In the ever-colorful world of hip-hop, few personalities shine as brightly—or controversially—as Soulja Boy. Love him or loathe him, he’s a figure who’s made headlines for his unapologetic behavior, often trading barbs with fellow stars and offering up more than a few eyebrow-raising claims. This time, however, something unusual has happened: Soulja Boy decided to hand out compliments instead of insults. After declaring himself the “first rapper to fly a plane”—a proclamation that stirred the airwaves, he found himself in an unexpected friendly exchange with Ludacris, a true aviation pioneer in the rap game. I mean, who knew the world would ever see Soulja Boy take a step back and admit, “You did it first”? This shift towards what seems like maturity—perhaps a strategic move after facing backlash for past missteps—has us all wondering: Is this the dawn of a new, less combative Soulja Boy? Join me as we untangle this budding narrative, filled with twists, turns, and maybe a sprinkle of humility. Because clearly, nothing is off-limits in the game’s wild ride, not even the potential for a little self-reflection… or is it just another publicity stunt?
Soulja Boy is not a humble rapper. He doesn’t like to give peers their due, and oftentimes will start fights just to garner attention. There have been a few major exceptions, though. Soulja Boy apologized to Metro Boomin after he insulted the producer’s late mother. He acknowledged that he took things a bit too far with his social media comments. Now, Soulja Boy has given flowers to Ludacris. The circumstances in which he admitted being wrong are much less serious than the Metro situation, but we still have to give credit where it’s due.
The whole situation stemmed from a bold Soulja Boy claim. He makes a lot of them. He claimed that he was the first rapper to fly a plane during an Instagram video he posted on October 13. Ludacris saw the post, and left a thinking emoji, prompting fans to do some digging. It turns out, Ludacris had beaten the “Crank That” star to the punch. A scroll through Luda’s Instagram confirmed that he had flown a plane back in 2021. Soulja Boy could have easily gone off on Ludacris for stealing his thunder, and trying to make a feud out of effectively nothing. Instead, he took it in stride. “I just saw your video,” he replied. “You did it first.”
If this sounds like a more mature Soulja, it’s by design. The rapper admitted disappointment in himself following the aforementioned Metro Boomin debacle. The internet was pretty uniformly disappointed in Soulja Boy for his harsh comments, and he made a change. He tweeted out that he would be seeking professional help as a means of keeping his emotions in check. “I apologize to @MetroBoomin for over reacting over an old tweet,” he wrote. “Condolences to his mom. I’m going to seek therapy and anger management. I’m done responding to hate, new or old.”
This newfound maturity does not seemingly apply to everyone, though. After Diddy was arrested, Soulja Boy made it clear that he would not have tolerated any of the mogul’s alleged antics. “If Diddy ever tried me like any of these gay rappers I would have killed his b*tch a*s,” he tweeted. He also claimed to have a story about the night he spent with Diddy and Cassie, but has yet to share it publicly.
About The Author
Elias is a music writer at HotNewHipHop. He joined the site in 2024, and covers a wide range of topics, including pop culture, film, sports, and of course, hip-hop. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Friday, especially when it comes to the coverage of new albums and singles. His favorite artists are Andre 3000, MF Doom, pre-808s Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator. He loves L.A. hip-hop but not L.A. sports teams. The first album he ever bought was Big Willie Style by Will Smith, which he maintains is still a pretty good listen.
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