tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post2644455717056757134..comments2024-03-29T05:26:28.491-04:00Comments on pancocojams: 1980s New York Times Article About African American & Hispanic Girls Performing Foot Stomping Cheers In Brooklyn, New YorkAzizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-33490627008622431022016-06-03T12:13:16.770-04:002016-06-03T12:13:16.770-04:00With regard to the phrase "light and lovely&q...With regard to the phrase "light and lovely"- this may have been a play on the hair care brand name "Dark And Lovely". Those hair care products are mostly marketed to African Americans, but Hispanic girls in New York City would have certainly heard of them. <br /><br />The word "dark" in those hair care products refer to skin color. The word "light" in that cheer might also refer to skin color or might have just been an instance of alliteration without and intended skin color put down.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-23381830329070964572016-06-03T12:10:03.853-04:002016-06-03T12:10:03.853-04:00This 1980s New York Times article on sidewalk chee...This 1980s New York Times article on sidewalk cheers ("foot stomping cheers") mentions the following cheers: "Hollywood Goes Angels", "Hollywood Goes Swinging", "Fly Girl", "Luchichu", and "Betty Boop".<br /><br />I've directly collected examples of "Hollywood Goes Swinging" and "Fly Girl" from Pittsburgh (1980s, 1990s, 2000s). And I've found online examples of these same cheers with those names (or, in the case of "Hollywood Goes Swinging", also cheers with similar names) from various African American communities of those two cheers. I've also found two online examples of "One by one, I'm having fun" although they weren't called "Betty Boop". Those examples are quite risque. Here's one example from<br /><a href="http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=5" rel="nofollow">http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=5</a><br />4-01-2003, 02:10 PM<br />Kisha <br />What about ...<br /><br />1 and 1 we were having some fun in the bedroom, <br />all day and all of the night<br />2 and 2 he pulled off my shoe in the bedroom<br />all day and .....<br />3 by 3 he undressed me in the bedroom<br />all day and....<br />4 by 4 he shut the door in the bedroom<br />all day and....<br />etc.<br />-snip-<br />Comment:<br />4-01-2003<br />candygirl <br />Location: Chicago, Illinois<br />Oh my goodness. This is really taking me back. I swear I didn't know what I was talking about. Well I knew I was talking about sex but it was so innocent.<br />-snip-<br />Another example of that cheer is found in that 2003 discussion whose participants were members of historically Black Greek letter sororities. Given some their comments, I think that most their rhyme memories were from the 1980s.<br />-snip-<br />Notice the screen name "Candy Girl". That article also mentions the New Edition's song "Candy Girl". I collected an example of a foot stomping cheer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was based on that song and had that title. That version of "Candy Girl" includes lyrics from that R&B/Hip Hop record-<br />Group:"Candy Girl, All My World/ Looks so sweet/Special treat"... The soloist then says- This is the way I do the [says dance name]<br />The cheer then returns to the group part in the beginning and the next soloist says "This is the way I do [says a different dance]. <br />This continues until every girl has a turn as the soloist.<br /><br />-snip-<br /><br />The lines "I'm going down...I'm coming up... to mess you up" that are mentioned in the article are found in a number of foot stomping rhymes.<br /><br />The only cheer that I'm not familiar with which was mentioned in this article is the one the girls' made up and titled "Lachichu". By the way, the writer of this article indicated that "The cheer celebrates the girls themselves: "We're light and lovely! Crabby or ugly!" I think that that line might have been meant to be "We're light and lovely! Not crabby and ugly."Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.com