Hit Dem Folks is a

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

dance trend popularized in 2015. The move involves crossing the arms twice, raising them in a 'U' shape, and bending them inwards. The move has been done by athletes, celebrities, and other well-known figures. "Hit dem folks" gained recognition through online video-sharing platforms like

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, and it remains a frequently used gesture among social media dancers. "Hit dem folks" is one of many dance trends to originate from

Southern rap Southern hip-hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip-hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip-hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, ...

culture. Some dancers known for doing the move are Ayo and Teo.

Origins

The

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

is thought to have originated in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, in the early 2010s. Gaining popularity among local dancers, and the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

club dance scene, "hit dem folks" became a viral sensation in 2015. Rapper,

Bankroll Fresh Trentavious Zamon White (August 2, 1987 – March 4, 2016), better known by his stage name Bankroll Fresh (or Yung Fresh), was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for posthumous guest appearance on fellow Atlanta rapper Jee ...

, is one of the first artists to popularize, and benefit commercially from it, with his song "Walked In" becoming a well-known song to "hit dem folks" to. Many global dance trends have emerged from Southern hip hop's trap scene. Online video-sharing platforms have allowed these trends to spread rapidly, and reach an international audience. Artists would also market their songs by having a unique dance to go along with it, a notable example being Soulja Boy's song,

Crank That "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" is the debut single by American rapper Soulja Boy, Soulja Boy Tell 'Em. It served as the lead single from his debut studio album, ''souljaboytellem.com'' (2007) and accompanies the Soulja Boy dance. The song is recogniz ...

. Its music video would feature one of the first "viral" dance trends to emerge from the internet, and one of many to showcase the unique cultural elements of America's Black South during the 2000s.

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

dance trends have had a significant impact on American pop culture, with "Hit dem folks" specifically being an well-recognized dance move among young people, and one the few to inspire an entire sub-genre of dance. The dance itself is short sequence of movements, rather than a choreographed routine. A person "hits dem folks" by doing a series of arm crosses followed by the "hit," in which they raise their arms, bend them towards the center of the body, and raise one leg. The dance is typically done to

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

, with the "hit" landing on a certain beat of a hip-hop track. It is often likened to a flexing pose.

Similar trends

Other Black dance trends include: *

Jerkin' Jerkin' or Jerk is a street dance culture and hip hop subgenre originating in urban California in the late 2000s. It gained mainstream popularity outside of California by Inland Empire-based groups New Boyz and Audio Push, and has origin ...

* Dougie *

Hit the Quan "Hit the Quan" is the debut single by American rapper iLoveMemphis. This song is based around a dance that was first made popular by American rapper Rich Homie Quan. It peaked at number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Background and release Hit ...

* Nae-nae * Juju on that Beat * Milly Rock

References

{{Reflist Hip-hop dance 2010s fads and trends