History

Krump is similar in form and practice to traditional weapon dances, and for this reason is considered by many African-American krumpers to be symbolic of, or referential to, their tribal roots. Dance “battling,” a form of dance where competitors face-off in a direct and aggressive competition, is an integral component of krump in a similar way to the earlier breakdance battles with “dissing” (mocking), and heightened moments of frantic, aggressive arm and chest movements (known as “buck” moves) being common. “Buck” is when internal artistry meets physical expression as per Lil C. Now in the documentary “Rize” Tommy The Clown is the one who is accredited with creating Krump and some of his first dancers were Tight Eyez & Lil C.


Christian element

For many participants there is a strong Christian spiritual element to the dance.

“Tight Eyez”, a key early figure and now krump teacher, regularly speaks of Christian healing and gives praise to Jesus for the upbringing of this movement. The backronym “Kingdom Radically Uplifting Mighty Praise” is now often used by him, and this usage has spread widely.


Face paint

Face paint is used in krumping still as displayed in movies such as Stomp the Yard.


Music

“Shake City” and “Get Ya Krump On” were the first songs released worldwide out of the krump world movement, Produce by Wendell C. Wellman from ShakeCity 101. Like all forms of street dance, hip hop music is the predominant type used for krump. Although many krumpers credit the originator of krump music to a group called Tha J-Squad, who continue to produce “tracks” that have influenced how Krump has turned out to be. Tight Eyez, also produced a few albums that promotes the spirituality and the Christian aspect of the dance. The style of hip hop is an essential factor in krump dancing—music sets the tone, tempo and mood of the dance “battle.” The music is usually upbeat and aggressively lyricized, although music is often modified to remove lyrics creating “instrumentals.”


Fams

Some krump groups are known as “families” or “fams,” reminiscent of B-boy crews, with families organized around a senior member known as the Big Homie, who serves as both a dance instructor and a spiritual mentor of sorts. The internal structure of a family is hierarchical with each person given a rank based on their skill. The ranks usually start from Twin, Jr, Lil, Young, Kid, Baby or similar. Twins are individuals who feed off of another person's style and are equal to the Big Homie. Anyone can have a Twin. The ones who follow or have Big Homies are known as Lil Homies or “Lils” - they are taught the Big Homie's style and create their very own styles in the process. Big Homies are a big help to Lils because many come from different situations so it is the Big Homie's job to also play a role as a father figure to some.


Global success

Dancers in Africa form groups called “Community Crump.” The “Community of Crump” series has provided a forum in Mexico for competitions between these groups.
In Japan a nationwide Crump dance tournament was conducted, with first prize being a battle against Lil' C and Miss Prissy. The event was hosted by Masaki Sumitani (Razor Ramon Hard Gay).
Lil' C is featured in the David Michalek Exhibit Slow dancing, which was exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles, California, and London. It has been profiled by Apple, and radio station KCRW.

Krumping in popular culture

David LaChapelle's 2005 documentary Rize, is an intimate portrayal of the clown dancing subculture, and was featured at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. He says of the movement: “What Nirvana was to rock-and-roll in early ‘90s is what these kids are to hip hop. It’s the alternative to the bling-bling, tie-in-with-a-designer corporate hip-hop thing. Krumping has also risen in popularity in places such as Brazil, Detroit, Houston, Clanton and Boston. ‘Krumpers’ such as Royal, Loyal, Phanatik, Gutta, Skust, and Knockout Kid have propelled krumping into the dancing mainstream.”[4] This has given Krump plenty of exposure and since then it has risen in popularity in the hip hop dance community.
Clowning was featured in the second episode of the eleventh season of MADtv. Also, Alyson Hannigan guest-starred on an episode of MADtv where she took clowning lessons from the same two clowns and they now appear in many episodes of the show. She guest-starred to promote Date Movie, in which her character, Julia Jones starts krumping (with face paint) in front of Hitch, played by Tony Cox.
Clowning was featured on episode 7 of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 6.
There is a small segment on krumping in the movie Bring It On: All or Nothing. Britney (Hayden Panettiere) wants to add the style to a dance routine for the squad to give them more diversity in their performance.
Krumping was a featured style of dance on the Fox reality show So You Think You Can Dance in episode #311 (originally aired June 27, 2007). Dancers Sara and Jesus performed a krumping routine choreographed by Lil' C.[5] Additionally, on an episode that originally aired August 1, 2007, Dominic Sandoval and Lauren Gottlieb also performed a krumping routine choreographed by Lil' C who was a choreographer for Bring It On: All or Nothing.
The Simpsons featured Krumping in Little Orphan Millie: Bart attempted dance moves to win back his classmates' love. When that failed to work, Marge joined in with him.
The movie Stomp the Yard features Krumping in the beginning of the film.