I'm Crazy Legz, King of Beat Ya Feet, We're about to do it big, If Cities Could Dance.
♪ Bounce, Bounce, Bounce ♪ ♪ Bounce, Bounce, Bounce ♪ ♪ Bounce, Bounce, Bounce ♪ [Crazy Legz] Beat Ya Feet is a footwork driven dance.
- [Noodlez] The whole dance just shows go-go, the rhythm, the roughness, the rawness of the city.
[Poca] You see strength in go-go, you see the underdogs in Beat Ya Feet.
[Crazy Legz] We're doing our best to preserve the culture.
This dance wouldn't be here without the go-go music.
♪ Long live go-go ♪ [DJ Frank White] Go-go Nation!
Go-go has been here forever.
Yep.
The Godfather of go-go would be Mr. Chuck Brown.
He's the one that birthed the whole go-go movement.
It's a mixture of gospel, African beat, jazz.
It's also call and response.
♪I got the whole crew ♪ in the house tonight ♪ ♪ Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ♪ You're not going to be able to sit still all night long without getting up and moving your feet.
[Crazy Legz] Right here in front of the Howard Theatre.
Historic, means a lot to this community.
You know, we had Chuck Brown play here, James Brown, Marvin Gaye.
We know D.C. is Chocolate City, you know, and there's a lot of history here.
[Poca] Crazy Legz is so chill and then when he dances, he has this 200 miles per hour movements and it's like where did that come from.
He's just a legend out here in the streets.
It's easy to follow him because you know that his heart is pure.
[Crazy Legz] I started at 11, everyone was beatin' their feet back then in Southeast Anacostia area.
It was like we represented for our neighborhood, at the go-go, at the club, at the party.
So, that was motivatin' and influenced me to practice, practice, practice 'cause I didn't want to let my people down.
[Noodlez] A lot of people just don't think a 25 year old, young black man from southeast D.C. would be takin' a go-go dance as serious as I am.
When me and a couple peers in our generation started the Beat Ya Feet wave, it was kind of like, 'Who does that anymore?
That's dry culture.'
People falling away from their culture.
Later, people just beatin' their feet, throwing up videos, walking up to me, 'Hey, ain't you that dude who do the Beat Ya Feet videos?
Hey, you amazin'!'
[Poca] I saw a lot of them and I learned from them coming up.
So when it was time for me to get out there, and represent for the females, it was like, okay I know what to do.
And then I brought all of my girls with me to learn too.
That's how we keep the legacy goin', each one teach one.
[Soul] Beat Ya Feet is a lot of footwork, but along with the footwork you gotta have facials and your arms gotta tie in with your feet to add that swag.
[Delow] I think when I dance, I give out great energy.
I don't have no negative energy in me or around me.
Honestly, I gotta say if I ain't have dance in my life, I'd probably be at somebody jail or in somebody grave.
[Crazy Legz] We are on Florida and U Street, this is the area where Don't Mute DC Movement would spark.
[Male] Thousands of people man, no problem.
[Female] And it's strength in numbers.
[DJ Frank White] What'd they say?
A white guy came and bought a building a block away and he made the store owner turn the music off.
How can you come to a person's city and tell them to turn their music down when we were already here?
The go-go community came together.
[Delow] They tryin' to mute go-go but we not lettin' it happen.
If we let it go, then what D.C. goin' be like?
[DJ Frank White] The significance of the movement was finally making go-go music the official music of the District of Columbia.
♪Put your hands in the air, ♪ wave it like you don't care ♪ ♪ Hey Southeast, Hey Uptown ♪ [Crazy Legz] At the Boys and Girls Clubs we are creating our own battle league.
We're teaching youth about being accountable, and just kind of building a brotherhood and sisterhood type of movement.
[Litty] Go-go will always live here.
You can dance on the side of the street, and people will know what you're doin'.
It's like a secret hand shake.