Jerk
Stylistic origins	West Coast hip hop, Hyphy
Cultural origins	late 2000's, Los Angeles, Southern California
Typical instruments	Sampler - Synthesizer - Drums - Keyboard - Rapping
Mainstream popularity	Early 2009-
Other topics
Hip hop music - History of hip hop music - Timeline of hip hop

Jerkin' or Jerk is a Los Angeles dance movement.^[1] The Jerk movement started in 2008 in Los Angeles and spread across Southern California. Since 2009, jerkin' has gained fans along the West Coast and is gaining popularity on the East Coast.^[2]

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".^[3][4]

Contents 1 Music 2 Dance crews 3 Fashion 4 References

Music

The music is usually high tempo for rap music, around 90 - 100 bpm, very similar to the Hyphy sound of the Bay Area.^{[citation needed]} While Jerk Music does have a specific style, other hip-hop style music is often jerked to as well.

The rap group New Boyz wrote and recorded a hit in Los Angeles entitled "You're a Jerk", ^[5] while Audio Push wrote and recorded "Teach Me How To Jerk". As the jerk culture continues to flourish, several new groups specializing in the Jerk style are being courted and signed by major labels. Arista has signed the group Rej3ctz, and the label is looking seriously at many other jerk groups that are flourishing on the Internet. ^[6]

Dance crews

As Jerkin' mainstreams, new dance crews and artists are competing and performing at events not only in Southern California, but spreading to other parts of the world. 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 are Action Figure$, U.C.L.A. Jerk Kings, and the LOL Kid$z. ^[7]

Fashion

Jerk fashion is a mixture of skater/hip hop fashion.^{[citation needed]} People who dance the jerk usually wear skinny jeans (varying from the unusual to the usual colors and washes), considered a rejection of the baggy pants style.^[3][4]

References