Sometime in the last few months, listening to Soulja Boy finally became acceptable. Maybe it was collaborations with the likes of Lil B, Odd Future, and Gucci, or maybe it was just his sheer persistence. Whatever the case, we’re just glad people are finally seeing the light. In case your memory’s foggy, we’ve been fierce Soulja Boy advocates since before iSouljaBoyTellEm. This week, Soulja released 1UP, the latest in a string of excellent mixtapes. Soulja’s never sounded so indifferent to rap conventions as he does on 1UP. Sure, he references Tony Montana and Gallardos, but it’s clear that Soulja’s much, much more interested in talking about his sneaker closet and DBZ. Did you know he remixed “Speakers Going Hammer” for the Sims, rapping in a made-up language? This dude does not know how to not be Soulja Boy He’s all platinum Silly Bandz and face tats, loving his haters and dropping brilliant Avatar punch lines. I’d say Soulja’s reached the next level, but that would be redundant. From Soulja’s official statement about 1UP:
“If I was in a video game, this mixtape would advance me to the next level with an extra life.”

Download the tape here.

…but since fuckers always want a teaser, here are two highlights:

As you may have heard, Soulja’s 15-year-old brother died in a car crash late Sunday night. Our sincere condolences to Soulja and his family.