Blavity: We've seen time and time again how non-Black people steal our culture and make a profit off of it, not even knowing the significance of it. Can you talk about the importance of preserving cultural artifacts in our community such as jookin?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lil Buck (@lilbuckdalegend) on May 22, 2020 at 4:29pm PDT

Lil Buck: I think it's a must, when it comes to dances that are native and have a very deep and rich cultural background to it. It's not just a dance, but it's something that people in these different communities grow up doing. It's a big part of their lives.

[Jookin is] a big part of Memphis and is one of the things that makes Memphis, Memphis. It's a craft, just like break dancing, just like popping, just like these dance styles that people respect and know have a whole culture and history behind them.

I don't think a lot of these young kids just wake up and say, 'you know what? I'm a white kid and I can make it.' I think they just, for the majority of the part, want to learn this amazing dance style that they see, and they're not going to let anything hold them back from wanting to learn it. When I first saw it, I wanted it so bad. I was just grateful enough to be in the city to learn it from the people the right away.

It all comes down to us actually teaching it in a way where people really respect it. I think preservation is really key, but also sharing is as well, in the right way so people can understand. I wanted to take on the task of bringing Memphis Jookin to the world and sharing that this is the style that's native to Memphis.

I'm always preaching that everywhere I go, every interview I do, every performance I do. No matter how much I blend my style with other styles and do other things, I'm always preaching the gospel of Memphis Jookin. Once people get an understanding of who we are in Memphis, as jookers, and what the style is and understanding the background of it, they grow more respect for it. Teaching is one of the biggest, most important tools that we have right now in preserving this dance style.

Memphis-Jookin

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week