Rapper Soulja Boy was arrested on a suspected weapons charge during a traffic stop in Melrose earlier today, according to multiple media reports.
NBC Los Angeles, which first broke the news, reported that the Los Angeles Police Department pulled over a vehicle around 2:30 a.m. Sunday and spotted a firearm in the car. Soulja Boy, née DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car. LAPD did not say what the traffic stop was for, and the rapper was arrested and booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Deadline has reached out to the LAPD for further information and contacted Way’s representatives.
According to social media, Soulja Boy was celebrating his July 28 birthday at West Hollywood club Poppy the night of his arrest.
Best known for his 2007 smash hit debut single “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song, Soulja Boy’s additional tracks include “Turn My Swag On” and “Kiss Me Thru the Phone.”
The songwriter and record producer faced legal issues earlier this year, being found liable for sexual battery and assault by a Los Angeles jury. As a result, he was ordered to pay $4 million to a woman who accused him of physically and sexually assaulting her over two years.
In 2023, Soulja Boy, alongside other celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Lil Yachty, were charged for illegally promoting the securities of crypto companies being investigated by the SEC. At the time, the rapper and singer Austin Mahone were the two figures who did not agree to pay $400,000 in disgorgement, interest and penalties to settle the charges, without admitting or denying the findings of the probe.
