Soulja Boy Sets New Digital Download Record

 •  XXL Magazine  •  by XXL Staff  •  49 Comments

Soulja Boy’s smash single “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)” made digital music history this week when it exceeded 3 million downloads. The song, with its accompanying dance, became somewhat of a pop-culture phenomenon during 2006, spawning endless spinoff remixes and prompting thousands of fans to upload self made videos to Youtube. The official “Crank Dat” music video and an instructional video for the dance have together logged over 50 million views on the video sharing site alone. “Soulja Boy has set the bar for what’s possible in terms of breaking an artist online,” said Steve Berman, President of Sales and Marketing for Interscope Geffen A&M Records. “He’s been doing it since day one, before he was signed here, so I’m not surprised he’s setting a record today. Soulja Boy is out there on the frontier, showing everyone else what’s possible.” In December, the 17-year old Atlanta native received a Grammy nomination for the single in the Best Rap Song category. His debut album, Souljaboytellem.com, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart back in October and has since moved over 658,000 units. “I can’t thank my fans enough, without them all of this wouldn’t have been possible,” the rapper said in a statement. “The support they give me is beyond incredible. I have so many Soulja Boy Tell’em projects ready and I will continue to givethem what they need in 2008. Yuuuuaaaa!!” The video for Soulja Boy’s new single, “Yahhh!,” debuted on BET and Yahoo! Music this week.

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  • EReal

    At 17, damn.

    Well put that money somewhere for college, cause its a wrap now homie.

    What ever happened to those macarena cats?

    • Lotto

      I’m hopin like you that this shit is over, but to be honest the way it’s lookin to me. People are still gonna cop his shit when he drops again.

    • http://jamalthegod jamalthegod

      to the fuckhead who said gangsta rap is over
      listen to this get off the xxl
      rap site or imma come to your home blow ya dome like dynamite.
      fuck you pussy.

  • Young Deuce aka Princinnati

    Thats a young hustler. He might not have lyrics but he knows how to get money and get his name out there. The crazy thing is that he’s gold and most rappers can’t do that today. He just does what he wants to do and I can’t knock him for that even though a lot of people are gonna hate. Much respect.

  • Deez Nuts

    I applaud the business side…I cringe at the artistic side…Hurry up Andre 3000 and Ice Cube…Rap needs u!!! F*ck hip hop…wtf is hip hop anyway…that will.i.am bullshyt i guess…i grew up on rap you young bastards…NWA, Scarface, Pac, Biggie, Jay-Z, Outkast, UGK, Snoop(old snoop), etc…they rap…they don’t do hip hop

  • http://www.pimpinpens.blogspot.com triplesixninja

    there is no way you can hate on this kid. he is the quintisential hustler. this story speaks for itself. homeboy is going to be in the record books. that is some impressive shit. landmark type stuff.

  • Mike

    Wow its a sad day in history.. This untalented piece of shit broke 3 million.. I dont think you can come up with a lame ass song and some queer ass dance to it for the rest of your life. Do us all a favor and grab the closet gun and super soak yourself you lame piece of shit, and people wonder why rap gets looked down on. Im speechless.

  • Breezy

    I have to say that song is so catchy and the dance.

    Well deserved….Yuuuuua!

  • LOL

    Good for Him.

    Bravo Brother

  • b-ease

    I’m not mad at this kid and I really dont know why so many people are…

    • Young Deuce aka Princinnati

      Because haters do what they do. Hate on the man doin somethin. If he wsn’t successful then what would they hate.

      • Mr.Wang

        Ain’t no hate thang….ok it is but not on a jealousy level.

        I dislike this song because it makes Hip-Hop look like pop. That ain’t real rap homie. On top of that it quickly became annoying. I ain’t jealous, I’m annoyed.

        • Young Deuce aka Princinnati

          True good point. You might not be but you know that some people just hate.

        • ill G

          um Mr. Wang is it? This aint real rap? what is real rap Mr. Wang-in-ya-mouth? please enlighten us…cus last time i checked, hip hop was 2 turntables, a microfone, and a M.C. who rocked the party and had ppl feeling good. Thats all this lil nigga is doin? ppl are at the clubs, drunk, having fun tryin to do the dance. what u want? them to all stand up against the wall, bobbin their heads to sume gritty shit? that ship has sailed Mr. Wang-in-ya-mouth STOP HATIN!!

        • Mr.Wang

          Mirror,mirror,mirror on the wall, who is the biggest fagot of them all?

          I think ill G can answer that, ain’t that right my nigga?

          Cause da mirror tellin’ me it’s you man.

          That bedroom of yours ain’t had nothin’ but dudes….no females.

