Hip-Hop and dancing go hand in hand. Ever since the early days of b-boying in the streets, dancing has been very much a part of our culture. You can find elements of Hip-Hop dance everywhere in today’s society even if it isn’t the traditional “break dancing”. Hip-Hop dance has moved from those traditional roots into  every inch of our lives. Whether you are at the club, at a sporting event, a concert or even just walking down the street on a fresh summer day, you are bound to see someone breaking out some variation of Hip-Hop dance move. That’s because nowadays, catchy rap songs come with their own type of dance or dance move; it’s nothing new.

Look way back at Digital Underground‘s 1990 smash hit “The Humpty Dance.” That, along with MC Hammer‘s “The Hammer Dance” were pioneering songs that created the emergence of these iconic dance crazes. The best part about it is that most of the moves aren’t hard to do. As seen above, it’s as easy as waving you hand in the air while bouncing in a circle. People would hear the song, remember the simple dance step or cadence and naturally imitate what they saw. It something that makes Hip-Hop fun and interactive. It’s one thing to bob your head to an introspective boom-bap track but it’s definitely another to bust a move to your favorite dance track with a crowd of people doing the same. The feeling is infectious and hence why the trend has survived all these years.

The most recent dance craze to hit our culture is the Shmoney Dance. Coined by Brooklyn up and comer Bobby Shmurda on his summer heater “Hot N***a.” The dance has spread worldwide in a very short period of time and has seen renditions from the likes of Rihanna, Drake and even Beyonce. Again, not a hard dance to do; just step around, throw your hands in the air and move up and down. In light of this recent craze, we have compiled a list of some of the hottest dance crazes of the past few years.

THE DOUGIE

2010’s dance craze was none other than the dougie. Named after Hip-Hop pioneer Doug E. Fresh, the dougie was a dance started in Dallas that incorporated moving your body in a shimmy style and brushing your hand through or near your hair. It was a massively infectious dance and still gets love in clubs around the world.

THE JERK

This dance craze was reinvented in 2009 but made its Hip-Hop debut back in 1960s. Teenage rap duo New Boyz dropped their iconic “You’re a Jerk” that featured an extremely simple beat but a dance that had house parties and clubs alike bouncing all night long. By jumping with a little hop-step, anyone with decent coordination could pull off the jerk.

CRANK THAT

Soulja Boy‘s 2007 smash hit “Crank Dat Soulja Boy” brought about a dance craze for the more dedicated. Featuring another easy beat and a tutorial-required dance sequence, anyone who had 15 minutes of time to kill could learn this dance craze. To this day, Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” remains one of the most downloaded and searched for songs of our generation.

WALK IT OUT

This dance created by DJ Unk back in 2006 was the epitome of southern dance moves. It is potentially the simplest on this list as to do it right, all you need to to is bend your knees and walk. You can see a bunch of today’s dance moves use the basics of the walk it out  as it will be immortalized as one of the hottest dances in Hip-Hop.

THE STANKY LEGG

This dance was maybe the most outrageous. 2009’s hit “Stanky Leg” was amongst the biggest dance crazes in Hip-Hop. Originated by the GS Boyz, this dance required people to get low, wiggle one leg and slide. The music video is priceless as the collective breaks down how to successfully “hit the stanky legg”.

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