C-walk Dance

The Crip Walk is a steady movement of the feet used to spell out gang-related symbols and images. It originated in the early 1970s in Compton, a poor suburb of Los Angeles, California, popularly referenced in rap lyrics. What began as a symbolic movement of the feet in the early 1980s, soon inspired a hip-hop dance in the late 1990s.



Largely composed of nimble movements with the feet, the Crip Walk had a variety of purposes including recognition, showing love and loyalty to fellow Crip members, and making a loud statement to others that the walker is a member of the Crips. Another purpose of the walk (its not a dance) was to insult rivals (most specifically the Bloods), in which they would spell out the name of their rivals and then cross it out. They would also spell out their names, neighborhoods, or other words related to themselves. Crip Walkers would also flash gang related hand gestures (stacking) while performing the dance.
A common practice for Crip members is to use the C-Walk to celebrate the initiation of a new member. It is also largely believed that the C-Walk was used as a warning to other gangs of a future attack by the Crips, or as a signal in a robbery. For example, the lookout would stand outside of the store and act as surveillance, while the robbers would lay in wait and await the signal: the C-Walk. Allegedly, Crips would also C-Walk after shooting or killing a rival gang member in celebration.
Typically performed to West Coast, Gangsta Rap and G-funk, the C-Walk first hit the mainstream with rapper Ice T, who performed it at his concerts in the late 80's. Other rappers, like Snoop Dogg, have continued it from the early 90's. When rapper WC felt the urge to represent his gang at one of his concerts. Since then, a variety of rap artists have featured the C-Walk in their music videos and/or live performances- though those who perform it are usually Crips themselves (or at least have been in the past). They have also warned the younger audience that The C-Walk is not a dance and is meant to show love to Crip members only.
However, the warnings were largely ignored by non gang members who not only practiced and performed the dance but also altered the spelling of the word to alternatives such as "Krypt" or "Krip" in an attempt to distance the dance from its gang origins (although they commonly referred to it as simply "The C-Walk"). In addition, many young and popular hip hop artists such as B2K and Bow Wow began performing the dance in their concerts and music videos, which thus increased the popularity of the dance. Concerns about its origins and the potential to start fights amongst students led schools to ban the C-Walk on school property and at school functions in response. The popularity of the Crip Walk continued to grow and it became a part of Hip-Hop culture in the late 1980s and 1990s. In later years, a spin-off version called the Clown Walk was created.
Sometimes, this version of the Crip Walk is referred to as "The O.G. Crip Walk" - O.G. being the acronym for "Original Gangsta".