Soulja What?

I can’t remember the first time I heard Soulja Boy, but I do remember not liking it. The first time it really entered my consciousness was several months ago when it had just ended on the radio and the two people on the station’s morning show were discussing how the song had just been on an episode of Entourage and how “those folks on Entourage know what they’re doing ‘cause this song is gonna be big.” Unfortunately, as I don’t have HBO, I don’t see Entourage until it hits DVD. However, I disagreed with the morning personalities. I couldn’t see how this song by some random 17-year-old was going to be big. It was horrible. Too much saying the same thing over and over and nothing in it made any sense to me.

I was obviously wrong. For anyone who keeps up with pop culture, you know that Soulja Boy has done ridiculously well. In fact, you could have spent the last six months under a rock and know that. Except for my father. He wouldn’t know. Last night I was in the middle of a story and made a reference to Beyonce. Then I paused. “You know who Beyonce is right?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Does she date Mick Jagger?”
Probably not. If she does, Jay-Z is probably going to be pretty pissed about it.

Anyway, I digress. Soulja Boy has done well. Everyone from frat boys at Virginia Tech (watch this youtube video if you haven’t yet) to 6 year old kindergarteners are cranking that soulja boy. It’s ridiculous.

The thing is though, it’s totally grown on me. I can’t understand why. I mean, the main thing I like about any hip hop music is the cleverness of the lyrics. There is nothing remotely clever in these lyrics. The thing I hate about hip hop is how dirty it can be. Not only are these lyrics dirty, but he does it in a sneaky way. A way that has kindergartners saying things they definitely shouldn’t be saying.

But there’s something about it. I used to change the channel when it came on. Not anymore. Now, sometimes, I even find myself, in my car, with my wrists twitching. Cranking that soulja boy. I hate him a little for that.

The beauty of living in Atlanta, the capital of the hip hop world, is that we get songs earlier than anyone else. So, if a song does well, we hear it for what seems like forever. I guess this means I’m going to be cranking that soulja boy for awhile. Maybe I should just go ahead and download that “Soulja Boy Tell Em” video and learn how it’s done. Or maybe not.