Patiently Waiting
played State House’s “Crank Dat Roy,” the crowd of 10,000+ erupted. Geter was so impressed that he contacted State House and invited them to Atlanta, were he signed the group to the label that he and T.I. built.
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fter “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” “Crank Dat Batman,” “Crank Dat Superman,” and “Crank Dat (insert your favorite superhero here),” the last thing Hip Hop needs is another “Crank Dat” dance. Nonetheless, Grand Hustle and their latest acquisitions State House, a four-member group from South Carolina, are confident people across the nation will learn how to “Crank Dat Roy.” “The difference with this one is the whole feel of the record,” says State House member and founder Mo. “It’s a street record, and at the same time it’s so easy that everybody can do it.” South Carolinians can attest. For years, “The Elroy” (as the rumor goes, it was named after a neighborhood wino) had been a popular dance craze amongst college students and natives of Orangeburg, SC. In 2006, Mo launched State House Records and decided to create a song to
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go along with “The Elroy” dance. Together with State House artist JQ, the two arranged “Crank Dat Roy,” a song modeled in the same vein as Soulja Boy’s breakthrough record. The tune quickly spread across the city and was later added to Youtube. By the summer of 2008, “Crank Dat Roy” was a statewide dance phenomenon.
Although the group shaped their reputation off a city dance, they know that signing to the label that houses the likes of Young Dro, Big Kuntry, and Killer Mike is just the beginning. “I feel like we’re in there now,” A-Butta says. “But now that our foot is in there, we’ve gotta work a lot harder.”
But according to Mo, JQ wasn’t prepared for the success of the record and botched the opportunity with poor work ethic, missing out on shows. “Instead of moving the project forward, [he] was taking the project backwards,” says Mo. So he reassembled State House as a group, releasing JQ and adding Columbia, SC rapper Juve, Brooklyn, NY transplant A-Butta, and Florence, SC rapper/ producer J. Slayer. The collective remixed “Crank Dat Roy,” adding Def Jam signee Lil Ru and Juney Boomdata of “Wuz Up With That Cookie” fame, and continued to push the record.
“’Crank Dat Roy’ is just a foot in the door,” Juve adds. “It might be difficult to get people to look past the dance records, but that’s the image we’re gonna push out, [still] letting people know that we can rap.” And the group hopes their Brand New mixtape hosted by DJ Chuck T, and “Crank Dat Roy” Grand Hustle remix featuring Yung L.A. will prove it.
In May 2009, Grand Hustle Records co-CEO Jason Geter was at 102 Jamz’ Summer Jam in Greensboro, NC, with his artist Yung LA. When the DJ
“When you hear these other records, you pretty much don’t have a choice but to get on, because the records are incredible,” Mo states. “I know once those songs get out the right way, it’s gonna be crazy.” Words by Randy Roper