FADER Explains: Harlem Shake « The FADER

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9/3/13
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 03, 2013
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FADER Explains: Harlem Shake
STORY BY: NAOMI ZEICHNER
More than a decade ago, a guy named Jayson Musson, then a Philly art student, got into a bloody fight with a guy who’d
been painting over his graffiti around town. He wrote a song about the fight, and last year, it was sampled into a new song,
called “Harlem Shake.” This month, piggybacking onto an idea hatched by a weirdo video blogger, thousands of people
uploaded clips of themselves dancing along with “Harlem Shake.” It’s a lot to take in, so here’s the whole story of how
Musson’s lyric made it into a producer named Baauer’s hands, and how Baauer’s song ended up in a million videos.
Where the fuck did all these “Harlem Shake” videos come from?
Since the beginning of February, people have been sharing 30-second videos soundtracked by Baauer’s track “Harlem Shake” (coincidentally,
premiered on this site last May) at an astonishing rate. Reportedly, as many as 4,000 videos have been uploaded in a single day,
and in two weeks, more than 12,000 videos have been created, generating more than 44 million total views. In a “Harlem Shake” video, a
person, usually masked, thrusts along with the music while others mundanely go about their day-to-day. Then, when the *drop* drops, action
www.thefader.com/2013/02/15/fader-explains-harlem-shake/
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explodes: people change costumes, remove their shirts and generally lose it. If you
haven’t seen them already: here’s FADER Label’s Matt & Kim wilding with fans at
a concert and the UGA swim team flopping around underwater.
Whose idea was the “Harlem Shake” video in the first
place?
Filthy Frank, a 19-year-old currently studying communications in New York who
has about 13,000 subscribers on YouTube. Reached by phone, he explained the
genesis of his “Harlem Shake” video, the one that started it all. “I was in a room
with a few people. One of my friends was just playing the song on the speakers and I
asked what [it was], and it just happened to be ‘Harlem Shake.’ As soon as the drop of the song came, we just started going crazy. We thought,
well, we could turn this in to something good.” Frank started making videos as a hobby when he was 12, and sounds almost disappointed that
this particular video, which he says took about three days to inspire more successful imitators, was the one to leave such a mark. “I guess
I’m proud [of starting the meme]. It’s a shame, that was probably the video I put the least amount of work into. [But] I’m very happy it got that
kind of exposure. I think I got just enough credit. At first I was upset, like, what’s going on, I made this. I already had a fan base before, as Filthy
Frank, and [my followers] were concerned that I was gonna hit the mainstream big time. They were upset about me going viral. I realized not
getting that much publicity was better ’cause I have a dedicated cult following, and I would lose their respect.” Frank wasn’t a big Baauer fan
before making his video, and says he still isn’t. “That was probably the first song I’d heard by Baauer,” he said. “I listen to a lot of hip-hop and a
lot of jazz. I’m not really into music like Baauer’s, I just thought that song was cool.”
Who is Baauer?
Baauer, born Harry Rodrigues, is a 23-year-old Brooklyn-based producer. He spent time living in London, as a tween he aspired to be a
turntablist, later he DJed house records and started making house tracks on Reason. A couple years ago, he says, “I tried out making a hip-hop
song one time after sucking at making house music for a long time…it felt really natural. I really liked cutting up sample and trying to vary hiphop beats.” He posted “two pages” of Soundcloud tracks before Rustie featured “Harlem Shake” on his popular BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix
last April; in May, Mad Decent imprint Jefrees released “Harlem Shake” as a single. For all his sample-snipping and interest in rap beats,
Baauer’s become associated with what’s been called “trap” music, a style of production similar to mainstream EDM, which mixes dubstep
drops with rap’s artillery fire drum programming. The sub-genre spread in 2012 thanks to artists like Baauer, TNGHT and Flosstradamus, labels
like Jefrees and various music outlets. Much has been written exploring the origin and impact of last year’s crop of “trap” producers; for
more, start with Miles Raymer’s feature for the Chicago Reader and David Drake’s article for Complex.
But isn’t the Harlem Shake already a dance? Why isn’t
anyone in the videos doing it?
