Harlem Shake

FEB 15 2013 · 12:00

Harlem Shake meme cuts from solo dancer to full-room mayhem on Baauer's bass drop, February 2013, the format that briefly ate YouTube Place: YouTube, then offices and gyms and college dorms worldwide Figures: Filthy Frank (George Miller), early uploader · TheSunnyCoastSkate, the breakout · Baauer, producer of the original 2012 track The format crystallizes in early February 2013: one person in a mask or helmet dances alone for 15 seconds while everyone else in the room sits or stands ignoring them. The bass drops at 0:15. Cut. Everyone in the room is now in costume, in motion, doing whatever ridiculous thing they can think of. The track is Baauer's Harlem Shake, released on Mad Decent / Jeffree's in May 2012, sleeping on YouTube for nine months. By mid-February 2013 there are approximately 12,000 uploads in a single week. Office versions. Locker-room versions. Fighter-jet-cockpit versions. The Norwegian Army version. A version filmed by Matt Damon. Today show hosts attempt one and look exactly like Today show hosts attempting a Harlem Shake. Video: George Miller's DizastaMusic upload of 30 January 2013, the Filthy Frank skit that establishes the format. Pink Guy alone, the cold open, then everyone in the room in costume when Baauer's bass drops at 0:15.