Origin

Krump, which stands for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise, is a style of street dancing. It was originated from a dance style called Clowning. Tight Eyez, Lil C, and Big Mijo were the dancers that successfully popularized the dance. Krump is a dance style that focuses on releasing anger and frustration, and it is used as inspiration and motivation to dance. People use aggressive and radical hand gestures and body movement. It orignated in Southern California as a means to staying off the streets during the hardships that was a daily part of life in Southern California.

Krump was an alternative to street violence and gangs during the time, when the pressure to be in gang was great. Krump used the energy that a youth or teen would put into a gang and instead used it positively. Chest popping and arm swinging are commonly seen in Krump. This led to people to think that the dancers are just having a seizure and acting crazy, but in reality it’s more than that. Krump is an aggressive dance and all those radical movements, are really just ways for the Krumper to vent all of the frustration going on in their life.

Before Krump, there was Clowning. Krump was an evolved form of Clowning. Clowning was created by Tommy Johnson (a.k.a. Tommy the Clown). He was an ex-drug dealer and who had run-ins with the law. Later, he decided that was not the way he wanted to live his life, so he vowed to never go back to his old ways. He got a call from a friend to be a clown at a birthday party. Tommy dressed up as a clown and performed/danced. His way of dancing soon became popularized and he decided to make a group and perform it to other people. Tommy wanted to help teens who were on the streets. At that time in Southern California there were many hardships like violence, gangs, and poverty. With Tommy's help, he helped many of the teens stay off the streets and motivated them to do other things that benefited them.

Sources:

Experience Festival, "Krumping - History." Experience Festival 29 Jul 2008 <http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Krumping_-_History/id/5214824>.

Zada Marketing, "History of Krump ." Zada Marketing 2007 29 Jul 2008 <http://www.krumpup.com/history_of_krump>.

Dance Origin, "The History of Krumping, Clowning vs Krumping, What is Krumping?." Dance Origin MAy 15, 2007 29 Jul 2008 <http://www.danceorigin.com/category/articles/krumping>.