I didn't see this coming. I honestly didn't think this meme would stick around long enough to garner this much coverage, especially since I haven't heard of anyone dying or getting injured by making a Harlem shake video. (I just checked to make sure I remembered correctly, and confirmed that at least one death was attributed to planking.) I've never been to Harlem, but like I said last week, this isn't the Harlem shake. I guess I didn't expect people to get offended by the phenomenon though.
The videos take their name from the song, not the name of the dance, so it's not as if people were intentionally doing the dance wrong.In fact, I'm inclined to believe that few, if any, of the people in these videos are aware that a dance with the same name exists. How many white people do you know who know the names of dances? If any of them know the cat daddy, I'll bet they know it from that Kate Upton video. How about the Jerk, c-walk, or A-town stomp? Heel-toe, chickenhead, or nina pop? You're gonna stand there, uploading dance videos to the internet, not knowing how to two-step, Roger Rabbit, cabbage patch, pop and/or lock, or how to get your eagle on?
I'm joking, but only kinda. American society has a habit of co-opting black culture without grasping the cultural relevance. An article just this week in the New York Times uses the Harlem shake phenomenon and "Thrift Shop" as a jumping off point for a discussion on the legitimacy of these hip hop-influenced trends. Elvis Presley is probably the best-known example of a white person making a fortune off black culture, but he's far from alone. It happened before Elvis, and it's going to keep on happening. I'm not saying it's good, or even acceptable, I'm saying it's the way things are.
What I'm trying to say, only better sounding.
And sometimes, although only sometimes, it's actually a good thing. Even though nearly every white rapper ever is terrible, the Beastie Boys, Eminem, and Action Bronson are legitimately talented artists. More importantly, they treat the culture with reverence. They're not cultural tourists who are "slumming it" for adventure or trying to make a quick buck. Hell, Soulja Boy catches more flak for misappropriating black culture more than any of those guys, and rightfully so. Look back, and you'll see that even MC Hammer took a gang of disrespect from more legitimate rappers, even white ones.
To a much lesser degree, this goes the other direction as well. For years, rappers have incorporated high-end, traditionally "white" brands into their style, with varying results. Gucci, Louis Vutton, and Polo gear have been favorites in rap just as long as Benzes, Bimmers, and Bentleys. Ironically, the reaction from these brands has often been negative as well, like when a rep from Cristal basically said that the company would prefer that rappers drink something else. Is that racist? Is it more accurately classist? Does drinking Ace of Spades make you not racist? As far as I'm concerned, if you pay that much for champagne, you're at least guilty of bad judgement.
With America's rising numbers of Latinos, I'm curious to see what new ways black culture gets put through the mainstream filter. If that means a resurgence of Reggaeton, you'll long for the days of derivative Harlem Shake videos, that is unless people start making videos using the Azealia Banks version, then I'd call it a draw. Here's a video with actual Harlem shaking, although I bet you expected the G-Dep video that originally put the dance on the map. I considered that, but this song is far better.
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