The Definitive Ranking of the Best Hip Hop Dance Crazes

From the Macarena to the Hand Jive to the Hustle dance crazes have always been prevalent in music. However no genre is as closely linked to dance as hip hop. I have done extensive research on this topic (I know that sounds ridiculous) as I wrote an academic essay in 2009 for my Pop Culture class opposing the thought that hip hop dance music is killing the genre. I actually received an -A. See my last post to check out that paper.

Recently the dab reached a fever pitch with Cam Newton reaching the Super Bowl and in result caused everyone to dab. We saw dabs from everybody including Hilary Clinton, Bill Gates and Roger Goodell. Since that dab has become a recent pop culture phenomena, I've decided look back and rank the best hip hop dance crazes since the 2000s. So you won't see any throwback dances like Humpty Dance, Cha Cha Slide or The Bird on this list.

Ranking Criteria

Hypeness (new word I've decided to create)- How hype does this dance make the dancer and audience feel?

Difficulty- How easy is the dance to learn? Are there multiple steps/moves?

Main/Debut Song- How good is the song that debuted this dance or that the dance is most associated with?

Versatility- Can this dance be done to multiple songs or is it limited to one song?

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- Are athletes doing this dance after big plays? How poppin' in this dance in pop culture/social media?

Just Missed the Cut

Walk it Out

Stanky Leg

Wobble

Snap Dancing

Dougie

Milly Rock

10. Hit Dem Folks

Hypness- This dance is really hype, you've probably seen Cam Newton doing this after touchdowns as well as Odell Beckham Jr. and Russell Westbrook.

Difficulty- The Hit Dem Folks is easy to learn but IMO takes some skill/swag to do well.

Main/Debut Song- I have no idea what song is most associated with the Hit Dem Folks.

Versatility- It's a pretty versatile dance you just have to hit the beat right.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- Athletes have been hitting dem folks all over the place.

GOLD STANDARD- HIT DEM FOLKS

9.Cupid Shuffle

Hypeness- Not very hype, but fun to do as a group at a bar or wedding.

Difficulty- Very simple to for anyone to learn.

Main/Debut Song- It's a fun song for the dance but can get annoying over time.

Versatility- Not versatile as you need the Cupid Shuffle song to preform the Cupid Shuffle.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- I'm not aware of this song being a phenomena like other dances on this list, but chances are you will hear it played at the next wedding you attend.

GOLD STANDARD- CUPID SHUFFLE

8. DLow Shuffle

Hypness- It's a line dance like the Cupid Shuffle but more hype.

Difficulty- It's a little harder then the Cupid Shuffle but easy enough for kids to learn.

Main/Debut Song- The main song is really catching and fun to dance to.

Versatility- The DLow Shuffle is pretty limited to the tittle song.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- The song/dance has been huge in Chicago.

GOLD STANDARD- DLOW SHUFFLE

7. Nae Nae/Whip

Hypness- I combined the Whip and Nae into one for the sake of this list. The Nae Nae/Whip is hype when the beat drops.

Difficulty- Both moves seem easy but are also easy to look foolish doing.

Main/Debut Song- The Silento song has exploded and incorporates older moves like the Stanky Leg. It's very catchy and friendly for kids.

Versatility- With the dance's massive popularity the internet has made tried to Whip/Nae Nae to every song possible ex: https://vine.co/v/MtneZWDLJaJ

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- You seen numerous athletes preform this dance and there's a good chance you'll hear Watch Me during a timeout break at some point during any sporting event you attend.

GOLD STANDARD- NAE NAE

6. Shmoney Dance

Hypness- The Shmoney combines small movements with an extremely hot beat to equal a hype song/dance.

Difficulty- Similar to previous dances on this list, the Shomey appears simple but takes skill to master.

Main/Debut Song- The song Hot Boy is made by the fresh beat.

Versatility- I'm sure it's possible to Shmoney on other songs but it requires a heavy bass drop.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- Last year we song a ton of athletes hitting the Shmoney after big plays.

GOLD STANDARD- SHMONEY DANCE

5. Harlem Shake
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Hypness- Not to be confused to with techno dance, this Harlem Shake includes the alternate shaking of shoulders. It's a hype move the can't be preformed without a certain feeling of hypness.

Difficulty- The Harlem Shake requires a certain amount of rhythm along of dexterity.

Main/Debut Song- I'm not sure what the first song was that showcased the Harlem Shake, but when I think of this dance the two songs that come to mind for me personally are Special Delivery and Can't Stop Won't Stop which are still classics.

Versatility- You can Harlem Shake to most songs that have a fast paced high-hat in the beat.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- This dance is most know to me to be done by P. Diddy on numerous occasions back in the day.

GOLD STANDARD- HARLEM SHAKE

4. Cat Daddy

Hypness- The Cat Daddy is an extremely fun dance with multiple steps that lead up to wheeling your arms and bending your knees.

Difficulty- The Cat Daddy takes a few minutes to learn when to do the move and the sequence but it can be picked up quickly.

Main/Debut Song- It's a fun fast paced song that also incorporates the Dougie.

Versatility- The Cat Daddy is relatively limited to the title song as it includes the prompts for the various steps of the dance.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- The dance/song had a brief popularity burst, you saw multiple celebrities show us their Cat Daddies.

3. Crank Dat

Hypness- In contrast to other similar line dance type crazes Crank Dat paved the way with being at the brink of social media's growth. I can remember vividly how crazy everyone went in High School when this song came on. The bass drops combined with snap dancing and multiple hops to each side/Supermaning caused this song's explosion.

Difficulty- There are numerous dances to learn from "Jockin'" to "Rubberband Man" but the main dance associated with the chorus just takes a few minutes to pick up.

Main/Debut Song- The Crank Dat song with steel drums and Soulja Boy ad libs in the background at all times went on to be a smash hit.

Versatility- Variations of the Crank Dat have been used on snap dance type beats during that time period.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- The Crank Dat phenomena was ridiculous and created numerous spin-offs for this dance. Those dances included Crank Dat Lion King, Crank Dat Megaman and my personal favorite Crank Dat Billie Jean. 

2. Swag Surfin'

Hypness- The build up of the beat combined with the group aspect of the surfin' motion of the dance make this song a must play if you're trying to get hype.

Difficulty-  The Swag Surf can be done simply by rocking side to side in a surfing motion.

Main/Debut Song- The beat is one of the best on this list and the verses are solid contributions from the group FLY. A departure from most hip hop dance craze songs where the verses are just time spent waiting for the catchy chorus to come back.

Versatility- The dance is best done with the horn filled beat from the title song.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- For as great as this dance/song are I don't think it had the effect that it should have.

1. Dab 

^Dab Daddy Cam Newton

Hypness- When done at it's best the dab is about as hype as it gets.

Difficulty- The dab is extremely easy do and appears to most as if you're sneezing. However to dab well is somewhat difficult.

Main/Debut Song- There are multiple songs that were released with dabbing in mind but to properly dab you must be listening to the Migos.

Versatility- As long as the beat goes hard you can probably dab on it.

Athletic/Pop Culture Effect- Difficulty- We've seen with great popularity comes a plethora of uncool/awkward dab attempts. Other then the Whip/Nae Nae the Dab has reached a level of popularity that we haven't seen since Soulja Boy's Crank Dat.






Did I miss a dance move? Are my rankings way off? Let me know.

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