Entry · catalog no. 9506
jerkin'
/ /ˈdʒɝkɪn/ /JER-kin
noun · Los Angeles area · 2000s
✓ Verified
1.
A street dance from the Los Angeles area that surfaced in the late 2000s, built on quick leg and body moves such as the reject, the dip and the pin drop, and the fashion and music scene around it.
“The whole crew was jerkin' in the parking lot after school.”
Origin & Attribution
Surfaced among Black and Latino youth in the Los Angeles area around 2009, spreading through YouTube and local radio. Its roots are contested: the Daily Bruin (2 August 2009) called it a more positive derivative of the Crip walk, while the CSUN Sundial (8 December 2009) said its origin was unknown. New Boyz popularized it with "You're a Jerk" (2009); they did not invent it, and the dance predates the song.
2009
Daily Bruin and CSUN Sundial report on jerkin' in Los Angeles.
2009
New Boyz's "You're a Jerk" brings it to LA radio.
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The West
Los Angeles area · 2000s
Spoken by
Black and Latino youth in Los Angeles
$JERKINThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Fading0 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
25/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
2009
in the culture
Recorded here
2026
point of first record
Mainstream crossover
2009
search interest spikes
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
@bayarea
Oakland, CA
@ladi
Los Angeles, CA
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Daily Bruin, 'Dance group finds spotlight', 2 Aug 2009
news, 2009
■
CSUN Sundial, 'Valley dancers pick up on jerkin' movement', 8 Dec 2009
news, 2009
■
+ Cite a sourceSongfacts, New Boyz, 'You're a Jerk'
reference, 2026
See also