          I made my point, the mirror made it’s point, so I’ma let you read this comment ill G so you can get all mad and shit and start callin’ me names and shit.

          The W.A.N.G. has spoken…..BITCH!

        • Real Talk

          ill G is right damn near everbody on here is hatin. The song aint best ever but some how its good for 3 million people to download it. WANG sounds damn making up ryhmes.

          FYI: Hip Hop is for everyone. If you like to dance there’s music for you. If you like rob, kill, or steal there’s music for you. If you like to get lifted and motivated there’s music for you.

          Ya’ll get it twisted thinking that what you listen to is real hip hop.

          Real Talk hate if you want.

      • sean_izzle

        what do you mean, his album only went Gold thats not much, and there are no exact numbers for downloads so thats just a lie and doesnt count

        TOO BAD FOR SOULJA BOY!!!, that dam ATL countryboy

  • Peru

    I don’t think niggas was really ever hatin on Soulja Boy, niggas was hatin on 30yr old niggas in the club doin the dance, the shit is embarrasing, no the song is not lyrical at all, should’ve just been an instrumental and a repeat of the hook….damn, thats what it was, but anyway…and the song is for the teeny boppers to dance to but when you have grown ass men doing that shit, it just dont make no damn sense and that includes NFL niggas doing it as touchdown celebrations. There is age limit to the shit, if you are over 18 you should not be dancing to this song, that means one second over 18yrs old. But Digital everything is taking over the world, we are in the computer age, ROBOT IS THE FUTURE!!!

  • mtsu

    He proves that its not about lyrical ability, catchy hooks (even though he has one), or anything else that may come of gimmicky….

    Its about creating something that “you” and I repeat “you” genuinely like. I dont knock rappers who are lyrcists as long as they are doing what they genuinely like and not whatever trends and image dictate….

    P.S. GANGSTA RAPS TIME IS COMING TO AN END!!!!

    SHOUT OUT TO KANYE, LUPE, GYM CLASS HEROES, AND THE COOL KIDS

  • Rosco

    He might be garbage butchu cant knock da hustle

    • Caine

      Damn right…

  • WHAT HES REALLY GETTING

    3 Million x .99 = 2.97 mill – 30% (iTunes) = 2,079,000 – 56% (label) = 415,800 (artist) – 20% (manager) = 332,640 – 30% (taxes) = 232,848!

    NOT BAD, NOT GREAT, BUT NOT BAD CONSIDERING IT COST NOTHING EXTRA TO SHIP/SALE A iTUNE.

    • squadwildin

      Dam faggot…you really a pocket watcher..addin up the man money and shit. Thats real homo.

      You don’t know what the fuck he makin ya bastard.

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  • one hater!

    mike u probably mad it aint you…hahaha! if dude get a dolla off each ringtone he sells that 3 mil and you know he getting at least that. hip hop is gay…. i grew up on rap like big homie said. hip hop died at the birth of crack…….real shit.

  • solo

    those td celebrations were funny though… fuck the nfl let them niggas dance.. hahahaha

  • FORTY

    Ha, ha, ha, ha, YOU CAN’T HATE ON THIS YOUNG BLACK MAN!! THIS LIL’DUDE SOLD ALMOST 700,000 COPIES. MOST OF THE RESPECTIBLE RAPPERS THAT ARE NICE LYRACIST CAN’T EVEN DO THAT. I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG HIS FAME WILL LAST THOUGH!! STACK THAT PAPER WHILE YOU CAN BRUHHH!! GRIND TIL’ YOU CAN’T GRIND NO MORE…..

  • BIZZLE

    TAKE THAT WACKNESS BACK TO THE ATL LITTLE NIGGA. FUCK HIS RINGTONE SALES HIS SHIT IS STILL GARBAGE.

  • gdup

    just cause you really appreciate real rap anf think this dude is garbage dont mean your hatin, this dude sucks. yeah he makes his hits. but they shouldnt call that shit rap. they should give it a different genre or somthin, then let that class of people who listin to music like that, rate it

  • SLINGbladez

    SORRY, SOULJAH GIRL NEEDS TO STOP WHILE HE’S AHEAD OF THE GAME AND PUT THE MIC DOWN. REALLY, YOU CAN’T BLAME HIM, IT’S THE RECORD COMPANIES WHO WANT A SONG AND DANCE ROUTINE NOWADAYS. RECORD COMPANIES DON’T WANT MUSIC LIKE WHAT USE TO COME OUT IN THE EARLY TO MID 90′S. SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT YOU CAN’T LIVE IN THE PAST, BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. I’M TALKING ABOUT THE GRITTYNESS OF HOW IT USE TO BE. TOO MUCH GLAM AND GLITZ HAS PLAGUED THE GAME. THERE’S NO MORE ORGANICNESS TO THE ART FORM. RAPPERS SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF FAGS ON THE MIC WORRIED ABOUT SOME JEWLS LIKE SOME LITTLE LADIES. I THOUGHT DIAMONDS WERE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND? I TELL YOU WHAT I WOULD DO IF GOT MY HANDS AROUND SOME THESE BULLSHIT ASS RAPPER’S NECKS, I WOULD SNATCH THEIR CHAINS AND PAWN’EM, THEN BUY SOME OF THE ILLEST CHRONIC I COULD AND BLOW THE SMOKE RIGHT IN THEIR FACE.

