Krumping is an urban art form, reflecting the African American expressive culture and the street culture. The regional location and its history of violence has propelled the style into the mainstream. Born in 1990s from the slumps of Los Angeles, it blends elements of spiritual and physical energy. Krumping is an emerging movement that is quite fresh on the dance scene, exploding with positive energy it comes from a torn world of poverty and oppression. As a spiritual art form it encompasses core elements of its history and religion through its powerful movements and sounds. Through its spiritually Krump transforms its African American dance form to a communal public art form while incorporating its street culture through its music as a creative outlet for the hardships of urban life. Each element in Krump excretes pure energy in a unique way that releases the pent up frustration of each performer, from its highly energetic movements, expressiveness and the physical toll on the performer’s body, the art form has yet to hit its peak.

The history of Krump and its spiritual energy originates from the hard streets of South Central Los Angeles, California, but can also be traced back to its African tribal culture. Born amongst the 1965 Watts riots, a large-scale riot which lasted 6 days in protest to the American Civil Rights Act leaving the African American community a feeling of injustice and despair, and the 1992 Rodney King riots, were the acquittal of LAPD officers in the trial of the beating of Rodney King sparked a further 6 days crime spree, the dance created an escape for the youth. Being brought up in a community upheaved by of violence and oppression blighted by racism, left the youths pursuing a sense of belonging and nurturance from there distressed families of substance abuse and violence. Turning to gangs for a sense of compassion, the ongoing harassment and recruitment of gangs left a sense of hopelessness, were within a dance movement emerge, from the dissatisfaction of their daily struggles, classified as an urban hip-hop variation, Krump like Capoeira started as a way for trouble youths to express themselves, and escape their gang filled lives. Krump dancers would form structured and organised crews or families, a tight-knit group of individuals whose loyalties and commitment extends beyond dance. These dance circles of fellow Krumpers provide the support and stability many in their community don’t receive from their own families at home. Thus through their oppressed urban culture a sub-culture of Krumping immerged, providing an alternative to the gang life style.

Seen as an aggressive competitive dance due to its release of the performer’s personal anger, hiding beneath the rebellious exterior, lays a religious imagery of enslavement calling out for protest. “There is a spirit in the midst of krump-ness. There is a spirit there…most people think, they’re just a bunch of rowdy, ghetto, heathen thugs. No, what we are is oppressed.” (Julie Malnig, 2009) Krumping at its roots are connected by its history but also at its core there are traces of the African tribal culture, Dancer’s would perform in a circle, as a way for them to assert their wholeness. The circle is an arena of a warrior, the ring shout of slave times, in which slaves would move in a round circle while stomping and clapping.

“The circle of the dance is a permissive circle: it protects and permits. At certain times on certain days, men and women come together at a given place, and there, under the solemn eye of the tribe, fling themselves into a seemingly unorganized pantomime, which is in reality extremely systematic, in which by various means–shakes of the head, bending of the spinal column, throwing of the whole body backward -may be deciphered as in an open book the huge effort of a community to exorc