Crank That (Soulja Boy)

Soulja Boy—real name DeAndre Way—was raised between Atlanta, Georgia and Batesville, Mississippi. As a teenager, his uncle gifted him a demo copy of FL Studio. In 2005, he registered an account on the online music service SoundClick, and began sharing his songs on the site.{{cite web | last=Weiss | first=Jeff | title=Soulja Boy on How One Actually 'Supermans a Ho' | website=Vulture | date=December 1, 2008 | url=https://www.vulture.com/2008/12/soulja_boy_on_how_one_actually.html | access-date=December 12, 2022}} Primarily by means of trickery and false advertisement, he executed various schemes to increase his brand name recognition, and soon expanded his artistic reach to MySpace and blogs. He misled users on the peer-to-peer platform LimeWire by changing his songs' metadata to whichever songs were popular at the time, in an attempt to reach out to more listeners.{{Cite web|url= https://perell.com/note/the-soulja-boy-strategy/|title=The Soulja Boy Strategy|website=Perell.com}}{{cite web | last=Petchers | first=Brian | title=Soulja Boy's Blueprint To Success And The Next Chapter | website=Forbes | date=August 13, 2014 | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianpetchers/2014/08/13/soulja-boys-blueprint-to-success-and-the-next-chapter/ | access-date=December 12, 2022}} Within time, the rapper began to garner a significant number of streams and shares.{{cite web | last=Garvey | first=Meaghan | title=The Influencer: A Decade of Soulja Boy | website=Pitchfork | date=July 9, 2015 | url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/9682-the-influencer-a-decade-of-soulja-boy/ | access-date=December 12, 2022}} His songs stylistically emulate the sound of Atlanta hip hop in the mid-aughts, particularly the briefly popular snap music fad that occurred in the Atlanta hip hop scene during the late 2000s.

In 2006, the phrase "crank dat"—a lyrical invitation to dance—became a small phenomenon in mainly online hip-hop circles; users uploaded videos of different dance routines set to an increasing number of songs with the title phrase. An early version of the song, titled "Crank Dat Dance Remix", was uploaded June 14, 2006 to SoundClick;{{cite web | title=Crank Dat Dance Remix by Soulja Boy | website=SoundClick | date=June 14, 2006 | url=https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=4066316 | access-date=December 12, 2022}} another iteration, titled "Crank Dat Jump Rope", debuted a month later.{{cite web | title=Crank Dat Jump Rope by Soulja Boy | website=SoundClick | date=July 5, 2006 | url=https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=4152743 | access-date=December 12, 2022}} "Crank That"—as publicly titled upon major-label release—was self-produced by Way in the unregistered demo copy of FL Studio, utilizing only the software's most basic library of sounds.{{cite web | last=Weiss | first=Dan | title=The Unlikely Rise of FL Studio, The Internet's Favorite Production Software | website=VICE | date=October 12, 2016 | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/d33xzk/fl-studio-soulja-boy-porter-robinson-madeon-feature | access-date=December 12, 2022}} The song is musically repetitive and sparse, incorporating snaps, a steel drum pattern, centered around a meaningless chant: "Yoooouuuulll!" Way reportedly wrote and recorded the song in ten minutes. The original recording of the song was made at Way's home,{{cite web | title=Soulja Boy - Crank Dat Soulja Boy (Original 2006 Version) | website=YouTube | date=March 9, 2021 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIFcjDPOijA | access-date=December 12, 2022}} and subsequently revised and updated for its final release. Way first posted the song, along with an instructional how-to, to his MySpace on February 25, 2007.{{cite web | title=Soulja Boy and Dance Crazes | website=Spreadable Media | date=February 25, 2007 | url=https://spreadablemedia.org/essays/driscoll/index.html#.Y5ee6uzMIxd | access-date=December 12, 2022}}

The song grew in popularity steadily, attracting the attention of music producer Mr. Collipark, who initially balked at its unexpected recognition.{{cite web | last=Westhoff | first=Ben | title=The most hated man in Southern rap | website=Creative Loafing | date=April 25, 2011 | url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-160996-the-most-hated-man-in-southern-rap | access-date=December 12, 2022}} The song led Soulja Boy to sign with Collipark's imprint on Interscope Records, who released the final, professionally-recorded song on May 2, 2007 in the U.S.; a global release followed on June 27.

Soulja Boy stated in a 2007 interview that prior to his Interscope deal he did not realize the song would "catapult [him to fame]". He said: "I didn’t know because before the deal I was pushin’ another single—I got many songs, but like when I landed a deal we just had to go with this one, but I didn’t know this one was just gonna be the one [or] that was just gonna be a real breakthrough for me."{{Cite web |date=2018-03-29 |title=Soulja Boy: The Lost Interview (2007) — "I'm the Next Generation of Hip-Hop" |url=https://djbooth.net/features/2018-03-29-soulja-boy-lost-interview/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=DJBooth |language=en-US}}

File:Crank That (Soulja Boy) Dance.gif

Inspired by recent dance crazes that had popularized some rappers from Atlanta, Soulja Boy (DeAndre Way) and his friends invented the dance moves that gave rise to "Crank That": As summarized by The Wall Street Journal, "dancers bounce back on their heels, ripple their hands, crank their wrists like motorcyclists, then lunge into a Superman pose".

