Old skool hip hop dance moves1/6/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() "It's being able to take something that wasn’t meant to be a dance or wasn’t meant to be visual art and creating something new out of it. "Whether it’s the church or referencing people you see day to day, that’s the beauty of hip-hop," says Slusser. Tick’n Will lived in Fresno's Tulare housing project and created moves like the "old man," imitating a man limping down the street. It revolves around a kid named Tick’n Will, who danced with the Solomon brothers in Fresno and was a member of the original Boogaloo Lockers. Apparently, the dancer witnessed women catching the Holy Spirit and later mimicked those movements and spasms in his routine.īut there’s a competing origin story. "One story that's kind of emerged around Boogaloo Sam was that he was in church, in a Baptist church in Fresno," says Slusser. Its exact origins are still up for debate, Slusser says. There’s this passing down of knowledge over dance moves, arguing over minute details."Īnd that includes popping. "They're amazing in the sense that they're really into documenting 'this is where this move came from, this is the person who originated it, here’s how it evolved, here’s how it changed over time,' in this old-school oral history way. "Hip-hop in general and dancers are protective of their history," Slusser says. The historians and their students are hoping to build Fresno’s hip-hop narrative by interviewing anyone who identifies with the culture: graffiti artists, MCs, DJs and hip-hop dancers, including B-boys, B-girls, lockers and poppers. B-boy Goku (Charles Montgomery) dances for an audience at the Fresno State 'What's Popping' event in November. The project, " Straight Outta Fresno: Hip Hop Dance from Popping to B-Boying and B-Girling," will be archived at Fresno State as part of the university’s Valley Public History Initiative: Preserving Our Stories. He and his colleague, Romeo Guzman, decided an oral history project was in order. "They’re using hip-hop the same way, right? It’s a vehicle of expression, it’s a way to kind of get through economic depression, get through all the kinds of problems we associate with cities," says Slusser. ![]() But what about smaller places like Fresno? Why aren't hip-hop artists' stories from these places told? Bigger cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Atlanta get a lot of credit for innovations in hip-hop. "They helped to popularize popping by getting on 'Soul Train' and working with artists like Michael Jackson." Popin' Pete worked with Jackson on "Thriller."Īs a historian, Slusser is intrigued by the genesis of popping. "The Electric Boogaloos were pioneers," says Fresno State historian Sean Slusser. ![]()
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