The REAL Origins Of The "Brrr! It's Cold In Here" Cheerleader Cheer

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on the cheerleader cheer "Brrr It's Cold In Here".

Part I provides information about the origins of "Brrr It's Cold In Here", including information about the 2000 American cheerleader movie Bring It On

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/text-examples-videos-of-childrens.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II features selected text examples of "Brrr! It's Cold In Here"as well as videos of children and teenagers performing versions of that cheer.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, linguistic, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and all those who are featured in this embedded video. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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Most of the content of this post is re-printed from a 2012 pancocojams post. That post has no comments.

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PART I
"Brrr! It's Cold In Here" is a cheerleader cheer that is included in the first movie of the Bring It On cheerleader cheer movie series.

Here's information about that 2000 movie:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_It_On_(film)
" "Bring It On" is a 2000 American teen cheerleading comedy film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jessica Bendinger. The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union. It was the first of the Bring It On film series and was followed by five direct-to-video sequels, none of which contain any of the original cast members: Bring It On Again (2004), which shared producers with the original, Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007), Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009), and Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack (2017). The plot of the film centers around a team's preparation for and participation in cheerleading competitions.

Bring It On was released in theaters in the North America on August 25, 2000. Bring It On earned a worldwide gross of approximately $90 million. Since its release, the film has become a cult classic.[2]...
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Here's an excerpt of an Editor's note that I wrote for a 2014 cocojams2* post entitled "The Influence Of "Bring It On" Movies On Children's Cheerleading"
From http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-influence-of-bring-it-on-movies-on.html
..."Bring It On" is the title of or part of the title of five American produced teenage cheerleader movies. The first movie in that series, produced in 2000, is highly acclaimed in the teenage cheerleader movie genre... As a result of that movie, according to a 2008 Wall Street Journal article that is cited in "Bring It On"'s Wikipedia page, "Outside of the United States, American-style cheerleading is sometimes referred to as Bring It On-style cheerleading."
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Referring to cheers as being in the "Bring It On" style isn't always considered something positive. Around 2011 I read an online statement that prefaced a list of children's cheers in which an adult criticized the fact that many children's cheer squads were promoting hip shaking. That writer indicated that prior to the "Bring It On" movie, "hip shaking" wasn't even considered, let alone, allowed in children's cheerleading squads. Of course, cheerleader squads that are auxiliaries of professional football squads do a lot of hip shaking and other dance moves. And there's no doubt that the popularity of those professional cheerleader squads have influenced children's ideas and the rest of the general public's ideas of how cheerleaders are supposed to perform."...
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*cocojams2 is another blog that I voluntarily curate. That blog presents many of the examples of children's rhymes, singing games, and cheers that were presented on my no longer active cultural website cocojams.com. Cocojams2 also includes other posts on children's rhymes, singing games, and cheers (without regard to race/ethncicity) although a focus is placed on examples from African American cultures and other Black cultures around the world.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: [This YouTube video combines clips from that movie of two performances of that cheer]

Brr It's Cold In Here 2000



Posted by flaco258 — January 14, 2009

ESTE ES EL VIDEO DE TRIUNFOS ROBADOS DONDE LOS TOROS LE ROBAN LA PORRA A LOS CLOVERS
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Translated from Spanish to standard English = "This is the video in which the Toros do the chant that they stole from the Clovers.
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Note that a very brief sample of the rhyme/cheer "U-G-L-Y" is heard before the featured cheer begins.

Here's my summary of this video:
A new member of the suburban cheerleading squad "The Toros" realizes that the "Toros" got this cheer from "The Clovers", a mostly Black and Latina cheerleading squad "The Clovers". That new squad member convinces the captain of the Clovers to sneak with her into a Clovers' cheerleading practice so that she can prove to her that the former captain of that squad stole that cheer routine. When they are caught watching the practice by The Clovers squad, those two members of The Toros are confronted by The Clovers, and challenged to "Bring It On" at a upcoming cheerleader competition that the two squads will attend.

Here's a transcription from the DVD of that movie:

"Ready girls?"
I said brr it’s cold in here
I said there must be Toros in the atmosphere
I said brr it’s cold in here
I said there must be Toros in the atmosphere
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
I said OEOEO ice ice ice

"Do your thing Isis!"
I said brr it’s cold in here
There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere
I said brr it’s cold in here
There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
Slow it down
OEOEO ice ice ice
Here we go

Source: Bring It On Cheers http://victory-star04.tripod.com/bringiton.html

[I added a space to separate the two "clips" of this cheer which are performed at different points in this movie.]
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What is ironical (although it might have been purposely done) is that one of the central themes of that first Bring It On movie was that the mostly White suburban cheerleading squad ripped off (stole) that particular cheer and other cheers in their repertoire from the mostly Black urban cheerleading squad. I consider this ironical because rippin off Black cultural products is a key feature in a number of the Bring It On cheerleader chants.

The five Bring It On cheerleader movies (from 2000-2009) have been highly influential in popularizing forms of African American dance style cheerleader cheers in the United States and elsewhere around the world. This is not to say that the routines that are performed by the White cheerleaders in those movies are the same as those performed by real African American cheerleader squads. They aren't. Even the movements to the very popular "Shabooya Roll Call" (which are performed by two African American and one Latina cheerleaders in the 2006 movie Bring It On-All Or Nothing) are exaggerated, and therefore are "fake Black". However, even though they aren't authentic, the movements, the words, and the confrontational, self-confident, "I'm cool" attitude with which this cheer, and other urban dance style cheerleader cheers are performed, are patterned after African American cheerleader cheers, and chants from other African American traditions.

