The Starrkeisha Cheer Squad (The "Petty" Cheer), information, videos, lyrics, & comments

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a four part series on "Starrkeisha" videos.

This post showcases one video of "The Starrkeisha Cheer Squad" (The "Petty" Cheer). Selected comments from these examples are also featured in this post along with the words to this cheer.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/06/child-support-rap-battle-starrkeisha-vs.html for Part I of this series. Part I showcases a November 2011 "Starrkeisha" video "Child Support Rap Battle - Starrkeisha VS Cameron J".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/06/starrkeisha-imma-independent-my.html for Part III of this series. Part III of this series showcases the Starrkeisha video "Imma Independent" and includes my analysis of writing styles of selected comments that are found in discussion threads of eight Starrkeisha videos.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/06/facebooking-youtube-video-comment.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV focuses on what I call "Facebooking YouTube Comment Threads: Kids Commenting On Starrkeisha Videos' Discussion Threads." Examples of those "Facebook type" comments from Starrkeisha discussion threads are featured in that post.

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The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and entertainment purposes. I selected this video to showcase out of all the others "Starrkeisha" videos because of my interest in documenting African American originated and African American influenced cheerleader cheers.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Cameron J, the developer of, the "Starrkeisha" character and the producer of this video. Thanks also to others associated with this video and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT "STARRKEISHA"
Note: This is an excerpt of this section that is found in Part I of this series.
"Starrkeisha" is a fictional character that was created by and performed by Cameron J for YouTube channel RandomStructureTV. Here's information about Cameron J that is found on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CameronJMusic:
"Cameron J: musician/Band
Members: Cameron J. Henderson
Genre: RNB, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Techno
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
http://www.YouTube.com/RandomStructureTV"
-snip-
Update: June 26, 2016 Correction:
The first Starrkeisha video is "I Need My Child Support Money!- StarrKeisha/Cameron J" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l--wmtJ7Vj8 ,Uploaded on Jan 15, 2011.
-snip- end of update

"Starrkeisha" is portrayed by African American male Cameron J as a relatively young "ratchet" (ghetto") Black woman who is sassy, street smart, and creative- She raps, sings, and dances (especially twerking). In keeping with the caricatures of "ratchet" women, Starrkeisha is portrayed as wearing a short blue wig or weave, a blue jacket that is too short for her, and other "dumpster dump" clothes. In spite of her attire, Starrkeisha brags about how many brand name clothes and accessories she has.

In contrast with almost all characters that have been created by female impersonators, "Starrkeisha" has a mustache and a short beard. Since mustaches and beards aren't part of the description of ratchet wome, I wonder if Starrkeisha is portrayed that way to add more comedic elements to those skits, and to emphasize that this character isn't real-although the situations she finds herself in and her responses to those situations could be real. That said, a lot of people who comment on discussion threads for Starrkeisha videos interact with and react to Starrkeisha and Cameron J as though they are both real. And as a result of Starrkeisha's mustache and beard, a lot of children who comment on those discussion threads don't understand that Cameron J is portraying Starrkeisha (and, sometimes, also himself) and are confused about whether "Starrkeisha" is male or female. Questions such as "Is she a boy? and statements like "She can't be pregnant 'cause she's a man" are found numerous times in the discussion threads that I read for these videos."...

Additions and corrections to this post would be greatly appreciated.

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CHEER LYRICS - THE PETTY CHEER
(King of Weird)

Leader - Okay ladies, let's get in formation.
All - Gimme a P
Gimme a E
Gimme a T
Gimme a T
Gimme a Y
I'm petty all the time.

Gimme a P
Gimme a E
Gimme a T
Gimme a T
Gimme a Y
I'm petty all the time.

P E to the T T Y
I’m petty
All the time.

Leader - My name starrkeisha
Group- Yeah
Leader - And I'm the best
Group- Yeah
Leader -You know I'm petty
I like to start some mess.

Leader- Cause you don't like me
Group -Yeah
Leader -But you don't want to get down.
Group -Down
Leader -You don't want to start stuff*
When Kiki come around.

Get down now.

