Yes, there’s a lot of cool stuff on YouTube. Some of it is illegal, posted by people who don’t hold the copyright. Some of it is amateur; much of that stuff is boring. But there is much that is interesting.
Here’s one example of how YouTube excels: Crank Dat videos.
Here’s the background. Hip-hop artist Soulja Boy has a huge hit with the single “Crank That (Soulja Boy).” There’s a dance that goes with the song, which has spread widely thanks to the Internet.
The Crank That dance, which incorporates the Two Step and Lean Wit It dances, calls for a series of foot steps and arm swaying from side to side. Recently, YouTube videos have appeared online showing viewers how to properly “crank that,” and MySpace has held a promotional contest to see who could “crank that” the best.
Soulja Boy explains more:
Sixshot.com: You got people here in Chicago doing this dance. You really are world wide.
Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: I’m ten million strong. My fans behind me. When I do a concert and people know the dance, it’s crazy.Sixshot.com: One part of the song you say this line. The line is “Yool”. What does that mean?
Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: That’s a word that comes from Atlanta. We been saying that a long time. It’s spelled y-u-u-a-a. If you see something tight. You see a fresh car on some 24’s then its Yuuaa!Sixshot.com: Okay, is that like Aye Bay Bay?
Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: Nah.Sixshot.com: How is it different?
Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: It’s very different. It’s like if you see Michael Jordan dunking a basket then right when he dunk it’s like “Ah…..Yuuaa!” After you see him dunk it then it’s like “Aye Bay Bay”.
So, you go on YouTube and search for “crank dat” and you can start browsing for the homegrown selections. Or you can find them collected at CrankDat.com. You can then get the superhero variations:
You can’t effectively spread dances socially across America and the world without media. In the old days, you could do a dance on TV and the kids could pick up on it. Now, you can invent a dance in your kitchen and change everything.
And then you can see Travis Barker do a rock remix.
2 Responses
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LATOSHA WOODS Says:
I WOULD LIKE 4 SOULJA BOY 2 LET DA WORLD KNO WAT DA REAL MEANIN OF “SUPERMAN DAT HOE” IS. A LOT OF POEPLE THINK DEY KNO WAT DEY R TALKIN BOUT. DEY SAY IT MEANS SUMTHIN SEXUAL. DEY MAY VERY WELL B TRU, BUT DAT DOES NOT MEAN DAT SOULJA BOY IS TALKIN BOUT SEX. IF U DON’T KNO HOW YOUNG URBAN (BLACK) PEOPLE TALK U SHOULDN’T B COMMENTIN BOUT DAT SONG.
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lala Says:
Soulja boy sucks he has no idea what he is rapping about and his music doesnt seem to original sounds like a song that a 10 yr old would make…and he shouldnt even be on any other rappers level. if u ask him to have a rap battle with the other rappers he will get smoked