"My Milkshake" Hand Clap Rhyme ("My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard")

Geneas, Nov 4, 2018

-snip-
After several tries, the "Milkshake" hand game is performed in its entirety from 7:34 to 7:49.

 
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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update- January 24, 2022 

This pancocojams post presents an example of the contemporary hand clap rhyme "Milkshake" from a video log (vlog) of 1990s hand games. 

This post also includes some comments about this rhyme and its hand clap routine.

The Addendum to this post provides information about Kelis' R&B song "Milkshake".

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

All copyright with their owners.

Thanks to Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, the composers of the song "Milkshake" and thanks to Kelis for recording this song. Thanks also to Geneas and Atiyah, the two vloggers who shared examples of this and other hand games. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Although the title for this vlog is "90's hand games!!", Kelis' "Milkshake" R&B record (that is the source of this hand clap rhyme) wasn't released until Nov 23, 2003.

This hand game is an example of a very small number of contemporary hand clap rhymes that I've come across that are based on R&B and other popular records from the 2000s. New and adapted hand clap rhymes based on R&B/Hip and other music genres are probably being created in the 2000s. However, those examples are much less likely to be shared online since the Feb. 2019 YouTube policy decision that disabled comments for almost all children's videos. https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/18244954/youtube-comments-minor-children-exploitation-monetization-creators 

Under that YouTube policy, the discussion thread for this embedded video log (vlog) is permitted because no children are featured in that vlog. 

Notice that the comments about the "Milkshake" hand game that were posted in this vlog's discussion thread suggest that this rhyme isn't that well known. However, in response to a commenter who said that she didn't know "Milkshake", Geneas, one of the vloggers, write that she thought everyone knew that hand game.

For what it's worth, I haven't come across any other online examples or mention of "Milkshake" ("My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard" hand game except for the comments in the discussion thread for this embedded video.

The lack of online examples or mention of that rhyme may the result of the decision that YouTube made in Feburary 2019 to ban discussion threads for any children's videos. Before that ban, YouTube discussion threads used to offer a treasure trove of examples of and comments  about children's recreational rhymes and chants.  

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DEMOGRAPHICS ABOUT THIS  EXAMPLE 

In response to a commenter's question, Geneas, one of the two young African American women who are featured in this vlog, shared that she and her friend Atiyah are from "Jersey". In Part II of their vlog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-NKrzvqz_I&t=2s&ab_channel=Geneas, in response to another commenter's question about where they are from, Geneas shared that they were from Newark, New Jersey.

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LYRICS FOR THE HAND GAME "MILKSHAKE" 

5, 6, 7, 8  
My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like, it's better than yours
Damn right it's better than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge
-snip-
With the exception of the introductory numbers, these are the same lyrics as the chorus of  Kelis' 2003 "Milkshake" R&B song. 

Those numbers may not be the actual lyrics to this hand game, but are recited to help the clappers get "on beat".  
 
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DRAFT: INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW THIS HAND GAME WAS PLAYED IN THIS VIDEO
Chant the words to this song while performing these motions on the beat: 

Clap the palms of your partner's hands with the palms of your hands.

Clap the back of your hands with the back of your partner's hands.

Hit your left elbow with your right hand.

Hit your partner's left shoulder with your right hand.

Repeat the first two motions.

-snip-
I'm not confident about explaining hand game motions. Additions and corrections to these performance activities are very welcome.

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COMMENTS ABOUT THE "MY MILKSHAKE" HAND GAME FROM THIS VLOG'S DISCUSSION THREAD 
These are all of the comments about this hand game that were posted to that vlog's discussion thread as of November 16, 2020 at 11:04 AM ET.  Numbers are added for referencing purposes only. 

1. Taylor Carroll, 2020
"You two are awesome! I have never heard several of these! I especially love the milkshake one at the end."

