Soulja Boy has signed Chet Hanks, son of two-time Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks and actress Rita Wilson, to his record label, SODMG.
On Tuesday (Aug. 17), Soulja posted a video of himself and Hanks making the announcement of the aspiring rapper—who often goes by “White Chocolate”—becoming the newest member of the SODMG team.
“Chet Hanks, my new artist,” shared Soulja in the Instagram clip, which captured Hanks beside the rap star and entrepreneur. “We ’bout to make history.” Hanks shared the same video to his own IG account with the caption, “JUST SIGNED TO #SODMG‼ï¸JUST WAIT TO SEE WHAT WE DO NEXT @souljaboy @sodmgrecordsllc U DIGG.”
The 31-year-old, who has become a viral sensation in recent years for everything from using a faux-Jamaican accent to urging the public not to get vaccinated for COVID-19 despite both his parents falling ill to the deadly virus last summer, was bitten by the rap bug quite some time ago, first releasing “White and Purple,” his remix of Wiz Khalifa’s “Black & Yellow” under the alias Chet Haze.
In 2016, Hanks linked up with musician Drew Arthur to form the duo FTRZ, releasing a pair of singles (“Models” and “NowhereLand”), as well as their Ocean Park EP in 2018. Switching their stage name to Something Out West, Arthur and Hanks dropped two additional songs in 2020, “Harley” and “Ticket Out My Head.”
Recently scoring a minor hit with his latest solo offering, “White Boy Summer,” Hanks and Soulja’s partnership could be the catalyst he needs for the hip-hop community to embrace him beyond his various antics and hijinks.
Listen to “White Boy Summer” below: