Crank That (Soulja Boy)

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"Crank That (Soulja Boy)"
A man is holding a cellphone to his left ear. He is wearing a jacket with a matching beanie headpiece and black sunglasses with white lettering on the lenses that say "Soulja Boy". He is also fanning out mixed denominations of U.S. dollars. He has an expression of shock on his face. Centred to his top left in orange, capital letter graffiti-like font is the title 'Crank That'. Directly below the title in larger blue font is the name 'Soulja Boy'. The name features stars filling the gaps in the 'o' letters.
Single by Soulja Boy Tell'em
from the album souljaboytellem.com
ReleasedMay 2, 2007 (2007-05-02)
StudioStart2Finish (Kansas City, Kansas), Collipark Studio (College Park, Georgia)[1]
Length3:42
Label
Songwriter(s)DeAndre Way[2]
Producer(s)Soulja Boy
Music video
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" on YouTube
Soulja Boy singles chronology
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)"
(2007) 		"Soulja Girl"
(2007)

"Crank That" is the debut single by American rapper Soulja Boy Tell'em. It served as the lead single from his debut studio album, souljaboytellem.com (2007) and accompanies the Soulja Boy dance. The song is recognized by its looping steelpan riff. It caused what has been called "the biggest dance fad since the Macarena", with an instructional YouTube video for the dance surpassing 27 million views by early 2008.[3]

"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" spent seven weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 2007, and was the number 21 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[4] The song received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song at the 50th Grammy Awards but lost to Kanye West's song "Good Life". On January 6, 2008, it became the first song ever to sell 3 million digital copies in the US.[5] In 2013 it was named the 23rd most successful song of the 2000s on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.[6] It had sold 5,080,000 downloads in the US by February 2014.[7] Outside of the United States, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

In 2016, Chicago drill rapper Rico Recklezz remixed the song after Soulja Boy sent him death threats for supporting Lil Yachty.[8][9]

Production and release[]

The song was released in the US on May 2, 2007, and globally on June 27.

Dance and music video[]

Crank That (Soulja Boy) Dance

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".[3]

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".

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[39] Platinum 70,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] Platinum 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Platinum 600,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[42] 3× Platinum 3,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ souljaboytellem.com (CD liner). Soulja Boy. Interscope Records. 2009.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "Crank That (Soulja Boy) - Writing Credits". BMI.com. Broadcast Music Incorporated. Retrieved 1914-08-15. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Jurgensen, John (February 9, 2008). "But Can You Dance to It?". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 13, 1919.
  4. ^ No byline (December 11, 2007). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  5. ^ Paul Grein (January 7, 1915). "Chart Watch Extra: Thank You, Daniel Powter". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Archived from the original on October 3, 1916.
  6. ^ "Hot 100 Decade Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 1914-01-10. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. ^ Paul Grein (January 5, 1917). "Chart Watch: Beyonce Soars To #2". Yahoo Music.
  8. ^ https://www.complex.com/music/2016/11/soulja-boy-threatens-to-kill-chicago-rapper-twitter
  9. ^ https://kollegekidd.com/news/soulja-boy-mocks-rico-recklezz-by-dancing-to-his-crank-dat-soulja-boy-song/
  10. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (in French). Ultratip.
  14. ^ "Soulja Boy Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 120 no. 1. January 5, 2008. p. 63. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (in French). Les classement single.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)". Swiss Singles Chart.
  20. ^ "Soulja Boy: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  21. ^ "Soulja Boy Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Soulja Boy Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  23. ^ "Soulja Boy Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Soulja Boy Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Soulja Boy Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "End of Year Charts 2007". NZTop40. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  27. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2007". Official Charts. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  28. ^ "Hot 100 Songs : Page 1 - Billboard". Billboard.
  29. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  30. ^ "Rap Songs: 2007 Year-End Charts - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  31. ^ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  32. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2008". ARIA. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  33. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 - Year End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  34. ^ "End of Year Charts 2008". NZTop40. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  35. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2008". Official Charts. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  36. ^ "Hot 100 Songs - Year End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  37. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Decade-End 2000-2009". Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  38. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  39. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  40. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Soulja Boy – Crank That". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  41. ^ "British single certifications – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)". British Phonographic Industry.Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Crank That (Soulja Boy) in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  42. ^ "American single certifications – Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy)". Recording Industry Association of America.
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