Inspired by the jerk and the twist, Sam would isolate and tense muscles throughout his body, and as he did, he would say, “pop” to accentuate his movement. Meanwhile, popping started in Fresno, CA, where “Boogaloo” Sam Solomon began experimenting with a new dance style in 1975. Campbell started the Campbellock Dancers (later to be named The Lockers) in 1973, and soon other locking groups were cropping up all over, mainly performing on the club scene. These points and pauses became the foundation for the locking style, which quickly spread from L.A.’s inner city to the suburbs and then throughout California. Soon, he began incorporating these accidental “locks” throughout his routines as audiences laughed, he would point back at them. Campbell had trouble doing the funky chicken, so he would freeze mid-move, as though trying to remember what comes next. Locking, created by Don Campbell, a club dancer with no formal training, developed in the late 1960s in L.A. Popping and locking both originated on the West Coast. So why do so many people refer to these two distinct dance forms as “pop-n-lock” and “pop-locking”? You can learn both styles, but you can’t perform them at the same time.

But if you ask any popper or locker, this song and dance is pure fiction. In his chart-topping hit song, rapper Huey instructs fans to “Pop, Lock and Drop It.” The video shows dancers twisting their heels before dropping on their haunches.

Who made pop lock and drop it