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Forget krumping, The Ranger$ jerkin' dance crew takes new movement by storm
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The Ranger$ from left, Spotlight, Julian, Langston, DayDay, Corey
Turns out, not all jerks are bad. Take, for instance, the ones who can do gravity-defying spins and twists. To clarify, "jerkin'’" is South LA's newest dance movement, this is its moment, and of all the jerkin’ dance crews, The Ranger$ are the moment's superstars.
Jerkin's precise origins are unclear. What's known is that South LA's last dance movement, krumping, disappeared heirless after appearing in the 2004 documentary RIZE. Then sometime last year, kids started experimenting with new dance steps in bedrooms, at school, on the sidewalk, and in the Taco Bell parking lot..jpg)
One of jerkin's signature steps is the reject, which looks like the running man re-imagined by Gregory Hines as a tap step with little arm movement. Jerkin’ also includes low-to-the-ground legwork: the dancers crouch, balance on one leg, stretch out the other, and then bounce and spin. Jerkers also lean into trust falls, or feign loss of balance on one leg, gracefully stopping before impact. To see it in action, go here. But what are they dancing to?
"You're a Jerk" by New Boyz is the first jerkin’ song to gain traction. In heavy rotation on Power 106 and a recent appearance on BET's 106&Park, New Boyz have elevated jerkin’s profile, but now other groups have begun writing jerkin’ songs, including the jerkers themselves. Jerkin’ is also about the clothes, namely skinny jeans, which initially caused a stir given their stark departure from baggy pants. But new moves and skinny jeans aren't the only things that distinguish these dancers.
While the krumpers were ambitious, this new crop of dancers is savvier, and with this minute's technology, they are better equipped. They are as focused on business as they are on art, aiming for "quadruple threat": actor, dancer, singer, designer. To get there, The Ranger$, as well as other dance crews like Action Figure$ and Kream Kidz, film themselves jerkin’ all over South LA, post the videos on YouTube and wait for hits. They also compete at "functions", contests where the audience chooses the winner.
The Ranger$ won first place at the last function, and have over 800,000 followers. It's easy to see why. The five Ranger$, who cite MJ and Chris Brown as their biggest dance influences, have crazy talent and charisma, and already seem like rockstars.
I met with The Ranger$ at an apartment near Leimert Park where Julian, the tallest, lankiest Ranger, and a virtual human pogo stick, lives with three siblings and his Mother, "Mama J", The Ranger$' manager. Since their schedules are packed, the other Ranger$ sleep there on air matresses every night. And despite being together only three months in this lineup (there were previous lineups), they are inseparable.
Trained by the original krumpers, Julian, 16, was the first to jerk among the group, and he found the others through auditions he held at Fairfax and Hamilton high schools. (During auditions at Fairfax High, officials asked Julian, who is home-schooled, to leave campus. ) He is also a rapper whose songs play online over the Ranger$' dance videos.
Since Julian answered every question first, I assumed he was the frontman, but he told me that The Ranger$ reach decisions democratically. His alpha male is simultaneously in your face and just out of reach. His business acumen masks his age until he pops up, spins, falls back on the couch, and teases his cohorts about girls.
However, he deflects any questions about his personal life, explaining that talking about a girlfriend will scare fans aways. This prompted loud objections from Ranger$ Langston and DayDay who explained that if Julian has a girlfriend, he should cop to it, or let her go. (Since the interview, there have been rumblings of a relationship, but those details are best handled by professionals: the thousands of fans who discuss the topic for hours each day on The Ranger$ justinTV webcam page.)
All eyelashes, 15-year-old Langston sparkles like a shiny disco ball when he dances, but is shy and waits his turn to speak. This was no small feat. We were in a living room overwhelmed by teenage testosterone, and a steady flow of friends and family coming in and out--including a sister offering world-class sweet tea.
The boys call DayDay, 15, the best dancer, but he is also the group's heart; he would rather wait for a wife than play the field. When he dances, his alpha male emerges, but he also looks like he is channeling the spirits.
17-year-old Corey, the most muscular and powerful dancer, is also the most grown-up. He sat apart from the living room banter to discuss his hopes of working in real estate someday. Mama J pointed to a set of real estate books on a shelf telling Corey, "You can borrow one anytime."
And then there is Spotlight. With his light orange mohawk, Spotlight, 15, is a true entertainer, and is usually in motion. The Ranger$' most dramatic dancer, he lets his body lead him anywhere, including near misses into shelves and floors. It's like watching Donald O'Connor in Singin' in the Rain's, "Make em' laugh" sequence. If there is a camera in the room, he knows it, and he's the one Ranger who takes negative comments personally..jpg)
And a litle like early Mick and Keith, Julian and Spotlight care more than the others do about appearing live on The Ranger$ webcam each night. The sessions cause near hysteria among their female fans with handles like "prangers_luver13", who in real time type remarks like "BeeBee = Langston Lover", "I WANT TO C JULIAN DO HIS MATH HW" and comments not fit for print. And their fans aren't just local. Followers write in from places like Nevada, Wisconsin, Oregon, Texas, Germany and Australia.
