The Brief: The gang-associated dance move, "Crip Walking" has gone viral on TikTok, largely among young people who seem unaware of the dance's significance.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

White teenagers performing dance moves created and popularized by black artists on TikTok is nothing new, but the virality of Crip Walk dance videos on TikTok has raised at least a few eyebrows. Videos featuring young people dancing a move created by and associated with the Crip gang have received millions of views. Many Crip Walk TikTok videos feature white, suburban teens who don’t acknowledge the dance’s gang affiliation, except to tag their videos #CripWalk or #CWalk.

@keirta_the tutorial you have all been waiting for #fyp #cripwalk♬ original sound – keirta_

Reactions

Reactions to this phenomenon note the cringey-ness of these videos, their evident caucacity, how this dance diverges greatly from the original, and how many young dancers seem completely unaware of the origins and implications of Crip Walking.

@mikethornwellDear white children #cwalk #cripwalk #fyp♬ original sound – mikethornwell

#CWalk On TikTok

On TikTok, videos associated with the hashtag #CWalk have been viewed over 300 million times and ones tagged #CripWalk have received over 127 million views. The song that this trend is associated with: “F**k It Up” by Kamaiyah, featuring YG (who is a Blood) has been featured in over one million TikTok videos.

@maviswilsonofficialHad to do it #cwalk♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)

@masotheboisomeone said my c-walk video wasn’t the cleanest… how about now? 😏 #cwalk #fyp #morph #neverzero #foryoupage #foryou #dance #dancer #glide♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)

@kayliebellhighly requested tutorial from my last vid!!! #foryou #tutorial #cwalk hope it helps!♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)

@rohann_asfawGrimes x Crip walk. This was my alarm every morning in middle school♬ Oblivion – Grimes

@shreddedmilitaryWar dance OG style #cripwalk #cripwalkchallenge #fyp #military♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)

@brunanbrendaF it upppp🤪 #cripwalk #dance #fyp #foryoupage #funny♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)

@molexyIn case u were wondering how to crip walk. Here you go♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)

@lourdeseliaday 1 of learning how to crip walk #fyp♬ Fuck It up (feat. YG) – Kamaiyah (feat. Yg)