It is, and it’s hard to say. The original Harlem Shake rose to prominence in music
videos throughout the ’90s and early ’00s, notably G-Dep’s “Let’s Get It.” In 2003,
Al B, a fixture around Harlem’s Rucker Park playground, took credit for
inventing the dance. He said he started shaking in the early ’80s, mimicking the
shakes of alcoholics, and that the dance was first called “the albee,” after his name.
He claimed the Harlem Shake’s origins were ancient.”That’s what the mummies used
to do,” he told Inside Hoops. “They was all wrapped up and taped up. So they
couldn’t really move, all they could do was shake.” Some say Al B’s dance traces back
to Eskista, a dance originated in Northeast Africa. But, as Harlem residents
have expressed, there’s no good reason why the stars of popular “Harlem Shake”
videos aren’t doing the actual Harlem Shake. Actor and amateur filmmaker Chris McGuire screened “Harlem Shake” videos on 125th street and
asked passerbys what they thought. The general consensus, as communicated by the McGuire’s February 18th video? “That’s not the shake,
B.”
If it has nothing to do with the dance, why is Bauuer’s track even called “Harlem Shake”?
That’s really the most interesting part. It’s because of something Jayson Musson, a member of the early-oughts Philadelphia party rap crew
Plastic Little, did at the end of a fight with a rival graffiti writer. Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” samples a line—then do the Harlem shake—from
Plastic Little’s 2001 song “Miller Time.” Over email, Musson, now a New York-based artist best known as Hennessy Youngman, told the
incredible origin story of the meme’s title-inspiring lyric:
The lyric came about as a result of getting into a fist fight over graffiti back in 2001, the same year that “Miller Time” was made.
A friend of mine told me this kid was crossing me out, so logically I began crossing him out. Then one night after a [Plastic Little]
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show, I heard that the writer I had issue with was waiting to see me outside the venue. So I head outside with Kurt [Hunte], who
is also in Plastic Little, to I guess talk with this guy. As I walk outside, I hear someone call me by my graffiti name so I turn to see
who it is, only to be greeted by a 40 bottle to the face. Despite sneaking his opponent with a bottle, this kid got his ass beat (he was
really bad at fighting). After several minutes, I got pretty bored with throwing punches so I grabbed him by his collar and tried
to put his head through the passenger side window of a parked car. It didn’t go through luckily, but it created a lull in the fight
where the two of us just stared at each other covered in blood. This was my first fight and I didn’t know how to properly “end” a
fight, so I just smiled at him and did the Harlem shake, blood gushing from glass cuts on my face. The other kid, I guess not
wanting to fight anymore, or maybe not wanting to fight someone who just danced at him, got on his skateboard and took off
without his shoes. That’s why “Miller Time” ends with the line, And if you bring a 40 bottle to battle me/ I’ll just punch you in the
face/ then do the Harlem Shake.
Musson realized “Miller Time” was sampled by Baauer last week, half a year after
“Harlem Shake”’s initial release, when the meme took off and Plastic Little’s Kurt
Hunte pointed it out. “I didn’t believe him at first because I had heard the song and
never even thought twice about the vocal sample, ” Musson says. “The only thing I
found peculiar about the track was the use of the phrase ‘Harlem Shake’ itself. I was
like, Who the fuck is rapping about the Harlem Shake in 2012? That shit is so old.”
He’s not mad that Baauer didn’t ask permission for the sample. “I’m cool with it,”
Musson says. “That’s how artists do… I think the production is phenomenal. If I was
the spry young man I was many years ago back in my rapping days, I’d definitely be
at the club trying grind up on numerous lady folk to his song while spilling Maker’s
Mark and ginger ale on their shoulders. But I’m a Buddhist now.”
Musson made contact with Baauer recently, and Baauer confirmed using “Miller Time.” Their exchange was captured on Instagram by
Musson, who explains, “I just emailed him to make sure it was actually Plastic Little and to thank him for doing something useful with our
annoying music. He was a stellar young gentleman about it and expressed genuine surprise that his song got as big as it did.” Musson’s similarly
impressed with the videos: “I never thought that white people would be capable of dethroning Filipino Prison Dancers on YouTube. But hey,
we’re living in Obama’s America, right?”
Where’d Baauer get the song’s other prominent sample, of someone yelling Con los
terroristas?
