Krump Dancing: Origins, Culture, and Meaning

Introduction to Krump Dancing

Krump is a popular form of dancing that has swept across America, yet most people cannot find a krump class offered at a suburban gym or dance studio alongside Zumba, tap, and jazz. Krump dancing originated in the urban neighborhoods of Los Angeles, not as part of a formal or classical dance tradition. Much like breakdancing or voguing, it has its roots in a culture of poverty, where people with few material resources could create art with their bodies in a visceral and organic fashion. The streets where krumping first became popular are lined with "barbershops, chicken joints, liquor stores and churches" and little else (Booth 2005:1).

According to the documentary on the dance craze called Rize, krumping has been called "break dancing on fast-forward" (Booth 2005:1). It began as a "hip-hop dance style sired by a former drug dealer named Tommy the Clown" (Booth 2005:1). Although krump sounds very strange to those who have not witnessed it — "a clown dressed up in a wig in full makeup in the middle of the hood" — it has grown well beyond its origins and is now pursued seriously by individuals who use its kinesthetic language as a mode of self-expression (Menzie 2009).

Origins: Tommy the Clown and the Birth of Krump

The Los Angeles resident whose real name is Thomas Johnson said he knew all too well the violence and addiction that people from his community fell into because of social pressures and the toxic environment of the inner city. "The clowning and the krumping dance movement, it is a very positive thing because it really does keep kids off the street… Kids really don't have too much to do around here. This is something exciting for them" (Reid 2004). One krumper who has appeared in music videos agrees: "It just keeps us from doing everything negative — staying outta trouble, keeping yourself busy" (Reid 2004).

When Tommy started working at birthday parties, he used what would become krump dancing mainly to entertain children. As he saw the infectious joy it generated, "Tommy eventually started getting his pied piper on, enlisting people from the neighborhood to come perform with him at the functions, dubbing themselves the Hip-Hop Clowns. The dance form eventually evolved into what he calls krumping" (Reid 2004). There is an unmistakable sense of humor in this "clown dancing," and its theatricality drew the attention of mainstream hip-hop artists like Missy Elliott and the Black Eyed Peas, who featured it in their music videos.

But krumping has matured into a more serious form of dance. When asked to define it, its adherents say: "the krump? You know when you see it," or more poetically, "it's like two Siamese fighting fish… You put them in the same tank and they'll go after it," or "it's the power of the warrior unleashed" (Booth 2005:1). There is a highly competitive, aggressive element to this "ghetto ballet" not present in some other forms of urban dance (Booth 2005:1).

Conclusion: Krump as Culture

This fervency among krumpers indicates that krump signifies something far deeper than what it appears to be on the surface. It is not just a new form of dance but a way of reconnecting with something elemental. It is a democratic way of performing and winning acclaim on the streets — competitive without being violent, and humorous without being genuinely cruel. Krump has yet to be fully co-opted by the mainstream media, despite its presence in music videos. Whether and how that eventual co-optation will change its style — as happened with breakdancing and voguing — remains uncertain.

On one level, krump can simply be enjoyed as a dynamic and exciting art form. But because of the deep meaning its practitioners invest in it, krump is likely to continue growing and evolving in a positive direction, taking on ever greater symbolic significance within the broader firmament of hip-hop culture.