That pretty much sums up why I wrote this article.

As I toiled Friday as a chaperon/bouncer at the bi-monthly bane of my existence I had the extreme 'pleasure' of watching all the random grade school kids get down on the dance floor to "Crank That." What was almost as hilarious was watching most of the female staff members attempt to relive their various sorority girl days by joining in. The whole scene looked like some kind of massive controlled seizure, or perhaps a tent revival with everybody writhing around. I imagine from above the scene looked something like the kids from Charlie Brown dancing, except whiter and more clumsy.

Since I have had the song stuck in my head (lucky me) since then I felt I needed to document its grip on society. What struck me when I researched this article is how DeAndre Way claims he tried to be different with this song by keeping it positive in what I would imagine is an attempt to differentiate himself from the other rap superstars of the time. But, if you look at him in music videos or on publicity shots he seems to play that part to the hilt, even painting his nom de guerre on his sunglasses.

Classy. I have to give him credit though. He took advantage of viral marketing and the mass communication tools of the day much better than a lot of PR people, music execs or even politicians. Not bad for a teenager from a broken home with a high school education. Hopefully he manages his money and fame wisely.

On a related note, WTF has happened to rap and hip-hop lately? All you hear about is macking hoes this, rolling up on somebody that. It has got to get back to its roots and like some of the old school groups (who incidentally I sat next to on a plane once. Best. Day. Of. My. Life!) instead of just going for the lowest common denominator.

It's a cute term.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.