Former Atlanta resident Soulja Boy hints at 2028 run for president
Rapper Soulja Boy performs during halftime at Game One of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs between the Washington Mystics and the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena on September 27, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Rapper Soulja Boy is hinting at a possible 2028 presidential run.
The artist, whose legal name is DeAndre Cortez Way, posted "SOULJA BOY 2028" on Instagram on Oct. 10 and said he was considering bringing his experience in music, business and technology to public service.
He has not announced a formal campaign or said which political party, if any, he would represent.
Atlanta roots and music career
The backstory:
Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta with his family when he was 6.
He became interested in rap while growing up in the city. At 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, to live with his father, who provided him with a home recording studio.
Way began sharing music online as a teenager, and his 2007 single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" later topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven nonconsecutive weeks.
What he says he wants to focus on
What they're saying:
In his Instagram post, Soulja Boy named economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, education, and the future of technology and artificial intelligence as issues he wants to address. He has not released a detailed platform or explained how he would pursue those goals as president.
Arrests and criminal cases
Dig deeper:
Soulja Boy’s legal history includes arrests in Georgia and California. In 2009, he was arrested and charged with obstruction after police responded to an abandoned house in Henry County where he and others were filming a music video. He later received a year of probation in that case.
In 2014, he was convicted in California of carrying a loaded firearm in public and received two years of probation. He was arrested again in 2016 after police found firearms at his home, according to reports at the time. In 2019, a judge sentenced him to 240 days in jail and 265 days of community service for violating probation; he was released before completing the full jail term.
In August 2025, Los Angeles police arrested Soulja Boy on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm after a traffic stop. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file charges, and he was released.
Civil cases
Local perspective:
Those criminal matters are separate from civil lawsuits. In 2023, a jury ordered Soulja Boy to pay $471,800 to former girlfriend Kayla Myers after finding him liable in a case stemming from an incident at his Malibu home.
In 2025, a jury found him liable for assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a lawsuit brought by a former assistant, awarding her more than $4 million. The jury did not find him liable for false imprisonment. His attorney disputed the verdict and said Way intended to pursue post-trial remedies.
Could a convicted felon become president?
Big picture view:
The Constitution lists three qualifications for president: a candidate must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years. It does not make a felony conviction an automatic disqualification. President Donald Trump, for example, took office after a New York jury convicted him on 34 felony counts; he received an unconditional discharge in that case.
Felons and entertainers in high office
Why you should care:
A felony conviction does not automatically disqualify someone from becoming president. The Constitution requires a president to be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years. President Donald Trump took office after a New York jury convicted him on 34 felony counts; he received an unconditional discharge in that case.
Entertainers have also moved into electoral politics. Former actor Ronald Reagan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy became presidents, while actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former wrestler Jesse Ventura were elected governors.
Singer Sonny Bono became mayor of Palm Springs and later a member of Congress, and comedian Al Franken served in the U.S. Senate.
Other entertainers have run without winning: rapper Kanye West appeared on ballots in several states in the 2020 presidential election; actress Cynthia Nixon lost New York’s 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary; singer Clay Aiken lost a 2014 congressional race; and Caitlyn Jenner finished behind other candidates in California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election.