The story of the terroristas sample is expectedly convoluted. In a since-deleted blog post, DJ Apt One, of the Philly DJ duo
Philadelphyinz, explained his “small role” in the song’s creation. The sample first emerged in 2010, employed as part of a Philadelphyinz
remix of Gregor Salto, DJ Gregory and Solo’s track “Con Alegria.” In 2011, that vocal sample was made available, a cappella, as part of T&A
Breaks 3: Moombahton Loops & Samples, a compilation put together by DJ Ayres and Tittsworth. Baauer, who spent time living in Philly
while working under the name Cap’nHarry and DJed at least once with Philadelphyinz, used the sample (presumably pulled from the
T&A collection) and sent DJ Apt One the track in 2012. “We all appreciated the local incestuousness of ["Harlem Shake"'s] creation,” wrote Apt
One. “I can’t be happier for Philly and for Baauer getting some shine!” On a February 18th Reddit AMA, Baauer dodged a question about the
sample, saying only: “found it on the innerweb.”
How does Baauer feel about all this?
Not bad. At first, he endorsed a number of “Harlem Shake” videos via retweet, but remained otherwise tight-lipped about the song’s delayed
success. On February 14th, a rep said, “He’s deliberately not talking about it yet,” and that he would “be making a statement next week.” Baauer
started talking on February 18th, first telling The Daily Beast, “I think ["Harlem Shake"] caught on because it’s a goofy, fun song…But at the
base of it, it’s my song and it’s making people want to dance. That’s the best feeling in the world to me,” then answering questions on Reddit.
Since videos with his song in them have racked up so many views, is Baauer making a ton of
money from YouTube now?
It’s hard to say. Yesterday, Mad Decent label manager Jasper Goggins told Billboard “Harlem Shake” is the “biggest thing we’ve released on
Mad Decent as a label.” As of yesterday afternoon, INDmusic, the company Mad Decent hired in 2012 to help monetize YouTube videos that use
the label’s songs, has used YouTube’s Content ID system to tag over 4,000 YouTubes featuring “Harlem Shake,” together collecting over 30
million views. It’s possible that Baauer stands to make a nice bit of that money from those views, but according to record labels interviewed for
this recent Guardian article, artists don’t always make very much from these deals. The song has certaintly seen a big digital sales boost—it’s
currently #1 on iTunes in the US and climbing internationally—but his rep says Baauer will profit most from his mostly sold out tour.
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POSTED FEBRUARY 15, 2013 6:00PM IN MUSIC NEWS
COMMENTS (36)
TAGS: BAAUER, ELECTRONIC/DANCE, FADER EXPLAINS
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COMMENTS
Osiris says:
February 15, 2013 at 10:50 am
Wow…I’m even more lost than when I started reading…lol. I mean I think I get it but then again I’m like a
tourist in Beijing with no translator. But it was damn interesting to read. The 1st Harlem shake video I
believe I saw was the original then I was emailed a video of some chucks in Bikinis doing it and posted it
on http://www.swurvradio.com after watching it about 10 thousand times…I wanted to see if there was
others…DAAAAMNNNN!!!! I said the same thing.. “Where the fuck did all these “Harlem Shake” videos
come from?”
thehonestape says:
What’s the spanish sample tho?
Earnie says:
February 15, 2013 at 12:46 pm
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Thank you for this. Now I can explain it to my friends, haha
Cognac says:
So you mean to tell me that Hennessy youngman is responsible for this?
Simon says:
This is driving me nuts. When I saw this a few days ago, I said, wait a minute, why is this meme back
suddenly? I don’t know if my brain is just overloaded right now but I *swear* I saw this meme a few
months ago (like in 2012) long before this most recent rash of Harlem Shake videos. Is that possible? I
can’t find any evidence of it on YouTube or Google. Has there been a meme that was similar (one person
dancing then a cut to many dancing?) Worried that my brain is going to explode.
David says:
Funniest part, and somehow not noted in the article, is that Hennessy Youngman is part of it.
