Nowadays, everybody’s phone is either on silent or vibrate. Most of the time, our voicemail box is full, and we don’t even remember what our greeting sounds like. In the formative cellphone years of the 2000s, it was very important to have a cool ringtone or song on your voicemail greeting. We had to hold the phone up to our CD player to record a song for a voicemail greeting, and we perfected this technique. Times have changed, and therefore, these 4 songs will forever remind us of our old ringtones or voicemail greetings in the 2000s.
“crank that (soulja boy)” by soulja boy
I hope people realize how big Soulja Boy was in the 2000s. His debut single, “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”, created a nationwide dance craze in 2007. Therefore, many used their phones to film themselves dancing to the track. His debut album, brilliantly titled souljaboytellem.com, hit No. 1 on the US Top Rap Albums chart. This ringtone was everywhere during the height of the song’s popularity. “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and that’s no shock for anyone who lived through this time.
“Lean Back” by Terror Squad ft. Fat Joe and Remy Ma
In 2004, this song hit around the same time that cellphone ringtones began to gain popularity. As a result, “Lean Back” became a common ringtone or voicemail greeting. It was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004. Indeed, everyone leaned back along with Fat Joe at some point in 2004. Remy Ma’s collaborations with Fat Joe led to her winning a BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. She won the award in 2005, after contributing to Fat Joe’s second album True Story.
“In da club” by 50 Cent
Finally, another song that came out at the right time was “In Da Club”. Ringtones were becoming a popular cellphone feature when this song was released in 2003. “In Da Club” was 50 Cent’s first No. 1 hit and had the sound that worked brilliantly as a ringtone. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is still the ringtone for many millennials today. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2004. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, “In Da Club” won Best Rap Video and Best New Artist.
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