"Turn My Swag On" is a song written and recorded by American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
Soulja Boy Tellem
DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...
. It was released in October 2008 as the third single from his 2008 album ''
iSouljaBoyTellem
''iSouljaBoyTellem'' is the third studio album by American rapper Soulja Boy. It was released on December 16, 2008, by Collipark Music, Stacks on Deck Entertainment, HHH Artists and Interscope Records. The album was mostly produced by Soulja B ...
''. It was performed at the 2009
BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
. The song topped the US Rap Charts and peaked at number 19 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. it has so far sold over 1,000,000 digital downloads in the US. It became Soulja Boy's third song to sell more than 1 million downloads, after "
Kiss Me thru the Phone
"Kiss Me thru the Phone" is a song co-written and recorded by hip hop artist Soulja Boy featuring Sammie. It was released on November 27, 2008, as the second single from his 2008 album, '' iSouljaBoyTellem''. It was the best-selling single fro ...
" and "
Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)".
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was directed by
Matt Alonzo
Matt Alonzo (born April 16, 1985) is an American director, video editor and filmmaker.
Early life and career
Alonzo grew up in Carpinteria, California and studied at Brooks Institute. His big break came in 2008 when he filmed and edited a Lil ...
and shot at roger flouton house in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
.
The music video peaked at number 1 on the top 10 countdown of
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
's ''
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...
''. The video follows the theme of the song, with Soulja Boy Tellem appearing in the house while singing the song. It was leaked to YouTube before its official release date. The video ranked at number 5 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.
Remixes and in popular culture
The official remix has a new verse by
Soulja Boy
DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...
and features
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...
using the
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-Tu ...
effect. The song was leaked onto the Internet and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on February 12, 2009.
This remix charted at number 65 on the US
Hot 100 Airplay
The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout ...
Chart.
Atlanta hip-hop producer Greg Street created a remix of the song on 2009, combining Keri Hilson & Yung L.A.'s freestyles with the Soulja Boy original, which reached number 17 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in September 2010 following a cover by
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She finished fourth place in the seventh series of ''The X Factor'' in 2010. Following the seventh series finale, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music. Her debut single, " Swagger Jagger", was r ...
during the audition process of the
seventh series of
''The X Factor UK''.
In the late summer of 2010, Austrian rapper
Money Boy
Money Boy (born June 27, 1981 in Vienna, also known as ''Mbeezy'', interim ''Why SL Know Plug'', ''YSL Know Plug'', ''Why SL Beezy'', ''Mbeezy Pineapple The Fruit Dude'' and other pseudonyms, born as Sebastian Meisinger) is an Austrian rap-singer ...
released a cover version titled "Dreh den Swag auf" with German lyrics.
R&B singer
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
interpolated the song's hook into "
Hold Up", a single from her 2016 album, ''
Lemonade
Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage.
There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...
''.
Track listing
CD single
# "Turn My Swag On" (album version) - 3:31
# "Turn My Swag On" (instrumental) - 3:31
# "Turn My Swag On" (Remix of album version) - 3:40
# "Turn My Swag On" (Remix of instrumental) - 3:40
Digital download
# "Turn My Swag On"
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Soulja Boy
2009 songs
2009 singles
Soulja Boy songs
Songs written by Soulja Boy
Interscope Records singles