Twerking (; possibly from 'to work') is a type of

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 ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

in a sexually provocative manner involving throwing or thrusting the hips back or shaking the

buttocks The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a lay ...

, often in a low squatting stance. It is individually performed chiefly but not exclusively by women. Twerking is part of a larger set of characteristic moves unique to the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

style of hip-hop known as "bounce". Moves include "mixing", "exercising", the "bend over", the "shoulder hustle", "clapping", "booty clapping", "booty poppin", "the sleeper" and "the wild wood"—all recognized as booty shaking or bounce. Twerking is one among other types of choreographic gestures within bounce. Twerking emerged from the bounce music scene of

in 1990. It has a broader origin among other types of dancing found among the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

that derives from Bantu-speaking

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

ns of

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. As a tradition shaped by local aid and pleasure clubs, block parties and second lines, the dance was central to "a historical situating of sissy bounce—bounce music as performed by artists from the New Orleans

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

community that ed toa meteoric rise in popularity post-." In the 1990s, twerking had widespread appeal in black party culture throughout the hip-hop/rap region known as The Dirty South, including

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Memphis,

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, and

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. In 2013, it became the top "what is" search on the

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search engine following pop artist

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

performing the dance at the

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Etymology

A 2013

Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly: Historical dictionaries * ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') * ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', an abridgement of the ''OED'' Single-volu ...

blog post states, "the most likely theory is that it is an alteration of work, because that word has a history of being used in similar ways, with dancers being encouraged to "work it". Local bounce practitioners attribute the term to a contraction of "to work" ("t'work"; or, spelled as it is pronounced, "twerk"). The Oxford English Dictionary defines an early 19th-century use of the word as a blend of " twist" (or " twitch") and " jerk", which was reported by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in conjunction with the black cultural context. The word is said to have originated from the inner-city of

and was used frequently in New Orleans bounce music by rappers and DJ hosting block parties in the housing projects. On record, the 1993 song "Do the Jubilee All" by DJ Jubilee - which contains the lyrics "Twerk baby, twerk baby, twerk, twerk, twerk" - has been cited as its earliest use. The word became popular in the 2000s, when it was used by

rapper

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

and The East Side Boyz. A

Google Trends Google Trends is a website by Google that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. The website uses graphs to compare the search volume of different queries over a certain period of ti ...

search reveals that interest in the word "twerk" arose in November 2011. The

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

defines twerking as dancing "in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance".

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...

gives the definition as a "sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the

especially while squatting". The

's definition of the term may fuel the stigma around twerking as a sexual and provocative dance.

Origin

Elizabeth Pérez (2015) states in the '' African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal'':

Booty dances have threatened the status quo by emphasizing group membership, the free movement of forceful
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 ...
bodies, and Afro-Diasporic counter-narratives. The Colombian mapalé, or baile negro, is a case in point. Mapalé recalls the fish tail dances of the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
; Davila writes that ‘the fish’s movements after they are captured resemble he dance’spelvic and midriff contractions to the beat of the drum’ (Davila 2009, 120). ‘The only dance that was permitted during times of Spanish rule’, mapalé became associated with rebellion through its liberatory insistence on the body’s value as a vector for the transmission of ancestral knowledge (Davila 2009, 120).

‘Where dance on a social level was criminalized, in Mapalé, it continues to be an indestructible force of
Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...
identity within the fabric of the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
Coast’ (Davila 2009, 134). The
batuque Batuque may refer to: * Batuque (Brazil), various Afro-Brazilian practices, including music, dance, combat game and religion * Batuque (Cape Verde), a Cape Verdean music and dance genre * Batuque (manga), a Japanese manga series * Batuque (religio ...
, with its ‘artificial rotations and contortions of the hip’ was officially suppressed, as were
candombe ''Candombe'' is a style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed ''candombe'' in its Rep ...
and the bongo (quoted in Röhrig Assunção 2003, 167). The consensus is that such dances cognate to twerk – as indicated by their names and presence among Bantu-language-speaking
slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
– are
Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
n in origin. A number of scholars well versed in the matter have arrived at Kubik’s conclusion: ‘motional emphasis on the pelvis, buttocks, etc., especially pelvis thrusts or circular pelvis movements described in
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

jazz dance Jazz Dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the early 20th century. Jazz Dance may allude to vernacular Jazz, Broadway or dramatic Jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance that ...
history as “Congo
grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from Blade#Knife blade profiles .28Patterns.29, blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and ...
” are always suspect of a Congo/
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
background’ (Kubik 1979, 20).

