Gangsta Walking (often referred to as G-Walk , Buckin, Buck Jump , Jookin, Rollin, Reading, Raping, or Choppin) is a street dance that originated in Memphis, Tennessee alongside "Buck" music during the 1990s. The dance has been suspected to be created by a street dancer named “Capital D” - real name Dima Grinevich.[1] 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 and 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 and surrounding areas.
Due to video streaming websites like YouTube and social networks like myspace.com and others, "gangsta walking", "jookin', "choppin", "buckin" or whatever it may be called, has spread in popularity. In 2007, Memphis rapper–director–producer Young Jai, of Jai Productions / Black Star Enterprisers, released Memphis Jookin Vol 1 DVD. This DVD featured the new generation of jookers/Gangsta Walkers. It featured such Jookin as G-Nerd, Lil Daniel, Dr. Rico, Lil Buck, Lil Black, Bobo, female Jooker Shuante, Underground King Keviorr, DJ Sidewalker, North Memphis Legend Lil Jayson and many others. This DVD helped springboard the Jookin/ Gangsta Walking movement. In November 2007, Jookin was featured on Channel 3 WREG news in Memphis and also on Channel 5 WMC. There are several videos on Jookin on http://www.memphisjookin.com and Youtube.com, with some videos receiving hundreds of thousands of views in months and thousands of views in a week's time. Jai Productions and The Memphis Jookin community was also featured in the December issue of the French magazine Juste Debout as the Dance of the Month. Jai productions also released a solo Jookin DVD on G-Nerd entitled "Truth Be Told" and Tutorial entitled "Memphis Jookin wit G-Nerd". Jai Productions has also released the entire Memphis Jookin Vol 2. 3-part series, which showcases more of the Jookin community that is involved in the movement to help get this dance on the map. Nowadays our youth have somewhere to go and learn the Memphis style. Memphian Tarrik Moore And Marico Flake (Dr Rico) have opened U-Dig Jookin Academy, located in the Raleigh Springs Mall.
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The origin of the Walk itself is a mystery. Gangsta Walking has constantly evolved over the years into the much smoother version 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. Others suggest a New Orleans connection. Early gangsta-walking in Memphis was often called "buck jumping", and "buck jumping" was another name for second-lining in New Orleans. The two cities shared a love for the Showboys' "Dragrap" (a song that would become the basis for New Orleans bounce music) and New Orleans performers such as Gregory D and Mannie Fresh often appeared at Memphis' Century 21 club on Winchester Road.
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, West Memphis etc.
There is a variation of styles for the Gangsta Walk:
Turfing (an acronym for Taking Up Room On The Floor, an Oakland, California based street dance that heads the Hyphy Movement, has its roots in Gangsta Walking. . Oakland Museum of California. 2006-04-07. http://www.museumca.org/exhibit/exhi_cool_remix.html, Cool Remixed: Bay Area Urban Art + Culture Now [Brochure]. Retrieved 05/06/2009. 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 people consider Turf dancers as a recreation or a "knock off" of their own Gangsta Walking style.
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