The Harlem Shake as a meme is linked to two overlapping origins: a 1981 street dance from Harlem created by Al B. (Albert Leopold Boyce), and the 2012-2013 internet meme built around Baauer’s track Harlem Shake, which popularized a two-part video format. Here’s a concise breakdown. Origins of the dance

• Creator: Al B. (also known as Ali Saadat or Al Cisco), a Harlem resident who performed the move at the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic at Rucker Park in the 1980s. The dance was originally called “The Albee” or “The Al B.” before becoming known as the Harlem Shake as it spread beyond Harlem. This attribution is documented in multiple sources, including historical overviews of the dance and contemporary reporting.

• Early spread: The move gained traction through local performances and later media appearances (e.g., early 2000s references in hip-hop culture), helping it enter the broader public consciousness.

Harlem Shake meme (Baauer’s track)

• Viral format: In January 2013, a short video on YouTube featured a lone person in a mask performing a staged “Harlem Shake” segment, followed by a rapid montage of many people dancing wildly to Baauer’s track “Harlem Shake.” The meme then exploded with countless user-generated versions. The meme’s spark is widely traced to that initial DizastaMusic video and subsequent imitators.

• Song release: The track “Harlem Shake” was released by Baauer in 2012 and became the soundtrack associated with the 2013 meme, though Baauer’s naming drew from the original Harlem Shake dance’s name.

• Controversy and reception: The meme prompted discussion about cultural attribution and the origins of the Harlem Shake dance versus the song’s branding. Contemporary reporting and retrospective pieces examine how the meme evolved and what credit belongs to the original Harlem neighborhood dance versus Baauer’s viral video format.

Key takeaways

• The dance’s inventor in Harlem is commonly identified as Al B. (Albert Leopold Boyce) in the 1980s, with the original name “The Albee” before it became known as the Harlem Shake.

• The Harlem Shake meme that went viral in 2013 originates from Baauer’s 2012 track and a separate, earlier video by Joji Kusunoki Miller (Pink Guy) that contributed to the meme’s format, but the widely recognized meme structure was defined by Baauer’s song and subsequent creator videos.

If you’d like, I can pull up more detailed sources or timelines, or summarize the differences between the original Harlem Shake dance and the meme iterations with specific dates and notable videos.