Soulja Boy has claimed to be the very first rapper to do various things across the music industry, giving himself his flowers for being such an influence in the rap world and defining his legacy through his status as a pioneer in multiple fields. Hip-hop fans should know the influence that "Crank Dat" and the song's dance had on the world, becoming one of the first viral dances to ever take over the internet. If you ask Soulja, he'll tell you that he created "going viral."
On Wednesday (March 23), the 31-year-old hip-hop artist joined the It's Tricky podcast with Raquel Harper, where he claimed that TikTok would not exist without him. We can confirm that Big Draco is not one of the creators of the social media platform, but he definitely has a point that he helped to popularize short-form social videos on the internet.
"I got Beyoncé doing the Crank Dat Soulja Boy [dance], you feel me? I created TikTok! It wouldn't be no TikTok if it weren't for Soulja Boy," said the rapper.
When asked about how the owner of TikTok would feel about that statement, he continued, "What about him!? He heard Crank Dat Soulja Boy too! He's seen the video too! 'I'm finna make this app right now! Look at this dance, this is great way to make money. Kids dancing to a song.' Can I get my ten percent, TikTok? The f*ck going on?"
He quickly turned around and praised the platform for its dedication to artist discovery, celebrating the success of his song "She Make It Clap" on the service. "#1 on Billboard, independent, got a whole bunch of money, got a record deal off of that song because of what? TikTok."
Do you think Soulja Boy influenced the birth of TikTok, and should he get a percentage of the app's earnings? Let us know in the comments.