Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Bounce: A Look Into the World of Jersey Club

Yoshi Sodeoka

When most people hear the words “New Jersey,” “club,” and “dance” together in a sentence they might picture the cast of MTV’s ‘Jersey Shore’ drunkenly beating the the beat up in some random club but real heads know that Jersey Club is dance music genre that has nothing to do with stereotypical “guido” mating rituals.


Proudly bearing the name of its state of origin Jersey Club is the northern cousin of Miami Bass and Baltimore Club. The dance music genre born in north Jersey chocolate cities like Newark and Irvington is fast (130-140 bpm), bass-heavy and, of course, cheeky. The mic man who acts as master of ceremonies at the parties will mention the word “ass” a lot and the songs that sample and reconstruct vocals and rhythms from popular rap, R&B and pop songs are designed to incite maximum booty movement. But beyond the the butt what makes the dances associated with Jersey Club like the Jersey Slide, the One Leg Get Back, the Urkel and the Sexy Walk is of course, the footwork.


It’s one thing to see YouTube clips it’s another to actually experience the phenomenon that’s got young people in NJ and now the world over going nuts. At Red Bull Music Academy‘s Bounce Ballroom event Jersey Club luminaries like Cartel Crew’s DJ Sliink and Mike Gip and producer/DJ Fiine$$e will be demonstrating just how live it all gets tonight (May 1) in Brooklyn. You’ve still got some time to practice your Sexy Walk and there’s no need to GTL to get in.


Buy Bounce Ballroom Tickets Here