The Evolution of Hip-Hop Dance, From Popping and Locking to TikToking

Hip-hop dance as a culture has greatly benefited from social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. These resources have provided current hip-hop dances with a global outlet to create new forms of expression and collaborate with dancers around the world. The exposure social media has given hip-hop culture as a whole has helped expand its reach and impact worldwide throughout this past decade.

But we'd be remiss not to address how the inequities of our world have also emerged in the way hip-hop culture shows up on social media. Many Black TikTok dances have noted their choreography has been repurposed by white influencers without any credit given to them. This led to a brief "strike" by Black dancers and creators on TikTok in the fall of 2021.

Black dancers stopped creating new choreography for popular songs being released during this time period. They did this to draw attention to the fact that they were the ones creating these viral trends but weren't getting the recognition they deserved in the process.