Soulja Boy

Two decades in and the catalog still moves a room.

by Rolling Stone · Jeff Ihaza

Soulja Boy

Atlanta, GA · Est. 2004 · Hip-hop

DeAndre Cortez Way is a Mississippi-born, Atlanta-raised rapper and producer who broke in 2007 with the Billboard No. 1 single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)." He pioneered the YouTube-and-MySpace independent release model that reshaped the next decade of hip-hop marketing. Later releases on Interscope and his own ColliPark imprint kept him in the touring circuit through the 2010s and 2020s.

The Jefferson Theater

Charlottesville, VA · Capacity 750 · Est. 1912

Built in 1912 as a vaudeville house on Main Street, the Jefferson sat dark for the better part of two decades before Coran Capshaw and Starr Hill Presents bought the building, gutted it, and reopened it as a 750-cap club in 2009. The pit floor pulls 600 standing; the balcony pushes another 150 with sightlines that hold up from every seat. Danny Shea has booked the room since the reopening and runs it eclectic on purpose. Indie-folk, hardcore, country, comedy, ABBA tribute. Different demo every Friday.

Production is house-PA L-Acoustics K2; backline is supplied by the artist for ticketed dates and by the room for the resident series. Load-in is Main Street, ground level, no stairs. Settlement runs same night; advances run two weeks out. The Jefferson is the only Charlottesville room that books national touring acts at the 750 mark. Everything below feeds the Southern; everything above pushes to Ting in summer.