Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
EntertainmentMusic

Stanky Leg or Gwara Gwara? South Africans Set the Record Straight Over This Rihanna Dance Move

Posted byBy Shamone Nelson | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

At Sunday night’s Grammys at Madison Square Garden, Rihanna, DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller performed their 2017 summertime hit, “Wild Thoughts”. The theme on stage was much like the official music video for the song, ethnic and cultured. Khaled and Tiller held their own but the night belonged to the “Loyalty” singer. Rih-Rih let loose and absolutely stole the show with her dance moves. While many praised Rihanna’s moves online and even turned it into a meme, there was some debate over one dance in particular.

Vulture magazine tweeted “Do the Stanky Leg” using the gif of Rihanna breaking it down.

However, not all agreed. Soon after, a verified Twitter account called Love, Light & Music informed the world that Rihanna was, in fact, doing a South African dance called Gwara Gwara invented by DJ Bongz, also from South Africa.

https://twitter.com/PaolaAudrey/status/957800413188775936

Here’s DJ Bongz, who posted a video of himself doing the Gwara Gwara dance after the Grammys.

For those who may have forgotten, here’s the official video of the “Stanky Leg” by the GS Boyz, released in 2008. So which is it – Stanky Leg, Gwara Gwara or a mixture of the two?

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top