Curious Saturday: Do you know where “twerking” came from?
“Modern-day twerking derived from Black people and Black culture. It has a direct parallel to West African dances like mapouka. Traditionally, mapouka was a dance for West African women to be used as a celebration of joy, religious worship or a dance. Twerking is a Black American communal collaboration born of Black Southern culture. From DJ Jubilee and Cash Money Records in New Orleans, to Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins in Atlanta, to Uncle Luke in Miami, twerking was alive and well in nearly every Black club in the South.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to TED … Twerk!” Lizzo, The Black History of Twerking
