Eight Videos Of African American Drill Teams & Drumlines From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2006-2015)

zayre85, Nov 5, 2006
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"PSS" = Philly Sophisticated Steppers

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases eight YouTube videos of African American drill teams with drumlines from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These videos

from 2006 to 2015 and are just a small sample of  videos of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania drill teams with drumlines that I found on YouTube.

This pancocojams post also includes comments from some of these videos' discussion threads.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in this post and thanks to all people past and present who were/are  associated with parade style drill teams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. 

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This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about African American drill teams.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/04/five-videos-of-early-1990s-african.html Five Videos Of Early 1990s African American Children & Youth Parade Drill Teams (Seattle, Washington)  for another post in this pancocojams series.

Also, click the tab below or Google pancocojams: African American church drill teams to find other pancocojams posts on this subject.
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Some of these groups and some commenters refer to themselves as "steppers". One YouTube video that isn't included in this post refers to the drill team's movements as "step dance". I believe that's a good referent for most of the drill routines that are shown in these showcase videos. 

I'd love to know if these showcased drill teams/drumlines are still active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and/or if Philadelphia has other active drill teams and drumlines in the city as a whole or in different neighborhoods of that city. 

Please share any information that you know about this subject in the comment section below. 

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR SHOWCASE VIDEO #1
WARNING- These comments are part of bragging and/or insulting exchanges between members of or supporters of different Philadelphia drill teams. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

1. Robert Cole, 2006
"Why are  yall playin our beat knowin yall are not good

L>O>G>A>N"
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Two video clips of Logan's drumline are given as Video #2 & Video #3 in this pancocojams post.

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2. Don Travers 3, 2008
"IF YALL GONNA START WIT DAT BEAT ATLEAST

DO SOMTHIN DECENT 2 IT..

..224 ALL DAY(we may be gone but the stepz r still fire)"

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3. Art J, 2009
"ctfu,@loganquint, cause actullay this type off stuff, came from logan, so basically they doin yall style, yall should be happy ppl wanna be like yall, nd @mya03091, if conestoga aint better than yall, why did they win 1st plce at the last competition??"
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The comments attributed to loganquint and to mya03091 are either no longer found in video's that discussion thread or the commenters changed their names. 

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4. Travis Scott, 2013
"it took me 6 yrs to comment on this. and for six yrs yall hating asses been hating! so ima sum it up like this. we came, we saw, we conquered! we was young as hell doing our thing. nothing positive to say outta ya philly teams mouths. n that's what made pss (PHILLY SOPHISSSSSSSTTICATED STEPPERS!) different. YOU SAY THEY AINT SH-T* , COME TO AMA, YALL PLAYING OUR BEATS. NOW LET ME SAY WE DID COME TO AMA N BEAT COMPETITIONS, 1ST,2ND,OR 3RD. CONSTANTLY WALKED AWAY WITH TROPHIES N AS FOR OUR DRUMMERS
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*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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ADDITIONAL SHOWCASE VIDEOS (with comments from some of the discussion threads for these videos) 
These videos are given in chronological order based on their publishing date. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - logan drummers 3

Scubieglp, Mar 23, 2007

07' 3rd qualifier at sharon hill

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - Youth of East Logan 2008 Championship

Lilbambam1, Apr 27, 2008

Drillin
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Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1. Don Travers 3, 2008
"Logan Yall Deff Did Shut It Down Real Wrap...I Miss 224."

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2. Akeela Bolling, 2012
"I miss mrs harriet and mr. jack.  but now they are dancing more in the drill team I like there new change of syle"
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Example #5 in this pancocojams post showcases a video of the Post #224 drill team.
 
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #4 - ICONIK 2011

mothertracey1, May 10, 2011

Iconik @ 224 day May 7 2011

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5 - Post 224 Drill Team is Back!!!

SDH Fitness, Jul 16, 2012  #224

The Open Squad Of Post #224 !
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Here's a comment from this video's discussion thread that includes the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania slang word "jawn" that is an an all encompassing substitute for any person, place, or thing:

andrew wallace, 2012
"We chopped that jawn watch out cause there is more to come !!!!!!"
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Here's an excerpt of a page with no date that contains information about the history and the staff of post #224 drill team: https://post224.angelfire.com/staff.html
..."FOUNDER-MARK "SHARK" WILLIAMS
Mark a.k.a "Mark Shark"is the founder of Post 224. Without a great thinking mind like his, none of this would be possible. Mr.Mark with his military background and love for kids, founded Post 224 Drill team. His mother would run thinngs while he was away in Iraq on military leave. He was one of the people the team has needed in the worst of times. Mark Shark is very dedicated to the team and would do anything to keep the name of Post 224 alive.

DIRECTOR-JACKIE WILLIAMS

Ms.Jackie Williams has carried post 224 on her back for more then seventeen years. She has done things like fed the team, sheltered, and defended them when it got rough. She was even a guardian to two members of the team.

DRUM INSTRUCTOR-DARRYL "D-MONEY" ALEXANDER

Darryl "D-money" Alexander is the one who organizes the drum line. Darryl was a drummer himself so he knew almost every aspect of the sport. Darrly was the first person in drill history to start a young drumline. Everybody looked at him like he was crazy, but when it all came down to it, he had one of the top drumlines in the A.M.A league, Darryl has tooken the A.M.A league to another level. He took a bunch of dedicated kids and made them champions.

DRILL INSTRUCTOR-JENNIE "POOH" SLEDGE ALEXANDER

Jennie "Pooh" Sledge is the one who get the steppers organized. She is the wife of Darryl Alexander so they both kind of keep it in the family. Jennie has been with the drill team since the beginnning. She has been around drill teams her who life, so she knows every aspect also."...

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SHOWCASE VIDEO  #6 -Conestoga Angels Drill Team from West Philly

Bria James, May 26, 2013

Conestoga Angels from West Philly came to 224 post day and did their thing. They were the talk of the day. 11 minutes worth watching, they killed it all the way thru

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #7 -The North Philly Footstompers Invade
The Skorpion Show BBQ

theskorpionshow, Aug 20, 2013
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Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1. Clacci38, 2013
"I LOVE our city drill teams...jus to hear the drums around my way reminds me that these kids are about something, and dedicated to being better. Saves them from running the streets, go in Philly!"

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2. Luv2Game, 2013
"Do they just come out of nowhere and perform on the streets like this? Looks fun!! :)"

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3. Kareem Nesbitt, 2013
"Love it! reminds me of my old block parties in Queens, NY back in the early 90's"

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4. Mary, 2013
"The drum line in on point!"

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5. Kelly Nicole,2013
"This takes me back to my childhood I miss stepping"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #8-- Philadelphia PA LABOR DAY PARADE 2015 DRILL TAEM CHALLENGE

James L. Dennis Jr., Sep 16, 2015

This year I was little late for the Parade, but on time for the Drill Team Challenge. I'm sure you will enjoy the Video as much as I enjoyed taping it
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Here are all of the comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1. Lori Smith, 2016
"Man this bring me back lol ima royal eire ave bangers lol ask about us blue an red lol"

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2. Sincerely Lema, 2022
"Lol it does! I was on Conestoga Angels!"

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3. officiallymoe, 2016
"i was i one of the drill teams there royal legacy"

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4. Melinda McCree,2022
"Where is the real drill team? Youth o East Logan."

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