Crip Walk

An example of the "V Stepback" Crip Walk move

The Crip Walk, also known as the C-Walk, is a dance move that originated in the early 1970s by Crip gang members from the South Central Los Angeles area, and has since spread worldwide.^[1] The dance is primarily an act of performing quick and intricate footwork.

History

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. Today the dance is known to many as the "Clown Walk". 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

• In Westside Connection's video for the song "Hoo Bangin'", WC (Neighborhood 111 Crips) can be seen doing the Crip Walk.
• Snoop Dogg (Rollin 20s Long Beach, California Crip) can be seen doing the walk in the video for "Drop It Like It's Hot".
• The song "Get Your Walk On" by Xzibit heavily references the Crip Walk.
• The song "C Walk" by Kurupt.
• Eight Tray Gangster Crips gang member Damian "Football" Williams did a celebratory C-Walk after striking truck driver Reginald Denny with a concrete slab during the Rodney King riots.
• Tennis player Serena Williams caused a minor stir at the 2012 Summer Olympic tennis tournament when she did a Crip Walk immediately after defeating Maria Sharapova in the gold-medal match at Centre Court, Wimbledon.^[4]

Variations of Crip Walk

Killwaukee Walk

Modern day K-Walk is a dance that derives from the original C-Walk; however, it has no gang affiliation and is generally a lot more complex in terms of execution. What separates the K-Walk from the one originated by the Crips is the absence of hand signs and other gestures symbolizing gang affiliations. It was introduced sometime in 2013, by "Meebo" in the West Coast.

Clown Walk

The Clown Walk is a variation of the Crip Walk. The dance is sometimes abbreviated as "C-walk," causing confusion as to whether people are Crip Walking, Clown Walking or Crown Walking. Clown is based on, and takes many moves from, the original Crip Walk; however, it has no gang affiliation and is generally a lot more complex. Clown Walk moves consist of basic V, Shuffle, Heeltoe, and X-hop. Dancers who utilize this particular form of dance often customize their own moves to make it unique.

Crown Walk

The Crown Walk is a variation of the Crip Walk and the Clown Walk. The dance is sometimes abbreviated as "C-walk," causing confusion as to whether people are Crip Walking, Clown Walking or Crown Walking. Crown Walk moves consist of the same set as Clown Walk.

Blood Bounce

The Blood Bounce is an alternative dance performed by the Bloods. This variation includes a bent-knee as well as a side to side swagger.

Misconceptions

The general difference between Crip Walk,^[5] Modern Crip Walk,^[6] Clown Walk^[7] and Crown Walk^[8] are 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.^[9]

Further reading

• Erika Hayasaki (2002-06-04). "Some Principals Ban Dance With Gang Ties". Los Angeles Times. 
• Jacob Thompson (2007-05-15). "how to cwalk the v move". Dance Origin. 

See also

• Gangsta Walking

References