hold up! Shout-out to the slave masters!" Soulja replied "Without them, we'd still be in Africa. ... We wouldn't be here to get this ice and tattoos."

Now, keep in mind that Soulja — or, as I'm convinced, his alter ego, 18-year-old DeAndre Way — claimed that his comment was blown out of proportion because he was being "sarcastic," but I'd like to think this was the final master stroke: a hip-hop artist making a comment so mind-blowingly ignorant and insensitive that even the most fervent supporters of the genre would be forced to throw their hands up in the air and say "You know what? There really is no hope."

Of course, you are probably thinking there is no way Soulja Boy is that smart, that he is just a money-hungry kid with no respect and no talent and a blight to the entire genre. And you might be completely right. But that probably also means that you're not in on the joke, and therefore, you're also missing the point. Soulja Boy isn't real; he's a character created out of the public's misconceptions, a brilliant bit of social commentary sprung from one of the most brilliant performance artists of our time. Or, at least, I hope he is. All I really know is that, apparently, he has a new album coming out next month, and personally, I can't wait to see what he does next. Actually, I'm slightly terrified. And that's great art.

indecipherable = gichi

you could say this about a million things

amy grant, warrant, one of those blink 182 type bands, etc

damn toure went hard huh

right?

tl;dYAHHH

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geechy

the article is performance art, maybe?

haha this may be closer to the truth

the article is performance art, maybe?

this comment = performance art

James Montgomery, spread the wealth.

"I really like this thing that I should, by all accounts, be completely horrified by. It must be performance art!"

you are all performance arts

no offense obv

nobody here thinks the author is serious, right?

am i even serious oh god how deep does this rabbit hole go

In Russia, Nick Sylvester fire YOU

i like this idea. someone tell me this the next time i'm on acid.

whoa i just realized "limelight" is totally a song about soulja boy.

groan-inducing Neil Hamburger routines or even Norm MacDonald's purposeful tank job at the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget — they are almost always misunderstood by those not in on the joke.

wtf everyone who goes to see neil hamburger is in on the joke!

and i sat through the zip code rapists (his "rock band") after spendy 14 hours at a noise fest!

wtf everyone who goes to see neil hamburger is in on the joke!

― M@tt He1ges0n, Wednesday, November 12, 2008 6:01 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

or are they...

this did lead me to the norm macdonald roast of bob saget which is indeed pretty funny

wtf everyone who goes to see neil hamburger is in on the joke!

― M@tt He1ges0n, Wednesday, November 12, 2008 6:01 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

or are they...

― permanent fun dollars (ice crӕm), Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:03 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

5300 bonnie prince billy fans can't be wrong!

it's not as good as gilbert gottfried's roast of bob saget, xpost

macdonald's is funny because there aren't any funny jokes in it; but I didn't listen to gottfried's yet

wtf everyone who goes to see neil hamburger is in on the joke!

Plenty of people have been exposed to him in various ways, over the last 15 years, without being in on the joke, though.

but I didn't listen to gottfried's yet

just you wait. gottfried annihilated every other comedian on that setlist

Why are all the examples of performance art actually comedy routines?

what's funny about the band firehouse actually being an elaborate retelling of the lord of the rings?

I only skimmed this article because it was boring.

This is the same dude that wrote this piece of high-end trolling:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1557979/20070424/arcade_fire.jhtml

Why are all the examples of performance art actually comedy routines?

Bob Dylan's book Chronicles describes a woman he knew in NY back in the early 60s who broke into people's houses and stole their shit but got off of charges claiming that what she was doing was performance art.

great book tho that particular story is clearly anecdote as performance art

if the purpose is to make money, it's not performance art, it's just performance. hurrrrrrrrr. when you do it for free for no reason, you're just an idiot.

and if it ain't got no melody...

hurrrrrrrrr

8)

young people in dancing and fun not taking themselves so seriously SHOCKA

macdonald's roast was far and away the best of the night. of course, everyone knows this now because we've been told it was the best by everyone. anyone with half a brain thought it was genius, which almost devalues it in a way, sadly.

i'm almost certain this writer's intention was satire (whether even he knows it or not), but it's such a slippery slope. You can say he's a genius, then ironically put him on your top 10 list, but when comes the point when you're just an idiot?

the aunt jackie pwnd

isn't performance art just comedy that isn't funny?

ftr, macdonald's set was funny. it had me in tears. if you didn't laugh but said you appreciated it as performance art or something like that, you didn't get it.

i wasn't talking about norm mcdonald, just in general.

yeah that was also in general, sorry

it's cool. i like normy mac.

