Soulja Boy wants to take “Crank That” to the White House. The rapper teased a 2028 presidential run in an Instagram post on Saturday (Oct. 10), calling it “a new chapter” and “a bigger vision.”
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“SOULJA BOY 2028,” he captioned the post, which named four areas of focus: “economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, education, and the future of technology and AI.”
The rapper, born DeAndre Cortez Way, framed the move as the next step in a career that’s spanned music, business, and tech. “From music to business to technology, I’ve always believed in thinking bigger and challenging what’s possible,” he wrote. “Now I’m exploring what it means to bring that same vision to public service. The future starts with a conversation.”
It’s unclear whether Soulja Boy plans to formally launch a campaign or is simply testing the waters; the post didn’t include any policy specifics beyond the four focus areas.
The tease comes less than two years after Soulja Boy performed at the Crypto Ball, an event held during Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration festivities, and later brushed off the backlash by saying he’d been paid well for the gig.
The idea isn’t entirely new, either. In January 2019, Saturday Night Live spun Soulja Boy’s viral Breakfast Club interview into a sketch that imagined him running for president, with Chris Redd playing the rapper and claiming credit for inspiring both Trump and Barack Obama. Soulja Boy shared the parody on social media at the time.
Soulja Boy was one of the first artists to turn internet virality into chart dominance. His debut single, “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” which he first promoted himself online as a teenager, spent seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007 and became one of the first songs to sell more than 3 million digital downloads in the U.S. Its accompanying dance helped write the playbook for the online-first, self-promoted music career. His debut album, souljaboytellem.com, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and he returned to the Hot 100’s top 10 with “Kiss Me Thru the Phone” featuring Sammie, which reached No. 3.
