Jerkin' or Jerk is a

street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a cult ...

originating from and popularized by the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the citie ...

-based groups

New Boyz New Boyz was a hip-hop duo that consisted of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas. They debuted in the spring of 2009 with their viral hit "You're a Jerk" taken from their 2009 debut studio album '' Skinny Jeanz and a Mic''. ...

and

Audio Push Audio Push is an American hip hop duo from Inland Empire, California. The group consists of Oktane (Julian Browne) and Price (Larry Jacks, Jr.). Career In 2009, the duo were signed to Interscope Records, and they had their first hit single wit ...

, and has origins in the Inland Empire and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Since 2009, jerkin' gained fans along the West Coast, East Coast, and in Europe, notably France and Germany, although it was heavily derided in the Southern United States. According to Oktane of Audio Push, jerkin' culture came from gang members dancing at parties, stating: "Jerking actually came from gang-banging. Like, it was a dance that gang members did. Like, the anti-dance. If you were in the party and everyone was dancing,

he gang members He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

would be doing the jerk." The dance itself consists of moving your legs in and out called the "jerk", and doing other moves such as the "reject", "dip", and "pindrop".

Music

The rap group

wrote and recorded a hit in Los Angeles entitled "

You're a Jerk "You're a Jerk" is a song by the duo New Boyz from their debut studio album '' Skinny Jeans and a Mic''. It was produced by New Boyz member Legacy, and peaked at #24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Music video The music video was directed ...

", while

wrote and recorded "Teach Me How To Jerk". As the jerk culture continued to flourish, several new groups specializing in the Jerk style were being courted and signed by major labels. Arista had signed to the group The Rej3ctz, and the label was seriously looking into many other jerk groups that were flourishing on the Internet.

Dance crews

Once Jerkin' went mainstream, new dance crews and artists began competing and performing at events in Southern California as well as in other parts of the world as its popularity spread. The Ranger$ crew not only competes in dance contests, winning numerous awards, but have recorded several songs and have been signed to a major label. Other notable crews in the Southern California area include Action Figure$, U.C.L.A. Jerk Kings, and the LOL Kid$z.

Fashion

People who jerk usually wear

skinny jeans Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans (when made of denim) are tight trousers that have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" in circumference, depending on size. Other names for this style includ ...

(varying from the unusual to the usual colors and washes), considered a rejection of the

baggy pants Wide-leg jeans, colloquially called baggy pants, are a style of clothing that were popular from the early 1990s to the early 2010s. The quintessential brand of " hip-hop"-style wide-leg jeans comes from the Los Angeles–based JNCO ("Judge None ...

style. Many elements of scene and the raver are used in the jerkin' movement, such as bright colored clothing, tight pants, or novelty graphic tees. Also, people who dance the jerk generally wear hightop or retro shoes, including Chuck Taylor and

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

hightop shoes. Shoes may or may not be multi-colored.

References

{{Street dance American hip hop genres African-American dance Dances of the United States Culture of Los Angeles Hip hop dance Street dance West Coast hip hop 21st-century dance