Goldman-Brown says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKAu08c-w5U Harlem Shake Law School Edition
brooklyn urology says:
one of the BEST ONES!…
DOCTOR EDITION:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGg6UYgui7Y
Mike Christoph says:
Hail to the Master Chief: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlCapey8PaE
nikki says:
Vernon Shaw, the director who created the Harlem Shake 3rd version, also needs to get credit for this who
came up with the idea, based on the original video by filthy Frank, Mr. Shaw created something more fun
and wholesome, the only reason why Harlem Shake became viral. The most watched Harlem Shake video
to this date:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IJoKuTlvuM
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Pingback: A collection of Canadian University Harlem Shake videos | canada.com
Pingback: MissInfo.tv » New Video: @AzealiaBanks “Harlem Shake”
Brandon says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9RcHnl8040
nah says:
shit is terrible.
Pingback: Daily Inspiration #23 | Superbial
Pingback: Harlem Shake! Redux |
porque says:
the “woman yelling” is actually a male, retired reggaeton artist Hector el Father
Pingback: Hello, Harlem Shake. Goodbye, Gangnam Style! - Oppa Gangnam Style
Mathhattan says:
I thought the Harlem Shake was more prominent in G Dep special Delivery video since it was his first
video/single https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uywzoTbaGjc. Rumor is that Baauer snubbed Azealia
Banks for Juicy J to rap on the song I think its a dum move by him instead of having a Harlem rapper rap
on it.
SenzuriChampion says:
great read, love ya fader. also shoutsout hennessy youngman that dude crazy
Leonel Manzanares says:
The Voice that says “Con los Terroristas” is, of course, Hector El Father.
It comes from this track.
http://t.co/um38r8r25C
Pingback: Thursday morning music news: Billboard dives into the data, Jimi Hendrix gets the ‘Earth Blues’
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and Mindy McCready and Kevin Ayers pass on : KDHX Blog
Pingback: The No. 1 Song In The Country | A-selah
Pingback: Memes | English as a Cultural Key
Christopher says:
Did this not come out of the black community in the 80′s? Why is the true origin not explained? Or did I
miss that, half the screen is black? However, this seems like a piece on the video guy not the culture
behind the Harlem shake. #hobo
Pingback: Praise the lord of virality | KiteBit Blog
Pingback: Rezad al Dios de la viralidad | KiteBit Blog
Waldo Buck says:
March 1, 2013 at 9:11 am
Not sure why they capture our attention. But they sure are fun to watch.
Check out the Harlem Shake (CoolZips Style) at http://youtu.be/wNqtYdc8M9E – Crazy little toys
dancing to the Harlem Shake.
Pingback: Irony of Harlem Shake Viral Videos: No One is Doing 'The Harlem Shake'
hashtagnurgarapletterz says:
March 3, 2013 at 3:29 pm
thats that guy SIK from icp crew musson be talkin about smashin him with a 40. sik got the brokeback
mountain handstyles and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar throwees.
nurga sittin there talkin bout im the one who created this fad right now where my credit n all that whales
are dogs alchohol is a stimulant my girl milks my prostate all cops are pigs backpedalin philly cheesesteak
livin in texas still think he in philly nurga
Re: Hennessy Youngman AKA aka Henrok Obama aka Henrokallah………………………….. – Today, 12:23
AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by what it iz (View Original Post)
I think I smashed a 40 bottle over this dudes face and proceeded to whoop his ass over some graff beef
back in like 02 or some shit.
I could be wrong, but it really looks like the same dude.
Quote:
Originally Posted by seeking (View Original Post)
dude is the homie from back in the day. he an hesh are tight NH.
don’t think he ever really wrote, but if you smashed a bottle over his head, youd’a had half the writers in
philly after you, so i doubt that took place. then again, philly is full of fucking retards trying to make names
anyway possible, so who knows.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by what it iz (View Original Post)
Actually this happened in front of half the writers in Philly.
Well, a good amount anyways.
And when a couple of his rapper friends tried to jump in they got pulled off by other writers and one of
them got a wine bottle smashed over his head by a writer that I never even got along with.
(Assuming it’s the same guy)
Apparently dude even mentioned it in one of his songs LOL!
http://www.complex.com/art-design/20…about-graffiti
“What it iz” = me.
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Pingback: Creators Of Uncleared “Harlem Shake” Samples Seeking Compensation From Baauer | Music
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Pingback: Baauer is being sued… yawn. | SmileFuture
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Pingback: Harlem Shake: could it kill sampling? | Unit 8 Culture and Context
Pingback: Harlem Shake: could it kill sampling? | Unit 4 Creativity and Context
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