Dabbing, or the dab, is a gesture in which a person drops their head into the bent crook of a slanted, upward angled arm, while raising the opposite arm out straight in a parallel direction. The move looks similar to someone sneezing into the crook of their elbow.
[ Since 2015, dabbing has been used as a gesture of triumph or playfulness, becoming a youthful fad and ]Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
.[
]
Origins
Before the term "dab" was coined, the move had been a feature of Japanese popular culture
Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be ...
for decades. A popular example is the 1990s anime series ''Dragon Ball Z
''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...
'', where the character Gohan
is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Gohan is introduced as the first son of the protagonist Goku, and his wife Chi-Chi, in chapter #196 "Kakarrot", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' maga ...
(as The Great Saiyaman) occasionally performs the dab move.
It is known as a "Sentai
In Japanese, is a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", " task force", " division (of ships)", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used to ...
move" in Japan, from its popular use in the ''Super Sentai
is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...
'' and ''Kamen Rider
The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media generall ...
'' tokusatsu
is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
series since the 1970s (localised as ''Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' and '' Masked Rider'' in the 1990s).
It resurfaced again in 1993, seen in one of Janet Jackson's dance videos for the song "If", which also had strong Asian influences. In the 1990s show ''Detective Conan
''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...
''s 2000 opening theme " Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense", the main character was shown dancing while occasionally dabbing. This opening was then remade 20 years later in Opening 51 with the same character doing a few dabs when the music starts. Other anime series where the dab move appears include the early 2010s show ''Love Live!
is a Japanese multimedia project created by Hajime Yatate and Sakurako Kimino and co-produced by Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa through ASCII Media Works; Bandai Namco Music Live through music label Lantis (company), Lantis; and animation studio ...
'', among others.
The K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
group Crayon Pop
Crayon Pop (Hangul: 크레용팝) is a South Korean girl group formed under Chrome Entertainment in 2012. The group consisted of four members: Geummi, Ellin, Choa, and Way. Their fifth member, Soyul, left the group in 2017.
Crayon Pop officiall ...
also appear to have performed the dab dance in the early 2010s, and so does the American dance crew Poreotics
Poreotics, also known as Poreotix, is an American all-male dance crew from Westminster, California. The crew was formed in 2007 by Matthew "Dumbo" Nguyen and specializes in popping, choreography and robotics, hence the name Po-reo-tics. They ha ...
in 2010.
During a performance at the Paramount Theater in Springfield, Massachusetts in early 2014, rap group Migos
Migos () is an American hip hop trio from Lawrenceville, Georgia, founded in 2008. The group was originally composed of Southern rappers Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia; Offset and Takeoff were born and raised in Law ...
performed the dance move, and the dab gained popularity in mid-2014. The dab was introduced to Migos and their Quality Control Music
Quality Control Music (also known as Quality Control or QC) is an American hip hop record label founded by Kevin "Coach K" Lee (Chief operating officer, COO) and Pierre "P" Thomas (Chief executive officer, CEO) in March 2013. Its productions were ...
label by Peter Thomson. Musicians on label had claimed the dab was invented by rapper Skippa Da Flippa and had origins in the Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
hip-hop scene in the 2010s. Another rap group on that label, Migos
Migos () is an American hip hop trio from Lawrenceville, Georgia, founded in 2008. The group was originally composed of Southern rappers Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia; Offset and Takeoff were born and raised in Law ...
, who released a single in 2015 titled "Look at My Dab
"Look at My Dab" (originally titled "Bitch Dab") is a song by American hip hop group Migos. It was released as a single on October 30, 2015 by Quality Control Music and 300 Entertainment. The song was included on their mixtape ''Back to the Bando ...
," had claimed to have invented the move,
but they later agreed that Skippa Da Flippa was the inventor after criticism from a third member of that label, OG Maco
Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. (born April 23, 1992), better known by his stage name OG Maco, is an American rapper from College Park, Georgia.
He is perhaps best known for his 2014 debut single "U Guessed It" which peaked at number 90 on the US ...
.
The English language audio dub of the Japanese anime series ''Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
is a Japanese anime series animated by Gallop. It is the sixth main anime series in the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' franchise. The series aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from May 10, 2017 to September 25, 2019. It was simulcast outside of Asia by Crunchyroll ...
'' (2017) adds a joke referring to a Sentai move as "the dab".
American rapper Bow Wow attempted to explain the origin of the dab dance, saying it derived from the cannabis dabbers community, which started in about 2012, before the dance move. He was met with opposition from other rappers who immediately took to Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to insult him and disprove his claims. The rappers Peewee Longway, Jose Guapo and Rich the Kid
Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), professionally known as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. He released his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'', on March 30, 2018. His second studio album, '' The World Is Yours 2'', was relea ...
contributed to popularizing the dab dance.
A slight variation of the dance move also appears several times in the music video for Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's "Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single from his seventh album, '' Bad'' (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics add ...
" from 1988.
This dance move also appears in the music video for Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...
's "Can't Let Her Go" in 1997.
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
performs a slight variation of the move in her song Only Girl (In the World)
"Only Girl (In the World)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her fifth album, ''Loud (Rihanna album), Loud'' (2010). Serving as the album's lead single, it was released on September 10, 2010. Crystal Nicole, Crystal Johnson wrote the so ...
.
One of the Indian dances include a wingtip
A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft.
Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...
-hand version of Dabbing. Bollywood choreographers can be seen performing the move in the song Tamma Tamma Loge
Thanedaar () is a 1990 Indian Hindi-language action film, produced by Sanjay Ray, Sudhir Roy under the Shiva Arts International banner and directed by Raj N. Sippy. It stars Jeetendra, Jaya Prada, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and music composed ...
