Bop, also known as boppin, is a dance which originated from the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The dance is fairly new and vastly unknown to those outside of Chicago, unless they keep up with the numerous types of music coming out of Chicago. Boppin is a very simple dance, it involves the dancer crouching down and doing some knee and arm movements. The dance is similar to break dancing, due to the fact that the dancer can incorporate whatever movement they like into the routine. Though the dance is fairly new, it has already seen its first star, Travon ‘Lil Kemo’ Biggs. Lil Kemo has proclaimed himself the Bop King and at the moment it’s hard to challenge that statement. Lil Kemo has been in numerous videos boppin, and whenever he’s in a video, he always leave viewers wondering what the dance he’s doing is called.
History
Bopping was born on the West Side of Chicago and is currently spreading across the country. This form of bopping is considered Chicago Bop because there have been numerous other bop dances before from different areas. The exact date that bopping was started is unknown and everyone have a different answer. Wala Williams, a talent scout and event promoter whom owns the Wala Wallah youtube channel, believes there has been some form of bop in Chicago since the 1970s, and claim he started seeing the form of boppin being done in Chicago around 4-5 years ago at parties.
Fiesta
As bopping grows, it’s steadily surging through clubs and parties. Any party that’s dedicated to boppin is called a fiesta; Fiesta is also often referred to as ‘Fe Fe’.
Rap Music
Bop is huge on the rap scene; drill music, a sub-genre of Hip Hop has started incorporating the bop dance into their lyrics and videos. One of the most prominent rappers in the rap scene is a rap group known as ‘Sicko Mobb’. Sicko Mobb’s lyrics contain numerous lines referencing the bop dance and things related to boppin. Sicko Mobb said in an interview that their songs didn’t start getting popular until they started making bop songs.
Rappers whose lyrics don’t contain much bop references have started adding individuals boppin in their videos. King Louie, a Chicago rapper, had Lil Kemo, the self-proclaimed king of bop in his video for ‘My N*ggas’. King Louie’s video was well received by audience, one problem many audience had with the video was that Lil Kemo was given too little time camera time, because they believe he was the highlight of the video.
Some of the most popular Bop songs are ‘Fiesta’ by Sicko Mobb, ‘Fe Fe On The Block’ by Stunt Taylor, and ‘Hoes be Goin’ by Sicko Mobb.
How to Bop
If you’re wondering if you can bop, chances are the answer is yes; boppin is a very easy form of dancing, which is why it’s gaining traction at such a fast pace. To bop, bend your knees down a little to a butterfly-like stance and move your feet left to right without changing positions, while you’re doing that repeatedly cross and uncross your arms. Mr Cush, a Chicago rapper, has a youtube video which shows multiple moves one can do while boppin. It’s also important to keep in mind, other than the basic movements, individuals are free to add their own style to the dance.