All- P E to the T T Y
P E to the T T Y
I'm petty
Yeah Yeah
I'm petty.

P E to the T T Y
P E to the T T Y
P E to the T T Y
P E to the T T Y

Leader- Okay ladies, let's get in formation.
All - P E to the T T Y
P E to the T T Y
Leader- Okay ladies, let's get in formation.
All - I'm petty.
Leader- Close up [?], suga, 'for** you get eliminated.
-snip-
*I'm not sure about my transcription of the end of this line.

** 'for = before

This is a remix of R&B and Pop songs begins with a short beginning clip that I don't recognize.
Clips of songs in that remix (These song clips may not be in the order that they appear in this video)
"Work" - Rihanna
Work From Home - Fifth Harmony
Formation - Beyoncé
Pull over by Trina
Hello - Adele

At the end of that remix, the leader says "Work" and she and the other members of the squad say "I'm petty all the time."The video ends with the leader saying "Let's go, Pettys", which sounds like "Petty" could be their school's name, but the cheer's lyrics suggest otherwise.

I'm not certain about the "Close up" phrase in that last line. If it's the right transcription, then "Get flag" probably means the same things as "Get lost"; "Leave", Get out of here fast".

The line "Okay ladies, let's get in formation" is lifted from Beyonce's 2016 hit song and video entitled "Formation".

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UPDATE: June 26, 2016 8:54 PM
The line "P E to the T T Y" in this 2016 Starrkeisha video has the structural pattern of Jay Z's 2001 Hip Hop song "Izzo" (H.O.V.A)- "H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-A ".

In the March 2011 video "Starrkeisha Fights!", Starrkeisha spelled her name using an adaptation of that "Izzo" (H. O. V. A" pattern: "My name is Starrkeisha- S to the t to the a to the r to the r to the k to the e to the i to the s to the h to the a". (That clip begins at 1:09 in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl2TvW2aTq4.

Also, the portion of the Petty cheer that begins with the line "P E to the T T Y" uses basically the same rhyming pattern as "Shabooya Roll Call" (except that Starrkeisha chants two verses instead of giving someone else a turn as soloist).

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/the-right-rhyming-pattern-for-shabooya.html for a pancocojams post about Shabooya Roll Call.
-snip-
end of the update

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Added 7/29/2016
The Line "okay ladies, let's get in formation" is from Beyonce's hit song "Formation." Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfMlFxrMb18 for a video of that song.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: PETTY SONG - The Starrkeisha Cheer Squad! - @TheKingOfWeird



Randome Guye Published on Apr 3, 2016

...

ORIGINAL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/wn67XyvePOE
I DO NOT OWN THIS VIDEO
I JUST WANTED TO REPLAY THE SONG BUT THE BEGINNING AND THE END MESSED UP THE VIBE
ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE CREATOR;
https://www.twitter.com/TheKingOfWeird
https://www.Facebook.com/CameronJMusic
https://Instagram.com/CameronJHenderson
-snip-
Total number of views as of 11:30 AM June 22, 2016 - 2,521,887; Total number of comments: 963

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn67XyvePOE&feature=youtu.be for the original YouTube video of the Starrkeisha Cheer Squad (The Petty Cheer". That video begins with the cheerleaders practicing their cheers and some back and forth comments between Starrkeisha, the rest of her cheerleading squad (who look like her but may do other actions), and the coach.* Like the publisher of the video given above, I decided to focus on the segment of the video that features the cheers.

*Here's an example of the back & forth comments:
"Starrkeisha: "no, y'all, let's do it again"
Other cheerleader: "Again?! i'm tired!"
Starrkeisha - "How?! All you did was jump."

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These comments are given in relative chronological order, with the oldest dated comments given first, except for responses. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order.

The comments that are followed by [^] are quotes from the video. I'm particularly interested in those quotes, and in examples of African American Vernacular English.

I've assigned numbers for referencing purposes only and I've added brief explanatory comments or other editorial comments for some of these comments.

WARNING: As is the case with a number of YouTube video discussion threads, the Starrkeisha video discussion threads that I have read contain profanity, the n word, and sexually explicit language. None of those examples are found below.

