Artist: RWD

If you're one of the 4.7 people in the western world that hasn't heard 17 year-old Soulja Boy's self-produced smash Crank Dat (Soulja Boy), then you need to a) fix up and b) get onto R1 to hear it.

Tim West w-oo-d has been playing it over and over, while Jo Whiley will spin the single tomorrow am (Tuesday). If radio’s not your thing, then head over to his website Soulja Boy to not only hear the track, but watch how to do the damn dance. Yep, people all over the land (including myself!) are currently making total twats of themselves as they attempt to ‘Superman that Ho’ and ‘Watch Me Rooooll.’

The tune has been on heavy rotation for nearly a year now, but it’s finally getting a UK release, meaning we finally got to talk to SB, after many months of trying to tracking him down. We must admit, it was quite hard work. But then, I suppose he is only like 17, and doesn’t have that much to say. Or else it totally bored with interviews already. Or thought our questions were shite…whichever.

Had Crank Dat…, been released in the summer, it would have definitely been, er, Track Of The Summer, but it wasn’t, so we hereby pronounce it Track Of The Autumn.

Let go say hi…


Hey Soulja Boy. You’re very famous now. How's life in the spotlight?
It's crazy right now. I'm just trying to get to a place where I start eating better and get enough sleep. I been eating a lot of fruit recently.

Well, an apple a day…
Yeah, I wasn't really a fan of that at first. But every time I get a break in, I'm trying to get sleep, so I can get energised.

The track has been hot for months. Were you prepared for the success?
I'm ready. I been doing my thang, so with my record crossing over, I'm ready to take on anything and everything.

Why do you reckon it’s so hot though? I mean, it’s not like there’s even much production – just a few steel pans really…?
I think it's the vibe. When I made the beat, I made it with the dance in mind. When I incorporated the dance, it's like, when the song comes on, you hear the dance, you can't help but do the dance, you know?

Did you make the dance up? As in, is it YOUR fault?
Yeah, me and my partner Arab came up with the dance. We were in my living room, dancing to the instrumental. So then I put the lyrics down, put the video up on YouTube and 14 million viewers later...

Who have you seen busting the Crank Dat dance?
I seen Beyonce, T. Pain, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Brown… a lot of celebrities are showing love.

How about non-celebs? We’ve seen Lion King versions, disabled people, old people, kids…
I think the Spongebob one cos it was real funny.

So how do we know you're more than any one-hit wonder?
Well I just released my second single and I shot a video for my underground track today. I've released the album out here in the States and it's doing really well, so I think all the people that been talking, done stopped talking. I think once people heard the album they realised there's much more to me than just one hot track. So I'm good.

What do we find out about you on your album?
It tells my life story, how everything went down. Also, the way I look at hip hop. I got a song on there called Soulja Girl produced by Mr. Collipark, I got R&B tracks, I got a track Don't Get Mad, explaining to adults that it's kids who got me to where I am today.

Mr Collipark called you genius. Are you one?
I mean, it's his words, he said it, so I've got to live up to that now.

Isn’t that a bit of pressure?
Nah, it's all fun to me. I just see what happens

How did you meet Sir Collipark? ?
That was through the Internet. He messaged my MySpace, I hit him back, he came to my house and we did a deal.

There’s you, Hurricane Chris, Lil Mama, Sean Kingston – what’s with all the teens in the charts?
The youth are what the kids want, so I got a big advantage. I know everything kids want to hear and what they want to see me do, so that's why I stay in contact with them and I represent for them.

Your sunglasses – is that Tip-Ex you use?
That's a special Soulja Boy pen. There's a lot of them being sold, plus the Soulja Boy shirts...it's more than just music. Soulja Boy shades, we got Soulja Boy TV going to cell phones, that's like 1.5 million of them a month…

At 17 - where do you get your drive and ideas from?
It's just something that came naturally. I was on the computer, trying to get myself to where I wanted to be in life and it built from there. I did my own MySpace page, and that was a big part of it - talking directly to fans.

How did you feel to hit No. 1 in the US ?
I was JUST looking lke 'Wow.' I couldn't believe it, it was crazy...

What did you do with your first paycheck?
I bought like 10, 12 pairs of BAPES. The one's I got on now are the Superman - blue and yellow.

So, how do you ‘Superman A Ho?
It's just a part of the dance. It's hard to explain. If you watch closely on the instructional video, it's just a part where you lean forward like Superman, like flying. So you could do that in front of a girl.


What’s the difference between Soula Boy and DeAndre Way?
DeAndre is just the normal guy, going to school and doing homework, whereas Souja Boy is the world superstar.

Have your friends changed?
A lot of people done changed, but it's always going to be that way when you've had the success I have had. You just have to get used to it...

How were the BET Awards?
It was crazy, I won an award and I performed - I closed the show out.

Yeah, T.I. was supposed to right, but obviously he couldn't... ?
[Silence]
Free T.I.

What was your reaction to his arrest?
It was crazy cos I seen him a couple hours before he got arrested. I was on my tour bus and he came to my door and said 'Soulja Boy in there?' I was getting my hair cut and his manager and them was telling him to come on. I was all the way there in the back telling him to come in, but then I guess he had to go. Just a little while later I got a page saying he had been locked up and I couldn't believe it.

How were the rest of awards? Did you get starstruck in front of anyone?
Nah, it ain't really nothing to me. There wasn't anybody there I really wanted to meet. The only person I wanted to meet was 50, and I met him. And Kanye, and I already know him. So that was it, I was just ready to perform and do my thing.

Kanye V 50?
I had got both of them. They're both good. I like Kanye's content and I like 50’s album cos it's gutter and street.

Is it true you’re maybe signing to 50?
Nah that's just rumours. I'm Stacks On Deck all day.

Who is SB?
I'm a 17 year old kid with the Internet in my hands and I cater to the little kids. I'll be over there soon and it's going to go down big when I come...

Soulja Boy


Crank That (Soulja Boy) is out 17 December
The album Soulja Boy Tell’em is out 7 January

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