Song #100: Soulja Boy Tell 'Em - "Crank That (Soulja Boy)"

Song #100: Soulja Boy Tell 'Em - "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (2007)

Souljaboytellem.com

"Now watch me you!" 

If you turned on mainstream radio at all in 2007/2008, you probably heard "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" more times than you would've liked to. This song had to be the most overplayed anthem of 2007 and 2008, but the song can also be credited for one of the pioneering songs for hip-hop's "snap" phase that lasted from 2006 to about 2010. Violent lyricism that included sex, drugs, and foul language was minimized a bit in favor of repetitive beats, catchy choruses, and memorable chants or dances, which made songs like Soulja Boy Tell 'Em's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," D4L's "Laffy Taffy," Hurricane Chris's "A Bay Bay," and V.I.C.'s "Get Silly" (which also featured Soulja Boy) products of so-called "ringtone rap." 

"Crank That" marks my introduction to rap music in a broader, more mainstream sense. I was that white kid who thought he was cool in middle school, dancing and rapping along to Soulja Boy, even listening to and reviewing his first two albums (if you didn't know, I reviewed albums on iTunes from 2007 - 2009 before dabbing into film criticism in 2009). I was just about obsessed with this song and everything surrounding hip-hop's incorruptible aura at the time. Whenever this song came on the radio, I had to sing along, play it loud, and even dance to it.

Replaying the song before writing this blog post was almost like opening up a box you haven't touched in years. It flashes me back to a part of my life I don't like to flash back on, but still manages to give me nostalgia vibes whenever I hear it. Even the music video doesn't fail to get me in a jivey, dance-ready move, as it manages to be an inanely fascinating video, showing exactly how things spread through the internet, leading Soulja Boy to be contacted by Mr. Collipark, who would sign him and work with him for all of his mainstream fame.

Today, Soulja Boy is nothing more than a curious little oddity. Despite cranking out (no pun intended) numerous mixtapes and starting fights with other rappers, Soulja Boy's popular has long-expired, and even if another song like "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" were to be released, I doubt it would even closely replicate the popularity that this song did. The "snap" phase in hip-hop is gone and now we have, what I have been calling, "the drill phase," where new artists and their music has become increasingly accessible through the internet and lyrics contain violent depictions and details regarding the gang life.

Give "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UFIYGkROII