HARLEM SHAKE. What do we really know about it ?

Harlem Shake

What do we really know about this strange dance ?

In the begining you need to know that "HARLEM" is a large neighborhood within the northern section of the New York City borrough of Manhattan. Since the 1920s, Harlem has been known as a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Founded in the 17th century as a Dutch military outpost, Harlem became successively a farming village, a revolutionary battlefield, an industrial suburb, a commuter town, an American ghetto, and a world renowned center of African-American culture.

Ok so what is HARLEM SHAKE ?

The Harlem shake, originally called the albee in Harlem, is a dance that started in 1981. The dance became mainstream in 2001 when G. Dep featured the Harlem shake in his music video "Let's Get It". It has its history from a type of dance exercised in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, called "Eskista" and was allegedly started in Harlem by a man named Al B.

The Harlem shake is a dance that originally began in Harlem, New York, in 1981. It was based on an Ethiopian dance, the "Eskista." Since its beginnings it has spread to other urban areas and became popular in music videos. The self-purported inventor of the dance was "Al B", a Harlem resident. Because of its founder, the dance was originally called the "albee" in Rucker and Harlem, but then later became known as the Harlem shake.

Al B is quoted saying that the dance is "a drunken shake anyway, it's an alcoholic shake, but it's fantastic, everybody appreciates it." He said it comes from the ancient Egyptians and describes it as what the mummies used to do. Because they were all wrapped up they couldn’t really move, all they could do was shake. Al B states that he has been doing the Harlem shake since 1981. The dance first caught on at the Entertainer's Basketball Classic or EBC and spread from there to other areas.



Though starting in 1981, the Harlem shake became mainstream in 2001 when G. Dep featured the dance in his music video "Let's Get It".

The Harlem shake is commonly associated with a similar dance move called 'The Chicken Noodle Soup'. The "Chicken Noodle Soup" evolved from the Harlem shake and exploded into popularity in the summer of 2006 when DJ Webstar and Young B brought it to the mainstream. The dance is referred to in the CunninLinguists song, "Old School", in Mac Dre's song, "Thizzle Dance," and in Nelly's song, "Dilemma". A band from New York City took the name of the dance and dubbed themselves Harlem Shakes. "Harlem Shake" is a song by Baauer, an American producer from Brooklyn, New York. The song was uploaded to YouTube on May 10, 2012, and went viral in February 2013.

Now you know what is HARLEM SHAKE

Let's hear the original song

QUESTION !

What do you really think about this kind of dance ?

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