, frequently used in the context of "ghost riding the whip" (a "whip" being a vehicle) or simply , is when a person exits their moving vehicle, and dances beside and around it. American rapper

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

's 2006 song "

Tell Me When to Go "Tell Me When to Go" is the first single from E-40's BME/Warner Bros. debut, '' My Ghetto Report Card''. Keak da Sneak is also featured on the track. It was produced by Lil Jon, and one of the first singles to kick off the hyphy movement on a n ...

" produced by

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...

brought mainstream attention to "ghost riding". Ghost riding is also another term used for

car surfing Car surfing involves riding on the outside of a moving vehicle being driven by another person. It has resulted in numerous deaths, predominantly causing severe head injuries. The Quebec Provincial Automobile Insurance Company defines car surfing ...

, and the term is also occasionally used to describe a moving vehicle with no occupant, such as when a car without the

hand brake In road vehicles, the parking brake, also known as a handbrake or emergency brake (e-brake), is a mechanism used to keep the vehicle securely motionless when parked. Parking brakes often consist of a cable connected to two wheel brakes, which i ...

applied starts to roll down an incline.Flambosting the hyphy nation
Steve Jones,

USAToday ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

.com. April 13, 2006. Last accessed January 6, 2007. The practice originated in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, specifically the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. It gets its name from the fact that while the driver is dancing beside the moving vehicle, it appears that the vehicle is being driven by an invisible driver. Ghost riding is an activity that has been practiced in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, California for many years, during what are called sideshows.Farhi, Paul
"Ghost-Riding: Brake-Dancing With Zip Under the Hood"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', December 27, 2006, p. C01. Accessed October 18, 2007. It is thought to have started as a trend around 2006. The popularization of ''ghost riding'' a car is a byproduct of popular Bay Area music, and the

hyphy The term hyphy ( ) is Oakland slang meaning "hyperactive". More specifically, it is an adjective describing the hip hop music and the culture associated with the area. The term was first coined by Oakland rapper Keak da Sneak. History The hyp ...

subculture in general, additionally it has been suggested ghost riding is a

copycat crime A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modelled after or inspired by a previous crime. It notably occurs after exposure to media content depicted said crimes, and/or a live criminal model. Copycat effect The copycat effect is the alleged tend ...

popularized by

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

videos and online social media. Ghost riding is performed by exiting an automobile while it is left in gear. The automobile's engine runs at idle speed, slowly propelling the car forward. As with

, ghost riding is dangerous and has resulted in deaths in North America.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline Hazardous motor vehicle activities Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 2000s fads and trends 2000s in California