  • Jeopardy

    I won’t knock his business but I do not like his music. If that makes me a hater then so be it. I won’t be forced to like what I don’t like.

  • Maddi

    Its a sad day in Hip Hop When Soulja Boy Is nominated 4 a Grammy 4 Best Rap SOng. I Mean Cumon!
    It was fun at first bt quickly grew old.
    Fuck You Soulja Gurl U Lil Fag!

  • WAT-WAT-WATT

    “hater’s don’t hate u, they hate good sh***t, they wanted good sh**t but it never happened to them so they hate good sh**t, so when the n****er pull up beside u, beside ur hooptie, u look @ him like he made up a f****ked up decision…..”
    —Katt Williams

  • J.A.D.N.

    This Jig made this shit in his bedroom on FruityLoops?!?! Go Figure….

  • KID PANAMA

    NIGGAS A DISGRACE TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY REALLY

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  • ChillinNDa989

    HipHop needs for all facets to be acknowledged. Its hard to support Soulja Boyz lyrical content when its 50,000 otha wack ass rappers out there as well! U got niggaz who can actually rap that can’t sell. But that speaks volumes about the consumer. I aint hatin on the lil nigga but I don’t listen to his music. He just made a major business as black ppl we should at least congratulate and be proud. As HipHop Fans we should be worried tho. Cuz like I said the only music gettin played is that lean and rock bullshit. But if its in demand then the ppl who buyin it more fukked up than the ppl who makin it!

    • Caine

      Nah, I disagree. Da people dats buying the music dictates what direction Hip Hop is goin. da record labels are only gone sign acts they think will sell. So all you bootleggin ass niggas need to man up and support da shit you fuck wit, and stop bein mad at a 17 YEAR OLD KID DAT MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF!!!!

  • SBA

    all u niggas is just mad that he did it first. Every day yall come and bash on wat he does. We ALL know the nigga aint the next Pac, Biggie, Nas, Jigga, etc. But dont hate on how he gets his money. Does he come to ur job and laugh cuz u sweep floors or pick up trash? No, so jus let him laugh all the way to the bank. Because trust me if u had a chance to record the exact same song ALL of u would have done it no matter how lyrical the song was or was not

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  • http://www.hip-hopkings.com Stu

    Yeah yeah, well done. Now can it go away?

  • 5thwardtx

    another point that is lost in this conversation is that we have to allow hip hop to grow with us… i am 34, so i got history with hip hop, soulja boy is for my lil niece n’ nem – Jay, Kanye etc are my steelo – there is enough room for it all to co-exist peacefully…
    AC/DC aint dissin Kid Rock, and he aint dissin the latest rock n roll teeny bopper boy band…
    we are the only culture that possesses the self-hate of our off-spring, as a people we gotta allow our minds to grow and expand! You don’t have to like his music it ain’t for you ANYWAY, but ironically 99% of yall prolly didn’t buy the last Mos Def, Lupe, Kardinal or whomever your favorite rappers cd… like dude said up above stop downloading and go and cop the album.. but no, you rather steal it and whine about the content and blame it all on major labels… SHUT UP ALREADY!

  • DADE COUNTY 305

    NIGGAZ HATIN ON THIS YOUNG BROTHA THATS DOIN HIS THANG. THIS YOUNG BROTHA PRODUCE HIS OWN SHIT!!! GOTTA LOVE THIS KID GRIND. 17YRS OLD AND U NIGGAZ THATS HATIN WISH U CUD DO WHAT HE’S DOIN AND IF U R, U AINT DOIN IT RITE. NIGGAZ TALKIN BOUT HE’S DONE AFTER THIS ALBUM… PLEASE!!!! HE’S A KID AND THE KIDS WILL ALWAYS BUY KID ALBUMS.

  • http://myspace.com andre

    what’s soulja boy man i like your myspace man that so outcold i like to crank that soulja boy and super soak that ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i no all of the crank that even though you didn’y make all of them what’s you cell phone nummber my nigg yuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……………

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