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REPLY
2. Taylor Carroll, 2020
"Also, what are the words to that one? I heard, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. My (something?) is better than yours, my (something else) is better than yours, I can seat you but I have to charge." I'm not sure if I'm hearing it right, but I want to learn it!"

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3. Shenia Edwards, 2020
"i love shame shame shame, and mama mama, swing swing,hands up, that's the way and milkshake i still play it i'm 13 btw"

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4.  Big Boi, 2020
"I thought Kalis made Milkshake up by herself..."

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5. Angel Hill, 2020
"I never heard of milkshake hand game"

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REPLY
6. Geneas
"Angel Hill lol wow I thought everybody played that  game that’s my favorite one"

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7. Aseena Irving, 2021 [Added to this post on January 24, 2022]
"I’m sitting here tryna figure out when milkshake was turned into a hand game nd why nobody told me 😩🤣"

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ADDENDUM- INFORMATION ABOUT KELIS' "MY MILKSHAKE" RECORD

From   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkshake_(song)
" "Milkshake" is a song by American singer Kelis from her third studio album, Tasty (2003). Written and produced by the Neptunes, the song was originally offered to Britney Spears for her fourth studio album, In the Zone, but was rejected and given to Kelis instead. It was released as the lead single from Tasty in the United States on August 25, 2003, by Star Trak and Arista Records, and internationally on November 24, 2003. According to Kelis, "milkshake" in the song is used as a metaphor for "something that makes women special." The song is noted for its euphemistic chorus and low beat R&B sound.

 "Milkshake" peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 2003, becoming Kelis' highest-charting single to date. Elsewhere, the single topped the charts in the Republic of Ireland and peaked inside the top 10 of the charts in Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. "Milkshake" was certified Gold in the United States, where it has sold 883,000 paid downloads. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2004.

Background

"Milkshake" was written and produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, known collectively as the Neptunes. The song was conceived when Tasty was chosen as the album's title.[1] When making the song, Kelis "knew right away that it was a really good song", and she wanted it to be the album's first single.[2] Recording sessions took place at Hovercraft Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[3] Phil Tan mixed the recordings at Right Track Studios in New York City.[3]

When asked about the meaning of the song, Kelis told The Observer that "It means whatever people want it to; it was just a word we came up with on a whim, but then the song took on a life of its own."[4] However, in an interview with the Associated Press, she likened one's milkshake to one's self-confidence: "A milkshake is the thing that makes women special. It's what gives us our confidence and what makes us exciting."

[…]

Music video

The music video for "Milkshake" was directed by Jake Nava.[42] In the video, Kelis enters a diner called Tasty's Yard. She dances suggestively, and puts her lips around a cherry, which causes a mother to cover her child's eyes. A cook, played by rapper Nas, starts delivering milkshakes to the customers while Kelis dances. A milkshake machine then starts spurting milkshake all over the customers, and more and more people enter the "yard".[7] FHM named the music video the 73rd sexiest music video by a female performer of all time and commented: "Here she's backed up by a posse of dancers wearing tiny diner uniforms. The way she sucks a milkshake and bites a cherry is just unfairly sexy", and said that the best part is when Kelis demonstrates a "perfect bending-over-oven technique".[43]

Usage in media

The song was featured several television series and films including The Simpsons episode "The Great Simpsina", Family Guy episode "Sibling Rivalry", Jane the Virgin, South Park episode "Hummels & Heroin", The Glee Project, Nip/Tuck, Mean Girls, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, King's Ransom, The Big Short, Date Movie, 2 Broke Girls, Norbit and Identity Thief.”…
-snip-
WARNING- "My milkshake" may refer to a woman's sex appeal.. However, some articles suggest that "milkshake" in Kelis' record is a euphemism for a woman's "boobs" or something else that some people may consider to be vulgar.

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzSgz3R8oso&ab_channel=olleze69 for the sound file for this record. I chose not to provide a hyperlink to the official video of this record since (as the Wikipedia write up indicates) it is rather sexually suggestive.

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