It was the anthem of 2007.
Love it or hate it, chances are you’ve heard it a time or two in the club or in the car. That catchy little ditty, “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” also sparked a dance frenzy with so many men, women and children “supermanning” to the left and right.
The eponymous 16-year-old phenom, Soulja Boy, responsible for all that craze, is set to make his Rio Grande Valley debut Dec. 27 at Club Fuego in McAllen.
“It’s an accolade for the Valley that he’s taking time off of one of the biggest tours with Bow Wow and Chris Brown for his first ever appearance here,” said Paul Magee, promoter of the show and president of Global Groove Productions. “Without a doubt (Crank That) was one of the biggest hit songs of the year.
“An act like this always makes for a big turnout…so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
At 17 he has already hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and continues to take the music scene by storm.
Soulja Boy, real name DeAndre Way, skipped hustling mixed tapes on the streets and headed straight toward the Internet for exposure. He teamed up with childhood friend Arab to form the duo The 30/30 Boys. Using the site SoundClick.com, an interactive place for artists to receive straightforward critiques, the pair uploaded several tracks for people to rate.
“We were getting good responses, so I set up my Web site www.souljaboytellem.com to push my name,” Soulja said in a press release. “I don’t think it’s just the music, I think it’s me that people like.”
Although heavily dogged by critics who call him a fly-by-night success story, the Chicago-born rapper soldiers on. Nearly 10 million people have visited his MySpace page and legions of fans upload YouTube clips daily (mainly to get a step-by-step tutorial on how to Crank Dat). As of December, the song sits firmly at the top of the iTunes Most Downloaded List.
“My personality come through and my style. I think somebody who just hears my music and doesn’t know me won’t like me as much as somebody’s who’s seen me perform,” he states. “That’s Soulja Boy, that’s that dude. You gonna be like that, ‘Dang, I wanna be like that dude right there.”
When further pressed about how he’ll deal with the naysayers he seems unconcerned, his biography states.
“I don’t respond to skepticism because they (sic) not gonna be skeptical for long,” he said. “My life right now is like a t.v. show; you watch everyday to see a new episode.
“They (sic) waiting to see what I’mma (sic) do next.”
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Soulja Boy
with Ricky Rich, Dem ATM Boyz, Styk Phiga, and guest DJ’s
WHEN: Dec. 27, 6 p.m.
WHERE: Club Fuego, 11205 N. 23rd St., McAllen
COST: $20 (all ages show)
FOR MORE INFO: (877) 993-8499 or online at www.ez-tixx.com
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Miriam Ramirez covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4468.