But there are also "haters" who write in to attack Julian's dancing ability. He laughs and agrees, which is surprisingly mature for a teenager--especially one who likes to present his pit bull's new puppies live to fans like a kid at show-n-tell.
The webcam also reveals aspects of life unaffected by popularity. His little sister sits in the background of the live shots doing her homework (and objecting to the foul language on screen), and off-screen you can hear Mama J winding everyone down for bed. But for some fans that is more fodder for their fascination--a fascination they got to indulge in person recently.
Last Friday at Midnight Records, an iconic record store and barber shop near Hamilton High School, teenage girls gathered to meet the Ranger$ and get autographs. Pressed against racks of cd's, the girls waited patiently, giggling and snapping camera phone photos. One Mom drove her daughters to meet The Ranger$ all the way from Palm Springs.
As the homespun hip-hop track "My Cookie" by female rappers Babydollz played loudly on loop, the boys leaned over a counter with their sharpies, signing posters, and gazing up at fans to ask, "What's your name?" Available to anyone wanting photos, they still maintained that uncanny rockstar ability to leave fans wanting just another minute, another photo, another kiss on the cheek.
Singing autographs off to the side were Babydollz' Bebe and Ana Lou, both 15, and well-known female jerkers Indigo Vanity and Bee Bee. (Indigo jerked on BET this week.) These young artists are clearly all friends who support each other, but they also know to capitalize on the idea of an elite jerkin' community. It's easy to forget is that they are also kids having the time of their lives.
The fun was briefly brought to a halt when a group of men--possibly gang members--pulled up to the record store and started a fistfight on the street. A teenage boy caught in the fray had minor injuries but was promptly tended to by an older male employee who managed the incident with seasoned aplomb, keeping the conflict outside and everyone calm inside. Despite calls, the LAPD never showed and the perpetrators got away, but they didn't ruin the magic of the day. As soon as everyone caught their breath, the boys went back to the business of meeting fans. But even without outside threats, how does the magic sustain itself?
With The Ranger$' stars on the rise, Mama J, a pretty, self-proclaimed tomboy--and a celebrity to Ranger$ fans--knows that strategy is everything. Then anti-momager, she has an entertainment background, but also works with children, and is studying towards an MA in Marriage and Family Counseling. It seems to serve her collaboration with the boys as they manage their fanbase and brand awareness. This includes
booking them to dance at local parties, host event nights at clubs and appear in music videos.
It keeps their profile current and every performance is grad school for the next one. She also knows that their popularity makes auditioning for shows like America's Got Talent unnecessary.
It is a delicate balance. They can't be The Ranger$ in this incarnation forever, but expanding too quickly in too many directions could harm them.
Right now, they are flexible, energetic dancers who are rascally enough to create intrigue (they've put themselves on "n word rehab", but they tell me they keep relapsing) and spiritual enough to avoid some of the pitfalls of the tough and fickle hip-hop world. (They pray before they perform.) Beyond timing and marketing strategies, there is the very real toll that dancing takes on the knees and back, and despite Mama J's warnings, everyone seemed bored by the topic of stretching, everyone except Spotlight.
The next step is to further integrate the dancing with Julian's music, which the group is working on now. His rapping, writing and arranging skills show a raw talent, but Mama J and Julian want all of the boys to rap and sing, despite challenges like Langston's shyness. Undeterred, Mama J thinks that the next time they are recording, the beats will inspire him. Oh right, inspiration.
With all the talk about strategizing and branding, and the fact that The Ranger$ (and other crews) have dollar signs in their names, it is easy to forget what's at the core here: when The Ranger$ dance, you see joy and inspiration on their faces. You see teenage boy energy and hormones channeled into something much holier than a business plan. And even though the risk of failure looms over every artist, when you watch The Ranger$ jump and spin and duel with gravity and the earth, nothing else matters. How many brands can you really say that about? And so, with a proper music video in the works, the group will continue jerkin’ their way up, one trust fall at a time.
For more info: The Ranger$ will perform at a New Jerk City Event at "Out of Asia" on Saturday July 25th. Address: 3249 La Cienega Blvd. Time: 4PM to 9PM, Under 18 and 10PM-2am, 18+. To buy tickets in advance, go here.
Photo info: 1) The Ranger$ 2) Spotlight; 3) Corey and DayDay; 4) Langston; 5) The Ranger$; 6) Babydollz; 7) Corey; 8) Spotlight with fan; 9) DayDay, Julian, female jerkers; 10) Julian on justinTV's live webcam. All photos by Adrienne Gruben.
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