The music video (directed by Dale Resteghini) begins in the "ColliPark Residence" with Sincostan Ak Flame and J Fresh imitating the Soulja Boy dance. Mr. Collipark takes a keen interest in the children's movements, leading him to contact Soulja Boy in an attempt to sign him up to "Collipark Records". His instinct is confirmed when he notices a number of people performing the dance, en route to meeting with Soulja Boy.

This video premiered on BET's 106 & Park on August 9, 2007. It features Bow Wow, Omarion, Unk, Baby D, Jibbs, Rich Boy and others doing the signature "Soulja Boy Dance".

Digital Spy criticized the track, calling it "a mind-numbingly tedious pop-rap single: three minutes and 45 seconds of inane hollering over a simple steel drum melody, some nifty hi-hat and a finger-click beat".{{Cite web |date=2007-12-10 |title=Soulja Boy: 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/single-reviews/a81405/soulja-boy-crank-that-soulja-boy/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}} Stereogum commented that "“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” is striking in its weird energy. There’s no nuance to Soulja Boy’s rapping, but there’s a commanding heft to his voice. He multitracks himself, making himself sound like an army, and then he barks out commands".{{Cite web |date=2023-03-29 |title=The Number Ones: Soulja Boy's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2217490/the-number-ones-soulja-boys-crank-that-soulja-boy/columns/the-number-ones/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} Sputnikmusic went as far to say that "Crank That" is "intolerable" and "nothing but Soulja shouting out the moves to the accompanying dance".{{Cite web |title=Soulja Boy - Souljaboytellem.com (album review 4) {{!}} Sputnikmusic |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/13707/Soulja-Boy-Souljaboytellem.com/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www.sputnikmusic.com}} AllMusic named it a "killer pop-rap single", mentioning that it "combines a steel drum hook with a fat-bottomed Mississippi beat, but it's the bizarre lyrics that matter most as questions like "Why me crank that Robocop?" sit next to nonsensical called-out dance instructions."{{Citation |title=Souljaboytellem.com - Soulja Boy {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/souljaboytellemcom-mw0000488389 |access-date=2024-11-14 |language=en}} Rap Reviews felt that the song "is so stupid it's brilliant or so retarded it's dragging all of hip-hop down into the gutter."{{Cite web |title=RapReviews.com Feature for October 2, 2007 - Soulja Boy's "SouljaBoyTellEm.com" |url=https://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2007_10F_souljaboytellem.html |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www.rapreviews.com}} Entertainment Weekly panned the song, saying that it belongs to "a circle of hell".{{Cite magazine |date=2007-12-29 |title=Lupe Fiasco's The Cool {{!}} Photo 15 {{!}} The Best (and Worst) Albums of 2007 {{!}} The Best & Worst of 2007 {{!}} Entertainment Weekly |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20162677_20164091_20166853_14,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229011732/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20162677_20164091_20166853_14,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-12-29 |access-date=2024-11-14 }}

"Crank That" has been widely regarded as among the earliest digital hit singles of its kind.{{cite web | last=Morel | first=Jacques Jr. | title=Looking Back At Soulja Boy's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" | website=Genius | date=May 2, 2007 | url=https://genius.com/a/looking-back-at-soulja-boy-s-crank-that-soulja-boy | access-date=December 12, 2022}}{{cite web | last=Krinsky | first=Leo | title=Soulja Boy invented the internet | website=The Michigan Daily | date= | url=http://www.michigandaily.com/arts/soulja-boy-invented-internet/ | access-date=December 12, 2022}}{{cite web | last=Millard | first=Drew | title=Soulja Boy Is the Father of Modern Rap Music | website=Complex | date=March 18, 2016 | url=https://www.complex.com/music/2016/03/soulja-boy-profile | access-date=December 12, 2022}} Music journalist Tom Breihan devoted a chapter of his 2022 book The Number Ones to examining the legacy of "Crank That", with particular regards to Soulja Boy's self-driven marketing and nascent online popularity.

{{cquote|Soulja Boy bypassed any and all gatekeepers by going straight to the Internet. He did this, at least at first, without established advisers or major-label money behind him. [... In the twenty-first] century, the Internet has warped and mutated culture in ways that we don’t yet fully understand. But while most of us have scrambled to catch up to the disorienting pace of these changes, younger kids have launched themselves into the void, using the confusion to sail past gatekeepers and make names for themselves. Soulja Boy did it first.{{cite book | last=Breihan | first=Tom | title=The number ones : twenty chart-topping hits that reveal the history of pop music | publication-place=New York | date=2022 | isbn=978-0-306-82653-5 | oclc=1350156352 | page=}}}}

Soulja Boy himself has argued the point, remarking in an interview with Complex: "I motherfuckin’ showed you how to get famous from your bedroom on the internet! [...] They’ll talk about it in history books later."

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Category:2007 debut singles

Category:2007 songs

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Hip-hop dance

Category:Interscope Records singles

Category:Music videos directed by Dale Resteghini

Category:Novelty and fad dances

Category:Snap songs

Category:Songs about dancing

Category:Songs written by Soulja Boy

Category:Soulja Boy songs

Category:Street dance