Precursors

Pérez (2015) states:

The historically proximate precursors to twerk are as seldom cited as its analogues. Twerk emerged from earlier movement styles, like ‘the up-and-back hip-swinging bowed-legged movements of a dance called the Tootsie Roll’ and p ssypopping (Gaunt 2006, 285). As Miller notes, ‘it is likely that P-Popping constitutes an expression of what Chadwick Hansen identified in the late 1960s as “a long tradition of erotic shaking dances in America”, which “have clearly been continuous within the Negro community”’ (Miller 2012, 98). Some of the earliest footage of such moves may be seen in clips of the legendary Joséphine Baker. Picart writes, ‘ aker biographer PhyllisRose conjectures that Baker’s frenzied improvisational “stomach dance” was probably derived from moves related to the belly dance: the Shake, the Shimmy, the Mess Around – all of which were popular with New York Black
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
dancers in 1920s’ (Picart 2013, 58).

Other ‘serpentine’ dances that presaged twerk are the Georgia crawl and ‘the sensuous grind’ called ballin’ the jack, both with their heyday in the nineteen-teens (Gaunt 2012, 108; George-Graves 2009, 59; Oliver 1999, 107–108). In the same period, ‘From Florida came the Swamp Shimmy, in which vigorous undulations of body, hips, and limbs made up for lack of forward movement’ (Oliver 1960, 149). The historical record indicates that dances like twerk date to the
antebellum period The ''Antebellum'' South era (from ) was a period in the history of the Southern United States that extended from the conclusion of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. This era was marked by the prevalent practi ...
in the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
. Enslaved people performed sinuous snake hip and fish tail dances on plantations during festivals and special gatherings, such as celebratory dinners. Perhaps tellingly, like the snake hip movement, twerk can serve as an ‘embellishment’ or ‘an independent dance in its own right’ (Hazzard-Gordon 1990, 123).

Twerk dance

In 1990, the introduction of bounce music into the New Orleans music scene brought along the dance of twerking. In 1992, Panamanian singer Renato recorded the videoclip "El más sensual" (the most sexy), a reggae song with the twerking dance. The diffusion of the dance phenomenon began earlier via local parties and eventually strip clubs often associated with mainstream rap music and video production aired by video cable television shows that featured rap music and R&B music. Popular video-sharing platforms such as

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 ...

amplified interest since the advent of digital social media.

Rise to national attention

Twerking first received national recognition in the United States in the early 2000s, when the song " Whistle While You Twurk" (2000), by

Southern hip hop 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 ...

duo

Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). Despite the name, the duo are not twins, brothers or related in any way. They d ...

, peaked at number 17 on the ''

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Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

component chart. It was later referenced in their later track " Say I Yi Yi" (2002), in which the lyrics "she got her hands up on her knees and her elbows on her thighs / she like to twerk and that's for certain I can tell that she fly" are heard. The chorus of

Silkk the Shocker Vyshonn King Miller (born June 18, 1975), better known by his stage name Silkk the Shocker (formerly Silkk), is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. The brother of Master P, Miller signed with his record label No Limit Records, an im ...

's 2001 song "That's Cool" features the line "Somebody that's off the chain / who could twerk that thang.” R&B and pop girl group

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

was the first mainstream American girl group to use the word in a song in their song " Jumpin' Jumpin'".

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

made use of the word and dance in her 2005 song and corresponding music video " Check on It". In 2013, the dance became a viral sensation beyond African-American popular culture, when pop singer

used the dance in a video that was uploaded first on

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and then on YouTube in March which then later became a viral meme throughout social media outlets. Though twerking began trending as a web search in November 2011, and despite its origins in the bounce culture of New Orleans in the late 1980s, the word twerk would be added to the '' Oxford Dictionary Online'' and attributed to Cyrus following her appearance at the MTV VMA Awards in August 2013. It became the number one "what is"

Google search Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the World Wide Web, Web by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze an ...

that year as those outside the culture questioned the popularity of the dance. The word was a runner-up to "

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...

" in the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013.

''Billboard'' charts

In 2006, the hit single "

SexyBack "SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, '' FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQB.com. by ...

", by American pop singer

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

, featuring

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, from the former's second studio album ''

Futuresex/Lovesounds ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' is the second studio album by American singer Justin Timberlake, released on September 8, 2006, by Jive Records and Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba. Following a three-year writing hiatus, Timberlake conceived the album ...

