Oh Harlem, they’ve done it again.
The man has stolen your swag and made it into a viral video, a pop culture phenomenon. But here is why I think Harlem needs to fall back with some of their anger…
I remember sitting in my office when our style writer came in saying they brought back the “Harlem Shake.” I thought, ‘Oh God, why!’ He immediately told me it was a new version of some sort. I shrugged it off and made a mental note to look into it.
Then a few days later on Twitter, I noticed it was trending. It was now time to see what the hype was all about. I logged onto YouTube and watched one video, then another, then another, and then another. I spent about 40 minutes watching these 30-second videos.
The first thing I thought is, this isn’t the “Harlem Shake.” Then secondly I thought, this is amazing.
Daily, tons of the new “Harlem Shake” videos would be uploaded to the internet – much to the purists’ dismay – but people are talking about Harlem like they’ve never talked about it before.
Because prior to these videos, the only thing Harlem was making national noise for was Bill Clinton had an office there and white people were taking all the apartments.
Yet, Harlem is still mad. Over a dance. A dance that hasn’t been hot outside of Harlem since G-Dep was popping. I don’t think people think this new “Harlem Shake” is replacing the old “Harlem Shake.” But just like Diddy invented the remix, the wiggly dance has been remixed to a bunch of kids in masked and weird costumes going H.A.M. when the beat drops.
That’s it. This isn’t some great culture-jacking. This isn’t a big crime. It’s a bunch of drunk kids getting turnt up.
I asked actor Miles Teller from the movie 21 and Over about the “Harlem Shake” craze, since they did one to help promote their movie.
“I like to shake it and stuff, but it’s not the original Harlem Shake, that’s what I said when we did the video,” Miles admitted. He then broke out into a perfect rendition of the REAL “Harlem Shake” before telling me, “I used to watch YouTube videos of the Harlem Shake, and Michael Jackson and stuff.”
There you have it: people know the difference between the real “Harlem Shake” and this new video craze. But when you star in a movie about getting buckwild on your 21st birthday, you expect these things.
I still feel like there is no reason for everyone to be so upset about a silly video craze! People are talking about Harlem like never before and that’s a good thing. So be mad if you want to, but nothing is stopping any of us from doing the REAL “Harlem Shake” when the beat drops.
~ Blog Xilla Follow Me On Twitter
Xilla is the Sr. Entertainment Editor for GlobalGrind.com as well as CEO of the number 1 relationship blog BlogXilla.com/M2TB.com. He has been featured in XXL, The Source, Essence, LA Times and is considered one of the premiere bloggers in the industry. Follow him on twitter @BlogXilla
