CLASSIFICATION OF FOOT STOMPING CHEERS - INTRODUCTION

Hula Hula! Who think she bad?

Uploaded by Naturalandthecity on Dec 17, 2011

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CLASSIFICATION OF FOOT STOMPING CHEERS - INTRODUCTION
-Ms. Azizi Powell
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
(c) 1/28/2012

This is Part 1 of a periodic series on foot stomping cheers, and is a continuation of my study of those cheers.

Click http://cocojams.com/content/classification-foot-stomping-cheers-examples for lyrics (text) of selected examples of foot stomping cheers and the Cocojams classification listings that have been assigned to them using the methodlogy presented on this page.

WHAT ARE FOOT STOMPING CHEERS?
Foot stomping cheers are percussive, choreographed, rehearsed movement routines that are usually informally performed by two or more girls (ages 7-12 years) while they chant a composition that has a distinctive call & response structure. The earliest documented foot stomping cheers that I have found are from African American school girls in Washington, D.C., 1976. As such, foot stomping cheers are not only a category of children's play activities (or perhaps a sub-category of children's cheerleader cheers), but many foot stomping cheers (fscs) are also part of the continuum of African American oral and performing arts.

In 1995 I began using the term "foot stomping cheers" as a referent for these cheers to distinguish them from (other) children's cheerleader cheers. I did so even though those who I have directly observed performing these cheers (it appears to me that then and now that is still mostly girls between the ages of 6-12 years old) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area call them "cheers" and not "foot stomping cheers." Another general name that I have read for these examples is "steps". That name is probably because the movement activities for fscs are very similar to that of Black Greek lettered fraternity/sorority steppin'. However, there are some differences between the movement activities of fraternity/sorority steppin. and dance style cheerleader cheers (and cheer dance) and the movement activities of foot stomping cheers. There are also similarities and differences between the lyrical structure and content of fraternity/sorority step chants, and (other) cheerleader cheers and foot stomping cheers.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS POST
The focus of this post and the focus of subsequent posts in this series that I will publish is on classifying the examples of foot stomping cheers by examining their lyrical structure. Although the syncronized, choreographed, percussive 4/4 time, moderate tempo performance activity actually drives the words of these cheers, that is only tangentially discussed in this post and other posts in this series.

Click http://cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0 for general information about and history of foot stomping cheers. Also, click http://cocojams.com/content/possible-sources-word-shabooya for this related Cocojams page.

THE COCOJAMS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

Because everything need a name, I call this method of classifying foot stomping cheers as "The Cocojams Classification System" after my cocojams.com website. That system is as follows:

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TEXTUAL PATTERN OF FOOT STOMPING CHEERS

Foot stomping cheers have a characteristic, modified call & response structure. My term for that structure is "group/consecutive soloists".

"Group/consecutive soloist means that the cheer begins either with the entire group speaking in unison, or the entire group with the exception of the first soloist. Foot stomping cheers that don't start with the group speaking in unison are called "modified foot stomping cheers".

Foot stomping cheers often start with a command or a question from the group & a response from the first designated soloist. The words of the cheer continue to alternate between the rest of the group and that designated soloist until that rendition of the cheer ends either with the soloist's lines or with lines spoken by the soloist and the rest of the group. However-and this is a crucial characteristic of foot stomping cheers- the cheer immediately starts again with the next designated soloist. This pattern is supposed to continue without pause until every member of the group gets one turn as soloist for that particular cheer.

GENERAL CATEGORIES OF FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
I have identified the following general categories of foot stomping cheers based on their text (words). (Note that a cheer might be placed in more than one category)

1. Introduction Cheers (Roll Call Cheers)
These cheers provide an oppotunity for the steppers to introduce themselves. The girls take turns giving their name, and/or nickname, and other information such as their favorite color, their astrological sign, their boyfriend's name, what they are interested in doing, and what they want to be when they grow up.

The term "roll call" refers to the practice (in school or otherwise) or a teacher or authority figure reading off the names of those on her or his "roll" (classroom or group list) to see who is in attendance. In the schools I'm familiar with, when the person's name is called, she or he responds "Here" or "Present".

2. Dance Style Cheer
These cheers provide opportunities to show off their steppin and dancing skills. The words of the cheers often name current, or popular "old-school" dances. Theorectically, each soloist is supposed to come up with a new dance that she very briefly performs at the end of her solo.

3. Taunting, Bragging Cheer
The words of these cheers are composed to demonstrate and reinforce the person's street cred (credibility). The word of these cheers include taunts and put downs (insults)directed toward an unidentified person or persons or the words focus on boasting about how tough (fearless) , physically attractive ("fine") and/or sexy the girls are (with sexiness being defined as being able to get any man they want, regardless of whether he is someone else's boyfriend).

It should be noted that most foot stomping cheers have an element or elements of bragging. However, in taunting, bragging style foot stopping cheers, the brag is given as an in your face, confrontational, taunt or challenge to the unidentified person or person (in a "you can't best this" kind of way). Taunting / bragging foot stomping cheers are a pre-dozens (cappin, sounding", "joning", "woofing", "wolfing", "sigging", or "signifying) exchange. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dozens for more information on the African American tradition known as "the dozens."

