The North Dakota State Fair in Minot turned up the heat with its “Turn Up, ND!” concert, featuring hip-hop heavyweights Fat Joe, Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, and Rick Ross. But the real buzz didn’t come from the stage it erupted online when Soulja Boy, born DeAndre Cortez Way, posted a viral video ranting about his dressing room trailer.
“Hey, bro. This is how y’all got me out here,”
he fumed, panning his camera across a cramped, empty trailer.
“No bathroom, no fridge, no bed. Look how you do me, y’all.”
Meanwhile, he claimed Bow Wow, who was born Shad Gregory Moss, lived big in a spacious trailer with a bathroom, refrigerator, and television set. The clip, originally posted on X and TikTok, went viral on social media, with individuals debating equality as well as artist treatment.
The short clip, less than two minutes long, features Soulja Boy annoyed as he contrasts his no-frills accommodations with Bow Wow’s high-end rooms.
“You got a stove, this ain’t cooking, this mother… You got hella drinks. You got the bathroom,”
he says, mocking the disparity with a nod to Bow Wow’s film-star status.
“This is because he got like mics in movies and shit.” The “Turn Up, ND!”
event was a historic moment for the fair, bringing four major hip-hop acts to a state not known for such concerts. Yet, Soulja Boy’s complaint stole the spotlight, turning a night of nostalgia into a viral controversy.
Soulja Boy and Bow Wow go way back, their relationship a mix of rivalry and camaraderie. Both rose to fame in the 2000s Soulja Boy with “Crank That,” a viral sensation that topped the Billboard Hot 100, and Bow Wow with hits like “Let Me Hold You.” Their 2021 VERZUZ battle, a nostalgic showdown of their catalogs, reminded fans of their competitive chemistry. But offstage, incidents like this highlight tensions. Soulja Boy’s recent legal troubles, including a $4 million judgment in a 2021 sexual assault lawsuit, have kept him under scrutiny, making his public outbursts like this trailer rant fodder for both sympathy and skepticism.
In the music industry, artist riders contracts detailing performers’ needs are standard. Headliners like Soulja Boy typically expect private trailers with bathrooms, climate control, and basic comforts like beds or fridges. Disparities in accommodations, as alleged here, raise questions about promoter fairness. Was this a cost-cutting move by the North Dakota State Fair organizers, or did they prioritize one artist over another? Without an official statement from the promoters, the story remains one-sided, but the video evidence and Soulja Boy’s claims have fueled speculation about favoritism.
Soulja Boy got mad after North Dakota promoters put him in a tiny, empty trailer with no bathroom, fridge, or bed, while Bow Wow’s trailer was bigger …
The internet didn’t hold back. Fans and critics flooded X with reactions, some outraged, others poking fun.
“They done brought the millennium tour to seaworld,”
quipped @bigfinee_, a nod to the absurdity of the situation, though referencing a different event. Others called out the promoters for disrespecting Soulja Boy, with one X user tweeting,
“Soulja Boy got mad after North Dakota promoters put him in a tiny trailer with no bathroom, fridge, or bed, while Bow Wow’s trailer was bigger and had everything ”
Bow Wow leaned into the humor, reportedly memeing the situation online, which only amplified the buzz.