April 2016
1. Mildred Corbett
"I wish my cheerleaders at my school cheers like that be cause that was so funny that every one would die so hard that they want to record it and watch it over and over again I love you starkeisha and do the ghetto version. That would have been even funnier if you do that and stop acting like a girl in real like and act funnier than Reggie couz if you know him he's funny but not that funny"
-snip-
I'm not sure who "Reggie" is. I think he's someone that the commenter knows irl (in real life).

"couz" cause

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2. Joshua Phonharath
"OMGGG THE COACH"

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Reply
3. Shawnise Bennett (May 2015)
"yo when he was milly rocking...(This comment is followed by a smiley faced icon.)
-snip-
"Yo" here is an exclamation that doesn't have any literal meaning, but is similar to "Hey" or "Yeah".
"Milly Rock" is a 2015 Hip Hop dance that was introduced by the rapper 2 Milly.

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May 2016
4. Misa Amane
"HOW DO YOU DO THE CLAP PART"
-snip-
What this commenter and several others call "the clap part" or "clapping" is actual an example of "steppin'". Steppin' originated with and is still mostly associated with historically Black Greek letter (university based) fraternities and sororities. This particular example of steppin is done with rhythmic chest pats. An old term for those chest pats is "pattin juba". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-overview-of-black-greek-letter.html for a pancocojams post that provides information about steppin and two video examples of steppin.

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5. Naomi Jagozinski
"WE NEED A TUTORIAL LIKE NOOOOWWWW PLEASE THIS CHOREOGRAPHY BE POPPIN"

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6. Princess Ada
""you gotta give it to him, that routine was on point"
-snip-
"on point" = done exactly right

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7. David Hazinski
"gurl now I told u there is a replay button for a reason"

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Reply
8. Naomi Jagozinski
"+David Hazinski lolol but it's annoying to replay :("

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Reply
9. David Hazinski
"GURL DON'T GET NO SASS WITH ME"

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Reply
10. Naomi Jagozinski
"+David Hazinski im NOT BEING SASSY! Both of our last names end with "zinski" ain't no sassyness round hur"
-snip-
"hur" = here (My guess is that "here" was probably written that way so that it would "sound Black".

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11. lαuren
"+David Hazinski okay, I'm making an assumption here so don't get all pissed at me, but you have a very white sounding male name and you're trying to act like a sassy black woman like wyd"
-snip-
I don't know what "wyd" means.

A standard African American description of someone talking sassy is that person having "a smart mouth", or talking "back" at someone. This isn't a compliment. It's more likely that David Hazinski's "Gurl Don't Get No Sass With Me" would be given as "Gurl" (or Girl) don't give me no sass". I think he might have written that comment to show of his ability to "talk Black", but I wouldn't give him the best grade for that attempt.

"Talking sassy" means coming up with pithy, clever, biting retorts that are given with an aggressive, self-confident attitude

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12. Robert Fortenberry
"Name of the song that plays after Adele hello? That beat is sick!
-snip-
"sick" = very very good

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Reply
13. Poker Face
"Formation by Beyoncé"

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14. Nirvana Ramirez
"this entire thing is amazing. BRAVA"

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15. Brittnay Kingston
"The definition of lit"
-snip-
"Lit" means it is "on fire", "hot", smokin', "dynamite", "the bomb" etc. (In other words "amazing" as the commenter directly above this example wrote.)

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16. sabrina robles
"This is pure talent"

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17. kelis wilcox
"I can't help but press replay. It's just so catchy.."

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18. Just Plain Weird
"I got called petty today and I started singing this song to the person who called me petty. I even danced."

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19. Floralbby11
"This is so funny and messed up though because petty means small or little of importance so i really don't get this lol"

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Reply
20. Sweat And Temptation
"+Floralbby11 Petty, when used to describe a person, means that they like to start trouble over little things and generally like making people upset or frustrated, because they get a sense of power from it."

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June 2016
21. Samantha Yolo
""Petty- of little importance, not mattering

Why is everyone calling themselves petty I really don'tnt get it??"