'', featured Timbaland rapping the lyrics "Let me see what you're twerking with / Go ahead, be gone with it, Look at those hips". In 2007, the song " Pop, Lock & Drop It", by American rapper Huey, reached number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The 2012 single " Bandz a Make Her Dance" by

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...

contains the lyric "Start twerking when she hear her song", while

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

questions the ability of a girl to twerk by asking "What you twerkin' with?" in his 2012 single "

Pop That "Pop That" is a song by Moroccan-American rapper French Montana featuring Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake and fellow American rappers Rick Ross and Lil Wayne. Released as the lead single from the former's debut studio album ''Excuse My Fr ...

" featuring fellow rappers Drake,

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

and

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

. The aforementioned songs, along with "Express Yourself" by Nicky Da B and

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

, "made twerking the most popular dance move since the Dougie". In 2014, the song " Anaconda" by

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

peaked at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, makes numerous allusions to twerking. In November 2018, the City Girls released a song called " Twerk" featuring rapper

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

which peaked on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 29. The lyrics to the song ("Twerk-twerk-twerk-twerk-twerk-twerk with her") is self-explanatory as to how the City Girls wanted to grab the attention of their female audience. The music video has over 200 million views on YouTube as of June 2022.

In the media

In 2011, the Twerk Team, a group of female dancers from

who have posted several videos of themselves twerking on

, were mentioned in the song " Round of Applause" by

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. He first became known for his 2009 single "O Let's Do It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to ...

featuring

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, in the line "Bounce that ass, shake that ass like the Twerk Team". Australian rapper

Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea ( ), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. She earned public recognition ...

has incorporated twerking into her live shows since 2011. In July 2012, during the '' Workaholics'' episode "The Lord's Force", Anders Holm says "Let's just, uh, put on some twerk videos or something, right?". In March 2013, American pop singer

posted a video on

which featured her performing a twerking routine while wearing a

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

suit, to the 2011 single " Wop" by J. Dash. The popularity of the video, along with parodies and responses made by fans, influenced the song's re-emergence on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Miley Cyrus's "Wop" video would go to become viral. By April 9, 2013, copies of the video had amassed over 4 million views on

. Also in March 2013,

Mollie King Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English pop singer, songwriter, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays. As part of The Saturdays, King has had 13 Top 10 and eight Top 5 singles, including the UK number-one hit ...

, an English singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of British-Irish girl group

The Saturdays The Saturdays are an English-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and has been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Whi ...

, was seen twerking when her bandmate Rochelle Humes uploaded the footage on YouTube. American actress and singer

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens ( ; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in '' Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (200 ...

was seen twerking in March 2013 on American late-night talk show ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

''. In September 2013, Hudgens was later seen twerking, this time to the song " Bubble Butt", during her performance at Bootsy Bellows in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

, with her girl group YLA. Hudgens was again seen twerking in a video for Shade 45's radio show ''Sway in the Morning''. American actress and singer

Ashley Tisdale Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles on-screen and in theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatric ...

can also be seen twerking in a video for Shade 45's radio show ''Sway in the Morning''. On July 9, 2013, a video was posted on the

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

-owned video sharing service

Vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

entitled "Twerk Team", which featured a group of five women provocatively twerking to " Don't Drop That Thun Thun". The clip was shared by users over 100,000 times, becoming a trend for the community and users created their own responses and parodies featuring the song, collected under the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

s "#dontdropthat" and "#thunthun". The viral popularity of the Vine clips led to an unexpected increase in sales for the song; prior to the posting of the "Twerk Team" clip, only 4,000 copies of the song had been sold; in the following weeks, sales went up to 34,000, then to over 72,000. By late July, "Don't Drop That Thun Thun" had reached #5 on ''Billboard'''s R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs chart, and it eventually peaked at #35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Both "Wop" and "Don't Drop That Thun Thun" have been cited as examples of how viral and user-created videos can bring renewed interest to songs; '' Spin'' writer Jordan Sargent considered "Wop" to be

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 ...