.
Popularity
As '' XXL'' magazine reported in August 2015, "What started as a regional down South adlib is quickly becoming a masterful maneuver in clubs and on street corners. It’s called dabbin’." Jason Derulo
Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter. taught James Corden how to dab during the November 4, 2015 edition of "Carpool Karaoke
Carpool Karaoke is a recurring segment on ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'', in which host James Corden invites famous musical guests to sing along to their songs with him whilst traveling in a car driven by Corden on a planned route usual ...
" on ''The Late Late Show with James Corden
''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...
''.
The dab gained popularity in American sports following an eight-second celebratory dab by Cam Newton
Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...
, football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
of the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, during a game against the Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
on November 15, 2015. According to a ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' account of the incident, " en two Titans players confronted ewtonabout the celebration, he continued to dance in their faces, even as he backed away." Newton explained the incident by crediting a 16-year-old for instructing him to "Dab on them folks":
I'm a firm believer that if you don't like me to do it then don't let me in ... I just like doing it, man. It's not to be boastful, and from the crowd's response they like seeing it. ... Tell me what to do "Dab on them folks," so I tried "Dab on them folks," in that tone too. "Dab on them folks." He's only like 16, but he's got an Adam's apple out of this world.
It was later confirmed that the 16-year-old was Newton's younger brother Caylin. On June 9, 2016, Cam Newton announced that he would no longer perform the celebration. However, he dabbed again on November 13, 2016 after a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
, nearly a year after his initial dab against the Titans.
Dabbing has made its appearance in politics, as well. In January 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
dabbed on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
''. In October 2016, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez dabbed at the end of a Senate debate against Attorney General Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
. On January 3, 2017, Cal Marshall, 17-year-old son of Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan), dabbed at his father's swearing in as a Congressman, confusing House Speaker Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
. On February 22, 2017, Deputy Labour Leader Tom Watson dabbed in the UK's House of Commons. French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
, Benoît Hamon
Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s.
Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
and François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
dabbed on TV in March 2017. In May 2017, Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway
Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway (born 3 December 2005) is the younger child of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. He is third in line to succeed his grandfather King Harald V, after his father and elder sister Princess Ingrid A ...
dabbed at the Royal Palace in Oslo during his grandparents' King Harald V
Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991.
Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...
and Queen Sonja
Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V.
Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relation ...
's official appearance for their 80th birthday. In October 2017, Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
leader Bill Shorten
William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition ...
dabbed as part of a "diss track" criticising members of the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. He later alluded to the dab's infamy, stating that his children had been "humiliated" by it.
In January 2017, an Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja
Usman Tariq Khawaja ( ur, ; born 18 December 1986) is an Australian cricketer who represents Australia and Queensland. Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008 and played his first international match for Australi ...
dabbed in celebration of his half-century score in a Test match against Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. His move received mixed reactions, with some praising it and others accusing him of disrespecting his opponents.
In February 2017, the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.
Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...
, invited a dance group to State House to perform the dab dance move with him. The president was doing the dab dance in a bid to appeal to the youthful population of Kenya to come out and register as voters. Some critics found this move to be in bad taste since there were other pressing issues like the doctors and lecturers strike that the president should have been dealing with rather than dancing.
Today, the dab is both a dance move and a statement. The culture behind it has been propagated by celebrity use and memes
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that 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 cultural i ...
. Many dancers incorporate the move in their repertoire as a minor addition to a set; a dab is usually used to mark a drop. In addition, the dance move has become notorious around the world and has gained the significant attraction and attention from media in many countries.
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
footballers Paul Pogba
Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the France national team. He operates primarily as a central midfielder, but can be deployed as a left winger, attacking midfielder, d ...
and Jesse Lingard
Jesse Ellis Lingard (born 15 December 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club Nottingham Forest and the England national team. He has won the UEFA Europa League, FA Cup, FA Communi ...
also popularised the dab by performing the dance as their goal celebration
In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst r ...
. Wrestler T. J. Perkins
Theodore James Perkins (born September 3, 1984) is an American professional wrestler of Filipino descent, better known by the ring name T. J. Perkins (or simply TJP) currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he is a member of the Unite ...
often uses the move as a taunt or a sign of disrespect after a headstand
The headstand, or sometimes head stand, is a pose that is an inversion posture of standing head down. The technique is used in different settings such as yoga, breakdancing, acrobatics and beginner gymnastics.
Health risks
If the headstand is no ...
headscissors takedown.
Illegality in Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, dabbing was made illegal by the National Committee for Drug Control as it was deemed that it alludes to cannabis and other illegal substances. In August 2017, Saudi singer and actor Abdallah Al Shaharani was arrested for performing the move at a music festival in Ta'if
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, and afterward apologized in a tweet.
See also
*Quenelle (gesture)
The () is a gesture created and popularized by French comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala. He first used it in 2005 in his sketch entitled "1905" about French secularism, and has used it since in a wide variety of contexts. The quenelle became ...
* Hit dem folks
*Nae Nae
The Nae Nae () is a hip-hop dance that involves placing one arm in the air and swaying from side to side. The Atlanta hip hop group We Are Toonz is credited for inventing the phrase with their hit song "Drop That NaeNae" in 2013. The dance was ...
* Twerk
References
External links
*
{{Street dance
Street dance
Novelty and fad dances
2010s fads and trends
Hip hop dance
Internet memes introduced in 2015
Dance moves
Gestures