Soulja Boy made his career in the era of file sharing and MySpace, but he says if he had to do it all again today he’d still end up on top.
The “Turn My Swag On” rapper sat down with Kids Take Over for a new interview, and was asked how he would market his breakthrough hit “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” if it dropped in 2023 instead of 2007.
After quickly answering that he’d use TikTok, Soulja went on to say he believed the song — a double platinum-selling top 10 hit at the time — would be an even bigger smash today.
“This was before streaming, really. This was still in iTunes and ringtones,” he said. “I would have went more viral right now than I did back then.
“Actually, the fucking numbers and shit that I did back then is fucking legendary, amazing compared to today’s, from the technology that I was using.”
He added: “Imagine if I had TikTok! What the fuck? You know how many people would have been doing the ‘Crank That’ dance?”
You can see the section beginning at the 16:51 mark below.
This is not the first time that Soulja Boy has discussed TikTok. In March 2022 he went on It’s Tricky With Raquel Harper and claimed the app wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for his meteoric breakout in the mid-2000s.
“I got Beyoncé doing the ‘Crank That (Soulja Boy)!’” he said, referencing the superstar doing his dance on stage in 2007. “I created TikTok! It wouldn’t be no TikTok if it wasn’t for Soulja Boy.”
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He added: “[The owner of TikTok] heard ‘Crank That (Soulja Boy)’ too! He seen the video too! He was like, ‘I’m finna make this app right now. Look at these dances, this is a great way to make money, kids dancing to a song.’ Can I get my 10 percent, TikTok?”
The validity of his claims aside, Soulja Boy has found a lot of success on TikTok. In April 2021, Big Draco’s “She Make It Clap” topped Billboard’s Top Triller U.S. chart.