To be clear, "Brrr It's Cold In Here" and also "Shabooya Roll Call" may not have been African American cheerleading cheers before they were included in those Bring It On movies. However, both of those cheers originated in African American culture. "Shabooya Roll Call" was featured in the 1996 Spike Lee movie Get On The Bus (click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTjJJiu2lC0 for that movie clip). Furthermore, "Ooh it's cold in here" is a line from a signature chant of the Black Greek letter fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Several APHIA chants include the words "oooh it's cold in here"; "ice ice ice, too cold too cold", and "ice ice baby". Those APHIA chants were performed before either the 2000 Bring It On movie or the 1989 hit song "Ice Ice Baby" by White American rapper Vanilla Ice. And members of Alpha Phi Alpha,Fraternity Inc. continue to perform step chants using those phrases.

Here's that video of two Alphas chanting a version of "Ice Ice Too Cold Too Cold" and another chant that includes the "ice ice baby" phrase:

Alpha Phi Alpha stepping



Uploaded by sarkazm69 on Mar 19, 2009

Alpha's from Mu Chi, Gamma Xi and orgs. from Dominguez Hills spoke about college, education and the future to H.S. students.

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Here's my transcription of the first chant in that video:

ICE ICE ICE TOO COLD TOO COLD
I said “Ooh it's cold in here”.
I said “There must be some Alphas in the atmosphere”.
I said “Ooh it's cold in here”.
I said “There must be some Alphas in the atmosphere”
It’s like ice ice ice,
too cold too cold.
Ice ice ice,
the black and gold
Ice ice ice,
too cold too cold.
Ice ice ice.
Ice ice ice,
too cold too cold.
Ice ice ice,
the black and gold.
-transcription from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EajhKrRrlpk Alpha Phi Alpha stepping , video uploaded in 2009

Here's my transcription of the second chant in that video:

WE ARE THE ICE OLD BROTHERS OF APHIA
We are the
ice cold brothers of- ah APHIA
We rock* that black and gold
until the day we die
So when you see us in the street
Expect to be holified**
Ice ice baby
WHAT!
too cold too cold
IT’S LIKE
[Do step routine]
Aaaah
ICE!
[Do step routine]
Aaaah
ICE!
[Do step routine]
Aaaah
ICE!
- transcription from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EajhKrRrlpk Alpha Phi Alpha stepping , video uploaded in 2009

* I'm not sure about this word. It sounds like they are saying "rub", but I went with the word "rock" because "rock those clothes" is part of African American vernacular, while "rub those clothes" isn't.

** I think they are saying "holified". That actually isn't a word, but in the context of that chant likely means "be impressed", "recognize the high significance of [whatever is being "holified"]".

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After the two members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc perform those step routines, a third member of that fraternity speaks to the audience and says “We are the ice cold brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity inc. Alpha Phi Alpha was founded on an ICE COLD Tuesday of December 4, 1906 at Cornell University..." The step team does a head down step move when saying "Ice cold". At the completion of the show the step team end with a routine and end by saying “We are ice cold!”

In the context of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., I believe "ice cold" means to be serious, determined, and resolute about the fraternity's and your goals, purposes, and mission.

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Returning to the words of the cheerleader cheer "Brrr It's Cold In Here", the "O E O E O" (also given as "owee owee o" and similarly spelled words) are from the 1984 R&B song "Jungle Love" by Morris Day & The Times. That phrase, given as "Oh-wee-oh-wee-oh", was repeated in the background of that 1984 song. Morris Day & The Times sung "Jungle Love" and at least one other song when that group was featured as Prince's main competition in Prince's movie Purple Rain.

Morris Day and The Time - Jungle Love (HQ)



Christopher Droge, Apr 12, 2011
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This video was added on November 16, 2019 to replace one that is no longer available.

Click http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Time%20Lyrics/Jungle%20Love%20Lyrics.html for lyrics to "Jungle Love".

Comments Added on November 15, 2019-
The term "jungle love" means love between two people who are different races/ethniciities (with "ethnicity" here meaning "Latino/a").

It occurs to me that the "owwe owee oh" refrain is an imitation of the sound that monkeys make in the jungle.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITORIAL NOTES
As an African American, I'm proud of my race's creativity. And I'm aware of the saying that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". But the problem I have with so much of mainstream America, is that when African American cultural products are used, it's rare that that imitation is recognized and acknowledged. It's been that way for centuries. A big reason for this is the power that mainstream White America has had and still has to write history the way they want to write it, and to promote what they want to promote in the way they want to promote it. But I think that another reason for the lack of awareness among many Americans that "high or low" cultural products (even cheers such as "Brrr It's Cold In Here" and "Shabooya Roll Call") come from African Americans, is that we Black people have to do a better job of documenting our culture. This is one of the reasons why I published this post.

RELATED LINKS
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_It_On_(film) for information on the first Bring it On movie, and information about the release dates of each of the movies in that "Bring It On" cheerleader series.

Click http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/BringItOn?from=Main.BringItOn for a synopsis of each of the five movies in that series, and information about specific cultural tropes including in those movies (including racist tropes).

**
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Ice_Baby for information about the rapper Vanilla Ice, his song "Ice Ice Baby" and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. origin of that "ice ice baby" title/refrain.

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