The youth is probably the best avenue to take for any trend that wants to become an all-out movement, if the New Boyz is any example. They managed to transition from two high school wannabe rappers to full-blown celebrities in just a few years - and with a minimum of resources. The story of their climb to fame is just as remarkable as the kinds of trends that they've introduced with their newfound status.

New Boys: Jerking To Stardom

"People think we only do jerk music, but we do a whole lot of everything."

The youth is probably the best avenue to take for any trend that wants to become an all-out movement, if the New Boyz is any example. They managed to transition from two high school wannabe rappers to full-blown celebrities in just a few years - and with a minimum of resources. The story of their climb to fame is just as remarkable as the kinds of trends that they've introduced with their newfound status.

New Boyz, Old Friends

Earl Benjamin and Dominic Thomas - now more popularly known as Ben J and Legacy, respectively - were born just a day apart, and ended up attending the same high school, Hesperia, in San Bernardino County in Los Angeles. They met as freshmen and joined the same school-based rap group. Both left the overly large group, however, establishing themselves as individual rappers.

Being born just a day apart has its benefits. Because their cash birthday gifts arrived in quick succession, they were able to pool the funds together and use that to purchase the most basic of recording equipment. Despite Thomas' transfer to a different school soon into their duo career, the pair continued with their plan to form a new rap act.

Like many independent and/or teenage artists, the foundations of their career lay in social networking site MySpace. It was there that they posted their very first single, Colorz, and established themselves as pioneers in the underground jerk music scene. It was in 2009, though, a mere year after they got together, that the New Boyz would get their big break.

New Boyz, Big Break

The single You're a Jerk came out in the summer of 2009 and propelled the boys to star status almost overnight. After becoming the most requested song on Los Angeles radio stations, it spread like wildfire to every other state. The single's debut on iTunes sold over 50,000 units in hours. Although their second single, Tie Me Down, didn't do as well at the tills, it peaked on the Billboard 200 at just a few spots below the boys' debut.

By September of that year, the pair had a label contract with Asylum and Warner Bros, as well as a released debut album Skinny Jeanz & A Mic. Under any standards, the boys hit stardom in record time. As far as star power is concerned, though, their current success might very well be just the tip of the skinny iceberg.

Did You Know That...

• ...fans played a big role in the popularity of You're a Jerk? Even before the music video came out, the song became a popular background track to videos of people jerking, helping it spread even faster.
• ...they were popular even before they were signed? New York Times had been calling them the Young Teens of Hip-Hop way before Colorz was even released.

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