It's taken Soulja Boy until the ripe old age of 17 to become a successful producer, rapper and businessman, though we should note that his career did not commence in earnest until he turned 14, before we judge his late development too harshly.
Of course, while one must commend the speed and maturity with which young Soulja has gleaned such remarkable successes, it's worth remembering that the excellence of an artist’s music isn’t usually judged relative to their age at the time of its conception. Folks tend to demand the same level of musical excellence from a teenager as they do from an artist comfortably ensconced in their 30s, so souljaboytellem.com will not receive any concessions from this critic on the grounds of its creator’s callow years (although I am adding on an extra half-point for its amusingly opportunistic title).
And indeed, during the album’s opening half, the most generous assessment one could make is to opine that Soulja at least has the opportunity to grow out of such feeble, warmed-over music-making. His take on crunk (which is so generic it feels generous to even call it a “take”) feels flimsy and devoid of strong hooks, although the lightly Carribean production touches do show a smidgeon of promise.
Promise which, surprisingly, is delivered upon quite consistently in the record’s second half. Things take a turn for the better with ‘Let Me Get Em’, which has a nice mixture of wailing siren synths and clattering, metal-sheet rhythms, reminiscent of J-Kwon’s ‘Tipsy’.
There are further highlights, subsequent to this. ‘Donk’ is skeletal, minimalistic and punishing: an unappetising description, perhaps, but the track is surprisingly good fun in practice. ‘Pass It To The Arab’ possesses the sort of insidious hook that never looked close to materialising amidst the macho bang and clatter of the record’s opening half.
This still leaves the liquid, melodic R’n’B of ‘Souljah Girl’ to enjoy, as well as the languid, syrupy ‘She Thirsty’. Soulja can now add a dash of artistic credibility to his ever-increasing list of accomplishments.