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Reply
22. Samantha Yolo
"don't"

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Reply
23. Just Lillian
"it also means to over-exaggerated things, making irrelevant things big for no reason"

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Reply
24. A RJ
"petty is also used to describe people who start drama, act childish"

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VaNeajah Brown
25. "i got to learn this DANCE like post a how to do PETTY CHEER man"

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26. Kaiden Nelson
"my mom try to make me dance to it and I said no and now I like the song and I dance to it when my mom is not looking because she will start singing and dancing to it"

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27. Katherine Johnson
"- 80% of people in the comments talking about the ashy knees.
- 20% talking about how much they LOVE this."

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28. Rosie Hunt
"It's official, my squad has decided what to dance to at prom!"

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29. Sabrina Hamad
"This guy is better at dancing like a girl then I am AND IM A GIRL...I wish i could dance like that.."

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30. Ariyah Roundtree
"they killt it 💯💯💯💯💯💯"
-snip-
"Killed" it means to do some thing extremely well.

I've seen these "100s" before on comments and assume it's like multiplying what you said to the nth degree.

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31. Petty yh im petty
"I like the dance and the music / beat"

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32. Yel K
"Watched this 5x in a row" (followed by a smiley face emoticon)

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Reply
33. Roonniesha Maeweather
"me to"

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34. James Brandon
"Ashy knees and stank hair: MY HIGH SCHOOL CHEER SQUAD."

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35. lajhaya sanchez
"AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO PLAYED THIS LITERALLY 100 TIMES AND JUST LEARNED EVERY MOVE? YES? WELL THAT'S OKAY."

**
Reply
36. Ayanna Grant
"NO I DID TOO I KNOW IT ALL NOW"

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37. Naømi Løpez
"its a boy btw dressed up as a girl"

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38. angel dubin
"Knees mad ashy"
-snip-
In this comment "mad" means "very".

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39. Pat Teneyck
"then girls need to shave and out some lotion on,and sorry but when they started to mix songs it sounded awful sorry I'm not trying to be a hatter"
-snip-
"Then" is probably a typo for "them".
"A hater" is someone who criticizes (puts down) someone or something out of jealousy and/or spite.

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Reply
40. Shelesha Curling
"well it sounds like that so..........

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Reply
50. Sierra Lemessy
"well u are being a hater"

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51. Veronica Morgan
"This is better than most of the cheer leading squads I have seen(followed by four emoticons) No offense to the other squads y'all good too."

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52. Cookie Robertson
"bust the milly rock"
-snip-
"bust" = do [perform] a dance (very well)

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Reply
53. Mocoya Lewis
"he always Milly Rocking"
-snip-
He = the coach

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54. John Williams
"I love this song be having me dead" (This comment is followed by three different emoticons)

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55. victoria ruiz
[written in response to someone writing a very homophobic comment]
"what does it matter if he's gay or not"

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Reply [to the person who wrote the homophobic comment]
56. BreBre Sanaa
"You P-E to the T-T-Y" [^]

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57. IstartedBawling WhenIwasyoung
"This was like the cheerleaders at my ghetto ass school tbh and I had to be on the cheer squad one year 2"(followed by two smiley face emoticons)

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58. Darell Nettles
"This song is degrading. young girls are singing it and don't realize they are calling themselves petty."

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59. X_PERT GAMING
"lol love the beat tho"

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60. Ebonl Dean
"this is so ghetto"

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61. Cayden Armstrong armstrong
"DANGGG THEY ARE SOOOO ASHY"

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Reply
62. Cecee
"lmaooo"

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Reply
63. Cayden Armstrong armstrong
"Ikr"

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Reply
64. Cecee
"at first i thought they were knee pads"

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65. The Random Bffs
"Their knees look like mine sometimes when I don't put any lotion on or when im baking, who can relate (I am black too)."

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66. Johnathan Bryan
"starrkiesha is a man !!!!!"

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67. Olivia Stout
"My friends performed this on stage and it was the last day of school(followed by two smiley face emoticons)

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68. Yomi Love
"-.- The girls at my school sing this stupid song. Singing about being petty isn't a good thing. This "song" is downgrading to girls all over."

