Gangsta Walking

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For the 2006 single by rapper Coolio, see Gangsta Walk.

Gangsta Walking (often referred to as Buckin, Jookin, or Choppin) is a street dance that originated in Memphis, Tennessee alongside "Buck" music during the 1980s, some have speculated that the dance was originally created during the late 1970s. Gangsta Walking was suspected to be "invented" by renown street dancer nicknamed "Capital D" (Dima Grinevich). In Memphis, in an alley, he decided to display his new idea for crunk dancing, which evolved into the Gangsta Walk. The Gangsta Walk is commonly performed to crunk music due to the particular 'bounce' in the beat & the movement the dancers make to keep with it. Though Gangsta Walking has been around for many years, much of the dance is still exclusive to the city & surrounding areas.

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[edit] Origin

The origin of the Walk itself is a mystery. Gangsta Walking has constantly evolved over the years into a much smoother verion it is today. Some state that this style was created during the early 1980s, a Memphis based dance & rap group, G-Style (composed of Romeo, Wolf, and Hurricane) went to New York City and saw dance the most practiced dances (e.g. breakdancing, popping, gliding, locking, etc.) and incorporated these styles into the traditional Walk. When they returned, they brought back a new style Gangsta Walking that was new and notably similar yet distinctly different dance that matched the new wave of rap music,which matched the beat down to the bass, snare and hi-hat.

[edit] Positives of Gangsta Walking

Along with being a popular street dance, the Gangsta Walk is often viewed as a form of self expression and relief from the hardships of living within the inner city. Some have even considered Gangsta Walking as being a less extreme kin of Krumping due to it steering many the youth away from street violence and exacting their energy into something positive and constructive. The dance can commonly be found in urban areas of Memphis like North Memphis, South Memphis, Orange Mound, Whitehaven, East Memphis, etc.

[edit] Types of Gangsta Walk

There is a variation of styles for the Gangsta Walk:

  • One particular style requires the dancer to take (in a jerking motion) quick steps, stomp, twists and throwing their arms around all while moving to a beat, the best example being Crunchy Black's style, referred to as G-Walking [1]. The style is considered the bases of all Gangsta Walking done in Memphis since the 1980s.
  • Another style requires three or more people hopping around in a circle in a rhythmatic motion, while throwing their hands into the air and yelling "Get Buck" or the lyrics to a Buck song. This style of the Gangsta Walk is more commonly referred to as the G-Train. It is said that this style was banned from the clubs shortly after being created due to the wildness it invoked in performers as well as onlookers. Reminders of its existence are still left behind in older clubs or closed down night spots around the city [2].
  • The most known style of Gangsta Walking is within the standard crunk atmosphere, involving a crowd of people slamming and pushing off one another on the dance floor.
  • The most famous and practiced style of Gangsta Walking around the city takes bits and pieces from other street dance styles like liquid dancing (the wave, tutting, tracing, contours and hand flowing), the robot, locking, popping, gliding and even breakdancing all merged together with the traditional dance. The most recognizable moves in the dance is the dancer does moves similar to the two-step between making another motion and spinning or walking on the tips of their toes. This style of the Gangsta Walk is mostly done by the younger generation and the generation behind them who grew up shortly after the invention of Buck music, thus titling it Buckin.

[edit] Spin-offs

Turfing (an acronym for Taking Up Room On The Floor[citation needed]), an Oakland, California based street dance that heads the Hyphy Movement, has its roots in Gangsta Walking. In the late 1980s, native rapper, MC Hammer, toured in Memphis and saw the dance in the crowd while performing. He began performing the Walk and the dance eventually caught in hometown to create a more rugged, less smoother version of the Walk. Many Turf dancers consider the Gangsta Walk as a recreation or a "knock off" of their own style.

[edit] Music videos featuring the Gangsta Walk

[edit] External links

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