You can say he's a genius, then ironically put him on your top 10 list, but when comes the point when you're just an idiot?

― Kevin Keller, Wednesday, November 12, 2008 5:58 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You don't get it etc. etc.

haha wellll what's up james montgomery!! what do you think of the new soulja boy single?? also free gucci mane

Every man destroys the thing he loves. Especially guys with bulldozers. Check out Little Richard vis-a-vis jump blues. Jimmy Page vis-a-vis Eddie Cochran. So on.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_la13a3G3rA1qztk8oo1_500.gif

I've been hooked on Keri Hilson's version of Turn My Swag on since Cher Lloyd's first X Factor audition. The only mp3 I've been able to find cuts out suddenly after 2 and a bit minutes, is there another longer version out there on a mixtape release or something?

pretty boy swag is my shit

yeah it's a great song

word around town bitch my dick tastes like ribs

cant wait for the 3000 post thread when the deandre way gets a 10

who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!
who they want? SMOOKY!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/07/soulja-boy-buys-55-million-jet-gulfstream-g5-birthday.html

#happybirthdaysouljaboy

<3 <3 <3

damn i just read the king of torts by john grisham and gulfstreams will bankrupt you :(

it's not possible that that story is true

i mean the dude has money obviously but enough money to drop 55 million dollars on a jet

not*

whoops well i just posted it on facebook so...

damn u ilx

lol i mean, it's being reported everywhere

i'm saying that personally i don't think it's true

king of torts

I hope it is true because I'm looking forward to the "Soulja Boy sobs in corner as company repos his expensive-ass jet" follow-up story

i heard justin bieber got him a balloon

http://i53.tinypic.com/33ackcz.jpg

"white co. government"

wow the combination of that last comment + profile photo is so amazing

reach for the 'hide all' imo

wow the combination of that last comment + profile photo is so amazing

― J0rdan S., Friday, July 29, 2011 9:00 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

srsly i couldn't not share it

https://twitter.com/#!/souljaboy/status/103935254401781760

soujla in his atlanta penthouse, 15 blunts deep and sipping syrup, pondering whether washed out's 8.3 was a decimal point too high or too low

front cover of the pitchfork 4 u lame haters

gotta tell you soulja the novelty wears off after a while

Yeah in like 5 seconds

Yeah in like 5 se

thakig u

this thread is confusing, are people acting like strongo was talking about the novelty of soulja boy wearing off even though he was clearly talking about the novelty of seeing your name in pitchfork?

i was referring to the latter, true. but the novelty of soulja boy also wore off fairly quickly for me. so everyone wins?

The novelty of hearing "Pretty Boy Swag" very loud from the next room at 8AM every day, as I have for the past week, has worn off fairly quickly.

sorry neighbour

The Crank Dat meme outlived the actual song.

soulja boy's career has far outlived the song/meme, though, he still feels very famous but it's been ages since i've heard or even thought about "crank dat"

lol @ "he still feels very famous"

haha

came out the water like a pretty ass dolphin

http://herbontheave.tumblr.com/post/28255317704/yesterday-soulja-boy-turned-22-years-old

is soulja the new puff daddy????

that's a good tracklist

soulja died his hair tennis ball yellow btw

rap game fuzzy dunlop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yRme0C2pmI

I miss hearing this on the radio so much

Where did the O.G. dirty version of "Crank Dat" even live? My CD copy of Souljaboytellem is clean

Was it just MySpace?

Oh there was never a dirty version of the major label version!

nope, was very distraught when album came out and it was impossible to get the explicit :(

its really insane how one of the most important rap songs of the last 12 years you can only cop as a YouTube rip anymore