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69. Panic Disco
"I'm going to do this for Halloween" (followed by one smiley face emoticon)

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70. AriannaStreams
"This is all over my school"

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71. Emonte Clay
"they gay"

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72. skylar whitworth
"My cheer squad is gonna do this at a football game against our rivals"

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73. Lauren Pandas
"Does anyone else know that that is a dude dressed in a cheerleading uniform?"

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74. Tiyonna Caldwell
"I love the all of y'all and the song I play is over and over and over,over,over,over,over,over again

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75. Kayla Smith
"I looked up petty on urban dictionary xD"

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76. phoenix smith
"Can you buy this song on iTunes?
If you can what's it called!!????"

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77. Phoenix Phillips
"is that a girl or a boy"

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78. Kim krissy
"Why r their knees so white?
Don't they have coco butter or somethin. XD"

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79. kaysikayla bratcher
"yass like that step"
-snip-
"Yass" - a contemporary, hip form of the word "yes"
"step" refers to the steppin routine that the squad did with chest pats.

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80. Deshawn ingram
"This video Is really amazing I love it. I keep listening to it you slayed @thekingofwierd"

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81. Young fleet
"dude imma subscribe your mad cool"

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82. Lakeisha Moore
"I love this"

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83. Ella lakey
"I love this video I'm learning the choreography

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84. Isabella Giron
"Hahahah omg! I have been searching for this video and I've finally got it! Great choreography and cheer song! Keep it up!"

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85. Dallas Belton
"So lit"

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86. Chaylea Ville
"Tbh, that wouldn't be a bad cheer to do at a game. Maybe it's just me but I'd watch it."

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87. Darryl Jackson
"milly rock my fav part"

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88. Fluffy Heart
"Is this a mashup of cheer and steppers"

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89. Babyxo Adi
"ayeee about to do the challenge !"

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90. Adriane Russ
"I love the beat that thing go hard"

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91. Oops Boops
"This needs to be on iTunes I neeeeeeedddd iiiitttt!"

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92. Jasmin Laureano
"Should've been casted for Bring it On."
-snip-
The commenter may have been joking. Bring It On is a rather influential series of movies about high school cheerleading competitions." The "Shabooya" cheer was featured in one of the Bring It On movies.

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93. April Dobbs
"ARE THOSE MEN DRESSED UP AS CHERRLEADERS"

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94. LuvMeHateMe Spice
"I love this video so much I am trying to learn the dance cos I love it soo much its unbelievable but I am getting stuck on the part when she mashes up all of those work songs and stuff. But he is so funny I am subscribing on all of my friends channels (this comment is followed by a smiley face and a heart emoticons.)

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95. The Original
"anyone else think this actually has a good beat?"

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96. Nayelli Estrada1
"I love the remix part. I gotta say that's great. The whole video is hilarious though" (The comment is followed by two smiley face emoticons).

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97. Marcus McElhaney
"Them mr.Brown legs lol"
-snip-
"Mr. Brown legs" is probably a reference to the American television show Meet The Browns which has a Black cast.

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98. Amyah Hoover
They slayed that 24/7" (followed by four smiley face emoticons)
-snip-
In the context of this comment "slayed" has the same meaning as "killed" or "murdered", meaning to do some thing exceptionally well.

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99. Princess Arroyo
"yooo this is me.. everyone says my petty level is on 10000 which is true"

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100. Talia Simons
"What is going on with the knees?"

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Reply
101. Angelica 454
"black girls' nightmare"

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Reply
102. Angelica 454
"lol jkjk"

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103. Samantha Liz
"wat happen to there knees"

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Reply
104. Revolt KofKen
"there black so there knees are ashy, its a joke"

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105. RaKesha Crawford
"this song is so tite"
-snip-
"Tite" ("tight") means the same thing as "on point" and "sick".

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106. Shesly fuentes
"Tell me why they dance better that original cheerleaders today"

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RELATED LINKS
Here's an example of dance challenges for the Starrkeisha cheer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvIteVDlWKc Starrkeisha Cheer Squad! Dance Petty Song Funny REMAKE

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