Booty Music Began Twerking

Uncle Luke, the man who made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke gives his take on the dance that is sweeping the nation.

I’ve got a bone to pick with the word masters at Oxford English Dictionaries. Last month, they added “twerk” to their online edition. They define “twerk” as a verb that describes dancing to “popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.”

Company spokeswoman Katherine Connor Martin told the Associated Press that “twerk” warranted an entry because it originated two decades ago and is now used by everybody.

The Oxford peeps should have sought my consent since I pioneered the act of “twerking” long before it was created. I had a simpler definition: “Don’t stop, pop that p—-, let me see you doo doo brown.” Whenever girls heard me chant that at a concert, they shook their booties down to the floor. That’s why we called it booty music.

This is what happens when you have performers rebranding ideas pioneered by artists from back in the day. An artist is someone who creates fine art, whether it is a sculpture or a song. A performer is an actor that reinvents things already done by artists.

Just look at the success of French Montana’s single “Pop That,” which samples one of my songs. That was a clever move on his part. The track’s popularity shows how today’s performers can make a hit doing what another artist innovated more than a quarter century ago.

Now everybody in America is “twerking.” You’ve got companies making a ton of money from “twerk-out” fitness videos and selling dance poles. Female pop singers are “twerking” in front of live TV audiences.

Follow Luke on Twitter: @unclelukereal1.

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