4. Romance Cheers
These cheers focus on love and romance. They are similar to the category #3 but with fewer or no confrontatiional words.

5. Group Promotion Cheers
These cheers focus on praising the group and/or the neighborhood or city the group is from.

TYPES OF LYRICAL STRUCTURES
All foot stomping cheers are formulaic. By "formulaic" I mean that the words to foot stomping cheers are produced in accordance with strictly followed rules or styles; They are predictable, cut and dry (cookie cutter). That said, there are a number of different types of foot stomping cheers and those cheers should be able to be classified in different categories by virtue of their lyrics and their structure. I'm attempting to start that process here. However, it's important to note that the same cheer often has different names (within the same community, state, region etc.) at the same time or at different times. Also, some cheers have multiple variants, particularly because, like other children's playground compositions, these cheers often are composed by combining lines and floating verses from other cheers, rhymes, singing games, and other oral and written products. Furthermore, the lyrics (and the performance activity) of a cheer can change over time moving it from one content category and changing its structure/s. However, it seems to me that this collection of children's playground activity is significant enough in its folkloric, sociological, and aesthetic content that some attempts should be made to classify and study examples of these cheers. I very much hope that others will join me in this study

Here are the different types of foot stomping cheer structures that I have identified:

Uninterrupted soloist verse (usv)
Each soloists gives her main soloist lines without any interruption from the group

These lines can be in a rhyming or unrhyming form. If the soloist's main portion has two rhyming lines (one couplet), the rhyme pattern is supposed to be the end word of line 2 rhyming with the end word of line 1. If the soloist's main portion is four lines (two couplets), the rhyming pattern is supposed to be the end word of line 3 rhyming with th end word of line 4

**
interrupted soloist verse (isv)
A fixed group response is given in between the soloist’s lines (two rhyming or non-rhyming lines, or four rhyming or non-rhyming lines. These lines can be rhyming or non-rhyming. When the lines rhyme, the end word of line 2 is supposed to rhyme with the end word of line 4.

**
Stringed soloist responses (ssr)
One soloist after another gives their soloist lines.

LYRIC CHANGE (AMOUNT OF IMPROVISATION)

There may be variant forms of this cheer, but my focus here is do the lyrics change from one soloist to another who is part of the group during this particular performance of the cheer.

As to whether the content changes with each soloist rendition, sometimes that can be determined by reading the examples of the cheer, or (less often because there aren’t many videos of these cheer) by watching video performances of them. At other times I’m relying on my memory of watching these cheers in person, and talking to those who have done them.

Here are the sub-divisions of foot stomping cheers that I've identified based on the amount of change in the lyrics (improvisation) that occurs with each soloist:

Lyric Change (a) No lines are spoken. Each group member takes a solo turn doing a dance or some other movement

Lyric Change (b) No change in lyrics - Each soloist repeats exactly what was said before

Lyric Change (c) Minimal changes in lyrics - Each soloist repeats what was said before except for the addition of her name, nickname, or initial of her first name (nickname) or the name of a dance which she demonstrates

Lyric Change (d) Moderate changes in lyrics - Each soloist gives personal information (astrological sign, favorite color, what she likes to do) during her soloist's portion

Lyric Change (e) Considerable Changes - Ideally, each soloist is supposed to say a different soloist verse than the soloist verse that has previously been said

-snip-

In the next post to this series, I provide the lyrics of several examples of foot stomping cheers that are found in Cocojams's foot stomping cheers page. Here is an example of a foot stomping cheer. Its cocojams classification listings are presented below the lyrics of that example:

HULA HULA (Version #3)
Voice #1 (Nyya): Hula Hula.
Who think they bad?
Voice #2 (Ritza): I do.
Voice #1 (Nyya): Hula Hula.
Who think they bad?
Voice (Ritza) #2: I do.
Well, I think I’m bad cause
Ritza's my name
and pink is my color
Don't you worry 'bout my brother.
Voice #1 (Nyya): Ooh, she thinks she’s fine.
Voice #2 (Ritza):Soloist #1:Correction, baby I know I’m bad.
Voice #1 (Nyya): Ooh, she thinks she’s hip.
Voice #2 (Ritza):Hip enough to steal your chips.
-Naturalandthecity;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pnufDOxgU&feature=endscreen&NR=1; Dec 17, 2011

Taunt. Bragging Cheer
interrupted soloist verse (isv)
Lyric Change (b) No change in lyrics - Each soloist repeats exactly what was said before

-snip-

This is Part 1 of a periodic series on foot stomping cheers, and is a continuation of my study of those cheers.

Click http://cocojams.com/content/classification-foot-stomping-cheers-examples for lyrics (text) of selected examples of foot stomping cheers and the classification that have been assigned to them using the methodlogy presented on this page.

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