Crank Dat UGA

Forgive me, reader, for I have sinned. Ok, not really. I merely ventured outside of my usual cozy realm of Athens music. Thursday night, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em performed on a crowded Legion Field for what appeared to be thousands of screaming fans. Although I am only really familiar with one song of his, “Crank Dat”, the song that rocketed him to apparent fame in 2007, I can hardly pass up a free concert with an artist that a large majority of people have actually heard of. After we had waited an inordinate amount of time, becoming terribly bored with the DJayed music that was played to appease the audience, Soulja Boy finally arrived and pumped up the crowd with series of songs punctuated by some rather rockin’ gunshot sound effects. To everyone’s disappointment, however, Soulja Boy merely performed short sections of each of his own songs and then proceeded to yell out things intermittently over pre-recorded songs made by other artists.

Luckily, though, what Soulja Boy’s show lacked in content, he made up for in audience involvement, energy, and effects. He danced across the stage enthusiastically as he performed each of his songs, and between songs, he exchanged a few words with the audience members in the very front. Then, when he performed his song “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” he chose about 25 lucky girls with cell phones in hand to join him on the stage as he danced. He finished off the show by tossing his sweaty shirt and towel into the curiously eager audience, leaving himself nearly naked, his pants having fallen down around his ankles earlier in the show. I have to commend the rarely appreciated lighting designer for this show as well. The swirling colors and projected shapes on the stage were a visual feast unto themselves.

Basically, for the price (or lack thereof), I’d say that the show was definitely worth seeing. The sheer excitement that permeated the mosh pit-like atmosphere was reason enough to attend, and now thousands of UGA students can add Atlanta’s own Soulja Boy to their list of artists seen live.