Soulja Boy Interview Transcription:
DJ Booth: What’s goin’ on ya’ll? It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is a young man who has everybody “crankin’ that Soulja Boy, and Superman and that hoe.” Please welcome the Chicago-born, Atlanta-raised, and Mississippi-bred, Soulja Boy. How you doin’?
Soulja Boy: Yo, what’s up with you man? I’m just chillin’ on the road, you already know, doin’ shows, got everybody doin’ the Soulja Boy.
DJ Booth: Got everybody doin’ the Soulja Boy! Let’s go over a little history here. I’ve ready that Mr. Collipark of Ying Yang Twins fame discovered you online and helped you brokerage a deal with his label and Interscope. It’s never as easy as it really appears – describe to me briefly if it is really that easy in your case.
Soulja Boy: Ah, it was really not that easy. I been doin’ what I do for a long time, I been on the Internet – Internet was a big part of my success throughout the years. I been on that real hard, and finally Mr. Collipark see me, and hit me up and we did the deal, and the rest is history.
DJ Booth: Part of the reason why you’re blowing up across the national scene right now is your song and dance, “Crank That Soulja Boy.” Prior to it becoming a national phenomenon, did you have any doubts whether or not this would be the song to catapult you to fame?
Soulja Boy: No, 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 that was just gonna be a real breakthrough for me.
DJ Booth: Is this dance entirely Soulja Boy’s creative invention?
Soulja Boy: Umm, I would say half of it is, and half of it I give a shout out to my dancer Cash Camp who came up with the first part of the dance, and the end part, that’s all me, all Soulja Boy.
DJ Booth: The popularity of this hit single is due in part to the accompaniment of a dance move. Will all of Soulja Boy’s material be somewhat similar?
Soulja Boy: All of my songs gonna be like dances or have a dance to it, but all my songs you can relate to or something can spread like a word or a fan or a dance, or something that you can do with the song.
DJ Booth: So very trendy…
Soulja Boy: Yeah.
DJ Booth: I had the opportunity to see Beyonce in concert last week, and she included your song and dance in her routine, not to mention, according to several published reports, the Dallas Cowboys defensive squad chants some selective lyrics from, “Crank That.” So, what are the chances we are gonna see maybe an Oprah or a George Bush doin’ a, “Crank That,” any time soon?
Soulja Boy: The chances are really high because Samuel L. Jackson was doin’ it live on 106 and Park. Keyshia Cole doin’ it live at her concert in New York, her band played it, Beyonce did it, Omarion, Bow Wow, so it’s really spreading. The chances of that are really likely right now.
DJ Booth: Your website has approximately six thousand members and most of them have created profiles to include links to Youtube where they’ve uploaded their own videos of themselves doing the, “Crank That” dance. My opinion here: most of them are awful. Is there any money out there, that you think is maybe in dance instruction?
Soulja Boy: I’m doin’ my rapping thing right now, and also I did the instructional DVD, so that’s gonna bring in money. That DVD is gonna be on sale, so that’s gonna be like a big role part of the dance, to show people who not doin’ it correctly how to do it properly.
DJ Booth: I’m a white guy from the suburbs of Chicago, so am I a lost cause or do you think that even I could learn how to do this dance?
Soulja Boy: I mean, even you can learn how to do the dance, if you just watch this instructional DVD and pay attention to it step by step. Even if you have no rhythm, there’s still a chance for you.
DJ Booth: Well I got rhythm, so I think there might be a small chance.
Soulja Boy: If you got rhythm, then there’s a big chance for you!
DJ Booth: Soulja Boy, your style’s very unique and trendy – just the other day I saw someone at the mall who had their name, I presume, written on their sunglasses. How did you go about developing a style?
Soulja Boy: I always liked to do something different, like I had my name on my clothes and my shoes. I thought about it one day, “I’ve got my name on my hat and everything – I’m gonna put it on my shades.” People said, “Can you see outta those?” Yes, I can. It’s official and is very new, and there’s gonna be a lot of people doin’ it.
DJ Booth: The writing of the name on your clothing and on your sunglasses – did it start when you were a kid and your parents said, “Hey, listen, we don’t want you to lose your stuff. Put your name on it.”
Soulja Boy: Naw, naw, it’s just something I came up with – I did it, and after that everybody else followed me, all my fans doin’ it.
DJ Booth: Let’s talk about your debut album. It’s entitled, “Souljaboytellem.” Usually when somebody is telling you something, they’re listening for a message. What message are you going to deliver on this album?
Soulja Boy: I’m trying to tell the people to look out for me – I’m the next generation of hip hop, it’s a movement what I’m startin’ right now. The album is gonna be crazy – it covers every base of good music: hip hop, R&B, it’s got humor on there – it’s a very powerful album. And what I’m telling you – you have to listen. When you pay attention to what I’m saying and my lyrics, the things that I do, the trends that I set, the following that I have… So it’s like, “Damn,” it gonna be crazy.
DJ Booth: Well, it sounds very diverse, although, like a lot of different artists from the Southern region, there’s been a lot of controversy over whether or not their music has helped or hurt hip hop. If someone were to comment, saying, you know, “Soulja Boy’s music is garbage. He’s ruining hip hop,” what do you say in your defense?
Soulja Boy: My defense, I say, they’re probably used to hearing a type of music, and it’s different from mine, and they’re brought up, and they’ve listened to this type of music for so long, and when they hear something like a Soulja Boy, they scared, and they like, “What is this? This is so different!” But so many people like it, so they don’t get it – it really confuses them. They automatically on the defense, they attack. They like, “This is not hip hop, and this is not what I’m used to listening to.” But it’s so different, and so many people are listenin’ to it.
DJ Booth: What can you do, right now, as a teenager, Soulja Boy, that’s going to help you in your longevity in this rap game?
Soulja Boy: I can set my foot down –right now, I’m really hot. So right now when I’m hot I’m gonna take advantage of everything that I can do possible that can help me out, so later in my career, I may not have a single that’s as hot as, “Crank That Soulja Boy,” but what I have right now I’m going to use to set my boundaries. Later on, when I don’t have a single that’s so hot, I still have there relationships that are helpin’ me on my single that I have out in the future.
DJ Booth: Time for a prediction. You were signed to the same label as, of course, 50 Cent – that’s Interscope. 50 drops his album on September the 11th, you drop yours on October the 2nd. Who’s gonna sell more copies?
Soulja Boy: You said who’s gonna sell more, me or 50 Cent?
DJ Booth: You or 50 Cent. You’re pretty big right now, everybody’s doin’ that dance…
Soulja Boy: I think I’m gonna sell more, definitely.
DJ Booth: Well I like that boldness, and I wish you nothing but the best of luck with this brand new album, “Souljaboytellem,” out in stores this Fall. Go ahead, give everybody a website, or a Myspace address, so they can find out more about your upcoming release.
Soulja Boy: myspace.com/souljaboytellem. We 15 million strong right now – the album’s out on October the 2nd, go get it. And right now it’s a new generation of hip hop – it’s a movement, so join.
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