Crip Walk

The Crip Walk, also known as the C-Walk, is a dance move that was created in the 1970s by first generation Crip member "Sugar Bear" , and has since spread worldwide. [1] The dance is primarily an act of performing quick and intricate footwork.

Crip Walk
An example of the "V Stepback" Crip Walk move
GenreHip-hop dance
InventorCrips
YearEarly 1970s
OriginCompton, Los Angeles, California

The rivalry between the Crips and the Bloods spilled over into the world of entertainment, with the adoption of the gang dance by various rappers on the West Coast of the United States, who gave it its name, the Crip Walk. This dance involves the movement of one's feet, classically to the spelling of C-R-I-P (refer C Walk). It was used by Crips at parties to display affiliation, particularly vis-a-vis rival gang the Bloods. It was also used after killing someone to give the kill a Crip signature. MTV declined to broadcast any music videos that contained the Crip Walk.[2] The Crip Walk originated in the 1970s in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. The Crip walk is often referred to throughout many rap songs, including Xzibit tracks such as "Get Your Walk On" and J-Kwon's "Hood Hop". The C-Walk was originally a symbolic dance strictly for Crip gang members in the early 1980s in South Central Los Angeles, however by the early 1990s the dance had evolved into a popular hip-hop dance. The dance was originally used by Crip members to spell out their names and other Crip symbols. Gang members would often spell out the word "Bloods", the name of their rival gang, before crossing it out with a nimble movement of the feet. It is believed that the Crip Walk was used as a signal to initiate robberies – a lookout would scout out a location while other crip members watched and waited for the C-Walk to signal that the coast is clear. It is also believed that the Crip Walk was performed soon after the slaying of a rival gang member.[3]

Examples

Variations

There are many variations of the standard Crip Walk,[5] including the Modern Crip Walk,[6] Clown Walk[7] Killwaukee Walk[8] and Crown Walk.[9] The chief differences are in the way moves are executed, from elements such as speed, energy, flow, variations, arm control, and bounce.

Documentaries

  • American rapper CJ Mac released a documentary focused on the beginnings of Crip Walk and its rise in popularity entitled "Cwalk: It's a Way of Livin'". It features such rappers as Snoop Dogg, WC and Ice-T along with original members of the Crips.[10]

See also

References

  1. Richard Thomas. A new dialogue (PDF). 2006 European Workshop on Design & Semantics of Form & Movement on October 26, 2006 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 8, 2009.
  2. Michael Newton (2007). Gangsters Encyclopedia. Chrysalis Books. p. 59. ISBN 9781843404026.
  3. "https://www.xzibitcentral.com/". External link in |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. "Serena Williams lets fly with volley at 'crip walk' critics at US Open". the Guardian. August 26, 2012.
  5. "C walk "ghost". Free ghost - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  6. "Kyren vs. Iko Crip Battle - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  7. "KyEatsPie *SA Snippet* - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  8. "..:. West Coast Life Roleplay Forum .:.. - Portal". west-life.forummo.com.
  9. "[HoodElements.Com] Spook - Hate In Your Eyes - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  10. "C-Walk: It's a Way of Livin' (Video 2003) - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.

Further reading

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