Soulja Boy, the rapper best known for his 2007 hit “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” was taken into custody during the early hours of Sunday, August 3, 2025. The arrest followed a traffic stop in Los Angeles, where authorities detained him in connection with a reported legal violation.
Here’s what we know so far about Soulja Boy’s arrest.
What happened to Soulja Boy?
Police arrested Soulja Boy, legally known as DeAndre Cortez Way, early Sunday morning after stopping a vehicle at Melrose and Genesee in Los Angeles around 2:35 a.m. The 35-year-old rapper was riding as a passenger. Officers suspected him of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
During the stop, officers spotted a firearm inside the vehicle and took Way into custody. Authorities booked him into jail at the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate database. Police did not immediately share the reason for the stop or identify the other occupants in the vehicle.
TMZ first reported the arrest, and Variety later confirmed the incident with the LAPD. A representative for Soulja Boy did not immediately respond to requests for comment from either outlet.
Soulja Boy rose to prominence in 2007 with his hit single “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song. He followed it with other hits, including “Turn My Swag On” and “Kiss Me Thru the Phone.”
This arrest adds to the rapper’s ongoing legal troubles. In April 2025, a civil court ordered him to pay over $4 million in damages after it found him liable for sexually assaulting and physically and emotionally abusing a former assistant.
In a 2021 interview with Paper, Soulja Boy reflected on his status in the rap industry: “I don’t really care about your opinions and assumptions any more, because I now understand that people don’t know what they are talking about.”
A legal representative for Way has not provided a public statement regarding the arrest.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on ComingSoon.net.