's " Harlem Shake moment", but not a

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

to the same extent as it. In April 2013, American rapper

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing ...

released the song "Express Yourself", inspired by music producer Diplo's song of the same name. The song, produced by Trampy, features a fast-paced electronic beat and is a composition about the popular dance craze twerking. Brown dedicated the song "to all the ladies that like to turn up and have fun," in which he raps "Toes on the wall and her ass in the air / And she twerk that thing like she ain't have a care". In the music video for Barbadian singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's single " Pour It Up", which was released in May 2013, the singer can be seen twerking. In June 2013, American rapper

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

released a Jamaican

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

-inspired single titled " Twerk It", featuring

, who has been featured on several other "twerking songs", including " Shakin' It 4 Daddy" by Robin Thicke, " Dance (A$$)" by

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

and " Clappers" by Wale. Minaj can be seen twerking in all four of the aforementioned songs' respective music videos. Minaj can also be seen twerking in the music videos for American rapper

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

's single " Get Like Me" and American singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

's single " I'm Out". In August 2013, the song "Twerk", by Lil Twist, featuring pop singers

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

, was leaked online. On July 14, 2013, Showtime broadcast Season 1 Episode 3 of the series ''Ray Donovan'', entitled "Twerk", in which actor Jon Voight's character enters a college library and pays a student to give up his computer terminal so that he can watch online videos of women twerking. A YouTube video of the scene has more than 38,000views. In August 2013, Juicy J announced via

that he would give out a $50,000 scholarship for the girl who can twerk the best. The competition is inspired by the track "Scholarship" on his third album '' Stay Trippy'', which contains the lyric "Keep twerking baby, might earn you a scholarship." In early September 2013, a video titled "Worst Twerk Fail EVER - Girl Catches Fire!", began circulating around online; the video went on to become viral with over 9 million views, and received media coverage. The following week, American comedian and television host

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...

revealed the video was a

hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

that he and his team had devised, on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

''. In April 2014, the video won the

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for best viral clip of the year. Also in September, "Twerk" from the MTV VMA show was named the Top Television Word of the Year (Teleword) of the 2012–2013 TV season by the Global Language Monitor. In October 2013, American actress Beth Behrs, of American television sitcom ''

2 Broke Girls ''2 Broke Girls'' (stylized as ''2 Broke Girl$'') is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 19, 2011, to April 17, 2017. The series was produced for Warner Bros. Television and created by Michael Patrick King and Whitn ...

'', was seen twerking on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

''. Behrs was later seen twerking to the 1992 hit " Baby Got Back", in January 2014, during the 40th annual awards ceremony of the ''

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...

'', which she hosted alongside her co-star Kat Dennings. The fifth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'', which aired November 13, 2013 and was titled " The End of Twerk", revolved around the twerking phenomenon. The seventh episode of the second season of the American reality television series '' Bad Girls All-Star Battle'', which aired February 25, 2014 and was titled " Twerk It Out", featured the contestants twerking as fast as possible with pedometers on their back. In August 2013, American recording artist

, generated controversy following a sexually provocative performance during the

2013 MTV Video Music Awards The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 25, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Marking the 30th installment of the award show, they were the first to be held in New York City not to use a venue within the borough of ...

, in which Cyrus twerked during a medley of her track " We Can't Stop", " Blurred Lines" and " Give It 2 U" by Robin Thicke. Cyrus also received criticism for "stealing" African American culture, also known as

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or cultural identity, identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. Such a controversy typically ari ...

. In October 2013, Valerie Dixon who was 27 years old, was arrested in

Lake County, Florida Lake County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 383,956. Its county seat is Tavares, and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is included in the Orlando–Kissimme ...

, because she was twerking and speaking foul language in front of a school bus. Other arrests in Florida for electric twerking in public include the video blogger Carmel Kitten and two unnamed Canadian tourists. In August 2014, American recording artist

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

, featured twerking in the music video to her single "

Shake It Off "Shake It Off" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her fifth studio album, '' 1989'' (2014). She wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Swif ...

". This caused some controversy with American rapper Earl Sweatshirt saying that the video was "perpetuating stereotypes". In January 2024, the

Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the longest duration twerking, was set by Babajide Isreal Adebanjo, in Lagos Nigeria. He twerked for 3 hours, 30 minutes.

References

External links

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Let's Talk About The Female MCs Who Shaped Hip-HopA Brief History of Twerking
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twerking 2000s fads and trends 2010s fads and trends African-American culture African-American dance Afro-Caribbean culture Afro–Latin American culture Articles containing video clips Buttocks Culture of New Orleans Hip-hop dance Internet memes Novelty and fad dances Partial squatting position Bounce music