Being media savvy has long been an asset for artists. In the past, it was more about being savvy about the press and other print and video coverage. Now, of course, there is a far greater range of skills you need to manage your image, and a lot of those tools are new within the last 8 or so years.
It's still too early to write the book on how changes in technology have changed how artists make and release music, but I'm pretty sure once that history is written, Soulja Boy will have to be in it.
So let's take a look at Soulja Boy's seminal work, "Crank That" (2007), directed by Dale Resteghini.
The video opens in the office of Mr. Collipark, who owns the Atlanta-based Collipark Music. In real life, Collipark is a collaborator with and songwriter for Soulja Boy, but in this video, he knows nothing about him until his two hyperactive sons go through a sugar-fueled rendition of the "Soulja Boy" dance.
"Who is Soulja Boy, and what in the heck is that dance?" says Collipark, doing his best "uncomprehending Dad". The kids are horrified - their dad doesn't know who Soulja Boy is? Who is the man that raised them - a square? Don't worry Mr. Collipark, this video is going to tell you all about Soulja Boy.
From here on out, it's all Soulja Boy, who is hustling on a comically old PC, making videos of his dance and lighting up everyone's flip phones (at least the ones that can play video). Mr. Collipark sends Soulja Boy an instant message saying that he wants to sign him to a record deal and with that, Soulja Boy is in. He's been waiting for a random record executive to offer him a record deal over IM, and his ship just came in.
Terms must be discussed, however, so the record exec goes to Soulja Boy's crib, all the while the youth of America are doing that dance all around him. Mr. Collipark arrives and gives Soulja Boy a chain which I'm almost certain has all the terms of the record contract etched onto the back.
As over the top as this video is, it's important to note that Soulja Boy was one of the first artists to really be touted as someone who understood modern media and knew how to use it to market to young people. Seeing as YouTube was only a few years old in 2007 and Twitter was brand new and not yet widely used, it's an interesting period of be branding yourself as this kind of artist in. Being young himself didn't hurt, I bet. That he was using a dance - one of the lowest tech and oldest school mediums in existence - to reach people must've thrown some people for a loop as well.
The "story" of Soulja Boy that was presented to people who didn't get him (or weren't supposed to get him) was largely the same as it appears in this video: all the cool youth know Soulja Boy (especially the kids!) and all you need to know is that they love this dance and they love watching it on their flip phones. You will never understand why his album is also the name of a website. Again, all you need to know is that he is hip and popular.
Dale Resteghini does a great job in this video of making this sort of origin story work, putting Soulja Boy in front of a computer for part of the video and creating an environment where you definitely feel out of the loop if you don't know how to superman one or multiple hos.
Here is a five minute video showing you how to do the Soulja Boy dance.
