• November 13, 2006
• Vol. 66
• No. 20

Dancing to the Tune of $1.7 Million

Two New York Kids Strike It Rich Singing About a Hot Dance

Don't ask Troy "Webstar" Ryan to do the chicken noodle soup dance. He says he can't get the finger-wiggling, leg-kicking beat down. But the song he and Bianca "Young B" Dupree made about the dance has struck gold. "Chicken Noodle Soup" is a phenomenon and won the Harlem duo a reported $1.7 million deal from Universal Republic Records. "It's really crazy. Kids are singing it everywhere, down south, Texas, California, Germany, everywhere," says Bianca, 16, a bubbly junior at Essex Street Academy in Manhattan who raps the tune's catchy refrain: "Chicken noodle soup/chicken noodle soup/chicken noodle soup/with a soda on the side."

Ryan, 20, was a popular deejay and Dupree a wannabe rap star when they became friends a few years ago. Earlier this year Dupree wanted to write an anthem about the crazy dance everyone in Harlem was doing. They recorded the song in March, but it didn't catch fire until summer, when Ryan played it at parties around Harlem. Soon kids began posting online videos of themselves doing the dance to the catchy tune. Universal took notice, and now—with Ryan's album Webstar Presents ... Caught in the Web, which includes "Chicken," released in September, and Dupree's in the works—the two hope to break into acting and modeling. "But we're taking baby steps," Dupree says, laughing.

More From This Article

Doing the Chicken Noodle Soup

1 LET IT RAIN Hold your hands to your face, then lower them while wiggling your fingers ...

2 CLEAR IT OUT ... swing your arms as if doing the breast stroke before ...

3 CHICKEN NOODLE ... kicking out your legs and extending an arm, as if reaching for a soda.