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.” Captioning a photo of himself standing in front of a massive American flag with the words “SOULJA BOY 2028,” he laid out four areas of focus: economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, education, and the future of technology and AI.
“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.”
The post, which also carried hashtags like #SouljaBoy2028 and #America2028, quickly racked up more than 100,000 likes. Some related shares included a simpler “Vote for Soulja Boy 2028.” 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, and there’s no sign yet of an FEC filing, campaign committee or party affiliation.
Born DeAndre Cortez Way in Chicago on July 28, 1990, and raised largely in Atlanta, the 36-year-old would be 37 or 38 during the 2028 cycle, clearing the constitutional age requirement of 35. He first broke through as a teenager with the self-promoted 2007 smash “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” one of the earliest major viral hits of the internet era. The track spent seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped rewrite the playbook for online-first careers. Follow-up hits like “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” “Turn My Swag On” and “Pretty Boy Swag” kept him in the spotlight, while his debut album souljaboytellem.com reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. Over the years he’s mixed music with a string of business and tech ventures, something he leaned into in the new post.
This isn’t his first brush with presidential politics. In 2019, Saturday Night Live ran a sketch with Chris Redd portraying Soulja Boy in a tongue-in-cheek presidential campaign, inspired by one of his viral Breakfast Club interviews; Way shared the clip at the time. More recently, he performed at the Crypto Ball during Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration festivities and brushed off the backlash by noting he’d been paid well for the gig.
The tease arrives less than two years after a California civil jury found him liable in an April 2025 case brought by a former personal assistant. The panel awarded roughly $4.25 million in damages on claims including assault and sexual battery. Soulja Boy denied wrongdoing and said he planned to appeal.
Whether the Instagram declaration turns into an actual campaign remains to be seen. For now, the “Crank That” rapper has simply opened the conversation — and the internet is already talking.
