Entry · catalog no. 1085
beat ya feet
/ /biːt jə fiːt/ /beet yuh feet
verb · Washington, DC · 1990s
✓ Verified
1.
The Washington, DC dance of rapid, percussive footwork danced to go-go — loose-limbed, competitive, and fast. Named for what the feet do to the beat.
“They cleared a circle at the go-go and started beatin they feet.”
Origin & Attribution
Born in southeast Washington, DC in the late 1990s, credited to Marvin "Slush" Taylor, and grown alongside go-go's crank. A homegrown DC dance, carried by crews like the Beat Ya Feet Kings.
late 1990s
Marvin 'Slush' Taylor originates the style in SE DC
2009
Beat Ya Feet Kings compete on America's Best Dance Crew
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
Washington, DC · 1990s
Spoken by
Black DC dancers; the DMV
$BEATYAThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady29 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
58/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1997
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Beat Ya Feet Kings on 'America's Best Dance Crew,' season 4 — 2009
tv · documented
■
+ Cite a sourceKQED, 'How Go-Go Music Inspires the Beat Ya Feet Dance Movement'
reference
See also