iSouljaBoyTellem

iSouljaBoyTellem is the second studio album by American rapper Soulja Boy. It was released on December 16, 2008, by Stacks on Deck Entertainment, Collipark Music and Interscope Records. The album was mostly produced by Soulja Boy, along with several record producers such as Drumma Boy, Jim Jonsin and Zaytoven, as well as the guest appearances from Gucci Mane, Shawty Lo and Yo Gotti, among others. The album was supported by three singles: "Bird Walk", "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" featuring Sammie, and "Turn My Swag On".

iSouljaBoyTellem
Studio album by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Released	December 16, 2008 (2008-12-16)
Recorded	2008
Genre	Hip hop
Length	60:02
Label	Stacks on Deck Collipark Interscope
Producer	Soulja Boy (also exec), Drumma Boy, Natural Disaster, Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Mr. Collipark, Mr. Hanky, Zaytoven, Chu, John Boy, DJ GB
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em chronology
Souljaboytellem.com (2007) iSouljaBoyTellem (2008) The DeAndre Way (2010)
Singles from iSouljaBoyTellem
"Bird Walk" Released: October 23, 2008 "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" Released: November 26, 2008 "Turn My Swag On" Released: January 26, 2009

iSouljaBoyTellem debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200, selling 46,000 copies in its first week.[1] The album received mixed reviews from music critics, who saw it as recycled material from his previous album.

Background

The album's first original single was intended to be "iDance", which was released online back in 2008. However, the song was dropped from the album for unknown reasons, with the possibility of "Bird Walk" catering more than towards Soulja Boy's original breakout single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)".

Singles

"Bird Walk" was released as the album's lead single on October 23, 2008. The song only managed to peak at number 2 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

"Kiss Me Thru the Phone" featuring Sammie, was released as the album's second single on November 28, 2008. The song peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the rapper's second top ten hit on the chart.

"Turn My Swag On" was released as the album's third single on January 26, 2009. The song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

Other songs

The music video for "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em" was released on January 9, 2009.[2] The music video for "Gucci Bandanna" featuring Gucci Mane and Shawty Lo, was released on April 23, 2009.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
ARTISTdirect	[5]
Robert Christgau	[6]
The Guardian	[7]
IGN	(5.5/10.0)[8]
PopMatters	[9]
RapReviews	(4.5/10)[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]

iSouljaBoyTellem received mixed reviews from music critics, who felt that it was recycled material from his previous album. AllMusic's David Jeffries said that the album came up short when trying to re-create the success of "Crank That" but praised "Shopping Spree" in that it "suggests some crossover hopes and desire for hardcore rap acceptance."[4] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews said that the music "improved drastically" but still found the lyrics to be "as vapid and materialistic as it was before," concluding with, "Your best bet is to find a website you can listen to snippets of this album on and if one or two tracks strike your fancy, buy those. A whole album of SB's idiotic raps is still too much for one man or woman to take no matter how much better the beats are."[10] Writing for Rolling Stone, Christian Hoard also commented on how the beats were more bulky but the delivery in the songs lacked charm in them.[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I'm Bout tha Stax (Intro)"	Drumma Boy	3:20
2.	"Bird Walk"	Soulja Boy, Mr. Collipark	3:33
3.	"Turn My Swag On"	Natural Disaster, Top Cat, Chu	3:26
4.	"Gucci Bandanna" (featuring Gucci Mane & Shawty Lo)	Soulja Boy	3:56
5.	"Eazy"	Zaytoven	3:22
6.	"Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (featuring Sammie)	Jim Jonsin, Mr. Collipark	3:13
7.	"Booty Got Swag (Donk Part 2)"	Soulja Boy, John Boy	3:06
8.	"Rubber Bands"	Drumma Boy	4:14
9.	"Hey You There"	Soulja Boy	3:52
10.	"Yamaha Mama" (featuring Sean Kingston)	Polow da Don	4:38
11.	"Wit My Yums On"	Soulja Boy	3:28
12.	"Go Head" (featuring Juney Boomdata)	Soulja Boy	3:41
13.	"Shoppin' Spree" (featuring Gucci Mane & Yo Gotti)	Mr. Hanky	4:46
14.	"Soulja Boy Tell 'Em"	John Boy	3:31
15.	"Whoop Rico" (featuring Show Stoppas)		4:06
16.	"I Pray (Outro)"	Drumma Boy	5:48
Total length:			60:02

iTunes Store bonus track

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Twerk Fest"	Mr. Hanky	3:39

Personnel

Adapted from the iSouljaBoyTellem liner notes.[12]

• Michael "Mr. ColliPark" Crooms: executive producer
• Derrick Crooms: Collipark Music A&R, Rockfort Management
• Charlotte Crooms: Collipark Music Administrative Coordinator
• Phillip Ransom, Esq.: Music Legal Representation for Soulja Boy
• Karl Marcellus Washington, Esq.: Legal Representation for Collipark Music Inc.
• DJ Mormile & Manny Smith: Interscope A&R
• Terrence Nelson: A&R Coordinator
• Brian Washington: marketing director
• Ravid Yosef: All Things Mobile
• Aaron Foreman & Kendra Ellis: digital marketing
• Greg Miller: publicity
• Randy Sosin: video production
• Michael Cole & Jennifer Zeller: video promotion
• Don Robinson: international marketing
• Erika Savage: business affairs
• Ianthe Zevos: creative
• SLANG Inc.: art direction/design
• Zach Wolfe: photography
• Cliff Feiman: production supervisor

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position US Billboard 200[13] 43 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 8 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[15] 18

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Billboard 200[16] 99 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[17] 35 US Top Rap Albums[18] 11

References

1. Barone, Matt (December 31, 2010). "Soulja Boy, "Growing Pains" [XXL November 2010 Magazine Feature]". XXL. Harris Publications. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
2. "iTunes - Music Videos - Soulja Boy Tell 'Em by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em". iTunes. Apple. January 6, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
3. "iTunes - Music Videos - Gucci Bandanna by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em". iTunes. Apple. April 23, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
4. Jeffries, David. "iSouljaboytellem - Soulja Boy Tell Em". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
5. Ogle, Ryan (December 24, 2008). "Album Reviews: iSouljaboytellem by Soulja Boy". ARTISTdirect. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
6. Christgau, Robert (March 2009). "Consumer Guide Album – Soulja Boy Tell 'Em: iSouljaboytellem". MSN. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
7. MacPherson, Alex (June 19, 2009). "Review: Soulja Boy Tell'em, iSouljaBoyTellem". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
8. Leonard, III, Alfred H. (December 24, 2008). "Soulja Boy - iSouljaBoyTellem". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
9. Abravanel, David (January 27, 2009). "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em: iSouljaBoyTellem". PopMatters. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
10. Juon, Steve (December 30, 2008). "Soulja Boy :: iSouljaBoyTellem :: ColliPark/Interscope Records". RapReviews. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
11. "Soulja Boy Tell' Em: iSouljaBoyTellem". Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-08. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
12. iSouljaBoyTellem (liner notes). Soulja Boy. Collipark. Interscope. 2008.CS1 maint: others (link)
13. "Soulja Boy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
14. "Soulja Boy Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
15. "Soulja Boy Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
16. "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
17. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
18. "Year-End Charts: Rap Albums - 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.