Soulja Boy is aiming for a Grammy

By John Benson

entertainment@vindy.com

A few years removed from his breakout hit single “Crank That [Soulja Boy],” DeAndre “Soulja Boy” Cortez is about to make a play for the big time with a new album and new tour. The latter includes a Friday show at Covelli Centre. In fact, that’s only the beginning for Soulja Boy’s attempt at world domination, with a feature film documentary in the works, a deal with a skateboarding company and, yeah, seriously, a video-game development project that could make the 20-year-old ubiquitous in our iPods and Xbox’s for years to come. Recently, The Vindicator caught up with Cortez — whose hits include “Kiss Me Thru the Phone” and “Turn My Swag On” — to discuss his love of Ohio, his new album “The DeAndre Way” and his shameless attempt at adding a Grammy Award to his mantel.

Q. Even though Chicago is home, you have quite a history in Ohio. Why has the Buckeye State been so good to Soulja Boy?

A. Ohio is a great market for Soulja Boy. I was doing shows in Ohio before I was signed to Interscope. I was an unsigned artist on the come up, and I was doing shows in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus. I always had a fan base. Toledo was the place where I remember the fans going crazy before I was signed.

Q. Considering you’re quite a sports fan, any love for the Ohio State Buckeyes?

A. Yeah man, if I’m playing Xbox, I’ll get the Buckeyes and I’ll use them. I’ll usually customize my own QB and put DeAndre on the team. And we’ll win because my attributes will be boosted higher than other players (laughs). So I’m making Ohio look good on the Xbox.

Q. We appreciate that. Let’s talk about your new CD “The DeAndre Way.” What were your goals for this third major-label album?

A. I feel like I’m getting in my groove. I’m on the right path. I’ve been in the studio with Kanye West and 50 Cent. We just dropped the new video for “Mean Mug” yesterday, and it had 1.9 million views the first day. So I’m just really excited about this project. I’m feeling comfortable, and more artists are opening up, asking me to make beats for them and asking me to get on their songs. So from the first album, it’s a dramatic change. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.

Q. You mentioned the video for “Mean Mug.” Talk about that song and some of the other new tracks on your CD.

A. “Mean Mug” is something I did with 50 Cent. It’s got a very gritty, hip-hop, down-and-dirty feel. It’s club music. After that, we’ll drop “Speakers Going Hammer,” and that will be through the roof. As soon as that video hits TV, it’ll be huge. That track is me spitting lyrics with a dope beat and catchy hook. There’s also a song on my album called “I Deserve a Grammy” with Ester Dean. That has emotion and is more diverse. There’s also a song called “Fly” that I did in Kanye West’s studio. It has a message and is a worldly song. It’s Kanye-inspired.

Q. Let’s go back for a second. You can’t petition Grammy voters for a Grammy Award.

A. I feel like I can. Like in 2007, when I was nominated for “Crank That [Soulja Boy]” and lost it to Kanye, I feel like they owe me that. And if you don’t feel like that, you’ll never win. I believe going into this album I’ll win the Grammy. I feel like they will notice the hard work I was putting in, and this time they’ll see that Soulja Boy didn’t win that Grammy but he has a song called “I Deserve a Grammy” and he’s been putting in a lot of work. They’ll say, “This album is hip-hop. I think we should give him a Grammy.”

Q. Finally, will this new CD be a failure if you don’t receive a Grammy Award?

A. It’s not considered a failure, but I would go into the studio and work 100 times harder. I would like to get noticed on this album. If not, there’s no hard feelings. You just have to take it, like with “Crank That [Soulja Boy].” You just have to take it and keep working and produce those hits, and hopefully I’ll get a Grammy before I get out of the rap game.