Thursday, September 13, 2007
Since the song “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” entered at number 47 on the Billboard Top 100 last month, the success of the song by rapper Soulja Boy and its accompanying dance has been overwhelming. The song has reached the top spot on the chart this week and has become a favorite among students.
Alex Earl, Las Vegas senior, and an employee at Abe and Jake’s Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., said the song gets played constantly at Abe and Jake’s and that the dance always comes with it.
“I hear that song every night we are open and there is always a big crowd that dances to it,” Earl said. “One night, I saw probably 75% of the crowd dancing along to it.”
“Crank That” has become a staple song in music played in Lawrence bars. Ken Soap, a local DJ who spins at Johnny’s Tavern, 401 N. Second St., and Club Axis, 821 Iowa St., said the song had become the most requested song he played since it was released.
“I play it at least twice a night or sometimes three, but I will typically get over a dozen requests for it,” he said. Soap said even though he spun the record a lot, it didn’t get old because the crowd loved it.
The Crank That dance, which incorporates the Two Step and Lean Wit It dances, calls for a series of foot steps and arm swaying from side to side. Recently, YouTube videos have appeared online showing viewers how to properly “crank that,” and MySpace has held a promotional contest to see who could “crank that” the best.
Daniel Chandra, Lawrence freshman, said he thought the hype built around the song would keep it popular for a while.
“It’s got a catchy beat and it’s easy enough for most people to do, as far as the dance goes,” Chandra said. “As long as students are excited by it and clubs keep playing it, it will be successful.”
Soulja Boy’s “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” dance can be found and learned at Soulja Boy’s official MySpace page, www.myspace.com/souljaboytellem.
— Edited by Rachel Bock
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