Dab (dance)

The dab is a dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a gesture that has been noted to resemble sneezing. As a Sports Illustrated article about the phenomenon described the dab, "The dance is pretty simple; one leans in to their elbow like they’re sneezing."

Rich the Kid is featured in a YouTube video tutorial on dabbing. As of November 29, 2016, the video has been viewed more than 2 million times.

The dab has its origins in the Atlanta hip-hop scene, but there was initially disagreement about who originated the dance. Artists initially mentioned as possible originators include Migos (as in "Look at My Dab"), Skippa Da Flippa, Peewee Longway, Jose Guapo and Rich The Kid. The controversy was cleared up when fellow QC labelmate OG Maco called out Migos for saying they were the creators when it was actually Skippa da Flippa. Though Migos later confirmed Skippa as the originator of the dance, they were unhappy with the way Maco handled the situation.

American rapper Bow Wow attempted to explain the origin of the dab dance, saying it derived from the cannabis dabbers community started long before the dance move in 2012. He was met with opposition from other rappers who immediately took to Twitter to insult and disprove his claims.

In 2015, the dab rose to national prominence in the U.S. As XXL magazine reported in August 2015, "What started as a regional down South adlib is quickly becoming a masterful maneuver in clubs and on street corners. It’s called dabbin’."

The dab gained popularity in U.S. sports following an eight-second celebratory dab by Cam Newton, football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, during a game against the Tennessee Titans on November 15, 2015. According to a Sports Illustrated account of the incident, "[w]hen two Titans players confronted [Newton] about the celebration, he continued to dance in their faces, even as he backed away."

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Wikipedia