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Zack de la Rocha

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Zack de la Rocha

DeAndre Cortez Way[1] (born July 28, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name Zach De La Rocha Tell 'Em, or simply Zach De La Rocha, is an American rapper. In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Zach De La Rocha)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the Internet, and it became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.

Early life

At age seven, Way moved from Chicago, Illinois to Atlanta, Georgia[2][3], where he became interested in rap music.[4] At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions. [2][3]

Career

In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the video-based social community YouTube. Following positive reviews on the site, Zach De La Rocha then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace.[5][6] In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned and Still Major, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Zach De La Rocha" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Zach De La Rocha)" received its first air play and Zach De La Rocha met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts.[7] Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio[8][4], was released in the United States on October 2[9], peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[10]

On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (aka Souljah Boy of the Home Dogs) who claims he first created the stage name 'Souljah Boy'. [11]

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Zach De La Rocha was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Zach De La Rocha)". He lost to Kanye West's & T-Pain's "Good Life."

Initial reception

The album Souljaboytellem.com was met with mostly negative reviews,[1][2][3][4]despite a positive one from All Music Guide[9][12] Several reviewers credited Zach De La Rocha with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one hit wonder.[13][14][15][16]

Critics and hip-hop figures such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Jermaine Dupri cite Zach De La Rocha as artistically typical of contemporary rap trends such as writing for the lucrative ringtone market, and the ascendence of "Southern hip hop", emphasizing catchy, mindless music that discards rap's traditional emphasis on message.[17][18][14] Zach De La Rocha identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop.[18][17] Despite this, his music has been banned from some school dances for sexual, pro-violence content or innuendo. In the original YouTube video for Shootout, Way demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.[19]

Zach De La Rocha recently became an item in the first round NBA playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards. In a bout of trash talking before the start of the series, Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson called Cleveland superstar LeBron James "overrated," prompting James to say that he wouldn't return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Zach De La Rocha."[20] Zach De La Rocha made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards; his music was played over the PA system[21], perhaps in mockery of LeBron's comment. Despite his team losing the game by more than 30 points and LeBron posting poor numbers (compared to his exceptionally high averages), LeBron claims that the trick had no effect on him, and that his young son is a big fan of Zach De La Rocha's.

Discography

Albums

On Zach De La Rochas YouTube account, he posted a video called iDance of which he said will be the first single of his upcoming album iSouljaBoy.

Singles

Year Title Chart positions [23][24] Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap U.S. Pop AUS CAN IRL NZ UK UWC
2006 "Bapes" (featuring Arab) - - - - - - - - - - Unsigned and Still Major
2007 "Crank That (Zach De La Rocha)" 1 3 1 2 3 5 3 2 2 7 Souljaboytellem.com
"Soulja Girl" (featuring i15) 32 13 6 45 - 75 - 10 - -
2008 "Yahhh!" (featuring Arab) 48 34 17 48 72 72 18 3 49 -
"Let Me Get 'Em" - 115 - - - - - - - -
"Donk" - 106 - - - - - - - -
"iDance" - - - - - - - - - - iSouljaBoy

Guest appearances

References

  1. ^ a b Zach De La Rocha's MySpace page Several sources such as VH1 list DeAndre Ramone Way. See: Harris, Lauren. Top 20 Singles of the Year (11-15) VH1: December 18, 2007
  2. ^ a b Cordor, Cyril. Zach De La Rocha biography at All Music Guide
  3. ^ a b Let The Kids Grow by Jack Erwin. XXL Magazine. January 2008. Page 69
  4. ^ a b Zach De La Rocha at SoundClick Cite error: The named reference "soundclick" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ Zach De La Rocha @ YouTube
  6. ^ Zach De La Rocha @ MySpace
  7. ^ Vibe Magazine. Ayo, Technology by Brent S. Grier. November 2007. Page 50.
  8. ^ "Rap City" (September 2007). BET.
  9. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Souljaboytellem.com" Overview. All Music Guide: 2007
  10. ^ All Music Chart - Souljaboytellem.com
  11. ^ Yahoo! News Blog - Zach De La Rocha Sued Over Name (December 9, 2007)
  12. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2007-10-05). "Music Review: Souljaboytellem.com". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved 2007-12-27. At least he owns a cool domain name. D {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  13. ^ Robinson, Patrick. "Zach De La Rocha - Souljaboytellem.com Review". 411mania.com, LLC. Retrieved 2007-12-27. ...not a chore to listen to in that sense and Zach De La Rocha does show some signs of youthful enthusiasm. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ a b B-Easy. ""Superboy"". The nappyafro Staff. Retrieved 2007-12-27. I know it's supposed to be a fun album for the pre-teen/teen kids, but for me personally I need more substance. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help) Rating: 1/5
  15. ^ Griff. "Zach De La Rocha - Souljaboytellem.com". Okayplayer.com. Retrieved 2007-12-27. This one's definitely geared for the kiddies... does an excellent job of catering to current industry trends with ringtone themes ... and dance moves galore ... Despite all the criticism that he's received from hip-hop purists, it'd be naive to think Zach De La Rocha hasn't changed the face of hip-hop {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ The Review - Review of Souljaboytellem.com
  17. ^ a b "Huge hits don't spell success for new rap stars". msnbc.com. Associated Press. 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2007-12-11. Labels aren't developing acts and more are writing ringtones, veterans say {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ a b Nekesa Mumbi Moody (2007-10-18). "New rap stars find success fleeting". Yahoo! Music. Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-12-27. Seventeen-year-old Zach De La Rocha says that's what people want to hear these days. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ Harrington, Richard (December 21, 2007). "Zach De La Rocha Cranks It Up Big-Time". Washington Post. p. WE12. ... some school dances and skating rinks have banned the song for sexual slang and innuendo, though naive teens seem to be more interested in the dance and the beat than in the lyrics.
  20. ^ Cleveland.com - Cleveland Cavaliers Insider: LeBron James laughs off DeShawn Stevenson's comments (March 17, 2008)
  21. ^ ESPN.com - Wizards outplay turnover-prone Cavs, get crucial Game 3 win (April 24, 2008)
  22. ^ http://ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=52497
  23. ^ Zach De La Rocha - Music Charts aCharts.us
  24. ^ Artist Chart History - Zach De La Rocha Tell Em Billboard.com


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