UPROXX Video, July 19, 2009
-snip-
Throughout this video of Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew's Hip Hop rap "All The Way To Heaven" which was released in 1986 are scenes of African American women and men people dancing the Wop.\
-snip-
Hat tip to @aliciaburbank9962, a commenter in discussion thread #1 below, for mentioning this video. Also, hat tip to the other commenters who are quoted in this post who mentioned other 1980s records and other media products that mention or feature scenes of people doing the Wop.
****
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision - June 18, 2026
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series about the 1980s/1990s Hip Hop "Wop" dance.
This post presents selected comments from the discussion threads for two of the YouTube videos on the 1980s "Wop" dance that are showcased in Part I of this series.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/12/examples-from-youtube-of-ways-wop-was.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post showcases two film clips of 1980s footage of the Wop dance. This post also showcases one instructional video of the Wop and one video performance of this dance by a man who remembers it from the 1980s.
The Addendum of that post showcases two TikTok compilations that document some ways that the "Wop" is danced in 2023.,,
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes. I'm particularly interested in documenting the comments that refer to mention of or scenes of people dancing the Wop in 1980s records and in 1980s mass media.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on African American dances with the name "Wop". Click the tag below for other pancocojams posts in this series.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/12/timeline-of-wop-records-significant.html for my editorial comment in the Addendum to that post that presents my theory that the origin of the dance name "Wop" comes from about the word "doo-wop".
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THESE VIDEOS' DISCUSSION THREADS
with numbers added for referencing purposes only
DISCUSSION THREAD #1 - How to Do the Wop | Hip-Hop Dancing
Howcast
Howcast, Sep 22, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzmhNJ4ASbg How to Do Hip-Hop Dance Moves
"Okay. So we got the Wop we're working on now. Another dance from a little back in the day, right? So we're going to start, feet apart, knees bent. The Wop, we're going to just get the groove first. The Wop has an up groove, right? So we're going to accent up. Accent up. Just bending my knees but the stronger motion's up. Up, up, up, up.
Tricky thing is you're arms are opposite. So you go down, arms come up. You go up, arms go down. Swing, like you're swinging a baseball bat, kind of. And, and, and, and you get your head in the game. Boom, boom, boom, boom. You can move your feet. You can step. Step, step, step, step over, and back. Back, and over.
That's the Wop. That's the Wop with a partner you can slap hands. There you go with the Wop. Let's try it with some music.
There you go. Wop it out. Wop it out."
[Comments]
2013
1. @peridot29
"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Thank you. This is the WOP!!!! Can't tell me nothing on the dance floor when I rocking this. Learn young whippersnappers,,,LEARN."
**
2. @jakestarr4442
"yes it is...the wop was a dance move before it was a dance"
**
3. @CalladaTormenta
"Umm yes, it is. That's the wop from the
80's, not the new one with the song that you're thinking of."
**
Reply
4. @TheTruthSayer90, 2021
"is the new song that you think you are
referring to is by J Dash? J Dash also did a wop."
**
Reply
5. @WadeEvansMusic
"aka the vine national anthem dance"
**
6. @mizzkizzy09
"What the hell? This is not the wop!"
**
Reply
7. @broinator2641, 2019
"It's the original wop, not the
"new" wop"
**
Reply
8. @alehiasavage1554, 2021
"Now it’s wap"
**
Reply
9. @unworldlychaos
"It's the real one! If u want Miley's she
did a different thing I bet"
**
10. @funktavious
"Finally somebody showing people how to do the real wop. All these commenters saying that this isn't
the wop needs to do some research. This
is the wop. The new dance that everybody
else is doing goes by the same name but is not the original"
****
2014
11. @rb7007
"This is the Old Skool Wop, seen in Bell Biv Devoe, Bobby Brown, Salt n Pepa videos.. (not that twerking cr@p they do today) Lol!
Loved this dance back in the day.
Anyone remember the reverse wop we used to do in the Raves in the UK? Really speeded up,...it was hilarious!
Great memories."
**
12. @HarkeningGodsVoice
"Thank you for doing the "real" wop..not that new song that the kids today think it is. Just like when those Harlem shake vids went viral and everyone forgot that an actual Harlem shake move had long since existed!"
**
Reply
13. @54mensababe, 2015
"+HarkeningGodsVoice I feel you on tat one. The original Harlem Shake had class and style and not just a bunch of jumping around."
****
2015
14. @painlessrisen9787
"this is the ORIGINAL Wop"
**
Reply
15. @54mensababe
"+painlessrisen For real. I don't know what those other Wop
videos are all about. smh"
**
16. @NoHippieBBQCooking
"46 years old.. My generation knows this dance.. You nailed it.. Even got the hand on the hip at the end.. If people aren't older than lets say 42 they can't really understand"
**
Reply
17. @majikle
"+No Hippie BBQ & Cooking exactly - these young cats think this "wop, wop, wop, wop" ish... is the real wop... they need to learn somethin' lol"
**
18. @enluv2
"That is not the DC Wop from the 80s. I don't know where these people are getting their dance lessons from. What's missing is moving her hips. It was with a jelly roll, front to the back. It was a work out and it was fun. 1983 was the year so many iconic dances from back in the day came out. Backin the day, we would do the Snake and could drop to the ground and come back up in one smooth move-. The Michael Jackson. The Smurf. The Cabbage Patch. The Wop. It was great."
**
Reply
19. @54mensababe
"+enluv2 This is the way we were doing the Wop in DC in the 70's. North East side."
-snip-
Notice this commenter wrote "the 70s". This is the first time I've come across any reference to the "Wop" in the 1970s. I wonder if this is a typo and that commenter meant to write "the 80s".
**
20. @scoobydoo6330
"Ah the 80's if you wasn't born or live this decade this was a dance that we use to do back then whether it was at a house parties or a club I use to it do it now go or learn how to do this dance move much memories long live the 80's"
**
Reply
21. @sandramayes8679, 2023
"Since you brought up house parties, that's where I first saw this dance, was on House Party... Sydney and Sharane was doing it, I'll never forget that, lol"
****
2016
****
2017
22. @rogercobbs4297
"what was name of the wop song from 80s"
**
Reply
23. @macben3266
"Roger Cobbs woppit by B Fats"
**
24. @ivargas220iv
"Thank you so much. Too many of today's kids do it different and I just can't with that.....thank you for keeping it old school"
**
25. @PPikes
"wop is a derogatory term for Italians,
I've always been leery of saying this lols! but this is dance from my childhood"
****
2018
26. @shartricboyd9197
"This the REAL WOP!! '86!"
**
27. @aliciaburbank9962
"I know she did this a while ago but it really brings back memories. Not sure about the negative comments but i usually see these when ppl don't know their history. Please check out Doug e Fresh's "all the way to heaven" video if you're confused. You're welcome."
****
2019
28. @rachellemcadams1438
"Back in the day we called this one the NY wop because there was a different variation called the DC wop."
**
Reply
29. @tatum8499, 2022
"Brings back memories from DC gogo"
**
30. @xavierwilliams2228
"Didnt vanessa do this on the Cosby show intro?"
**
Reply
31. @RoyalGrean, 2020
"And the sister on Coming to America"
****
2020
32. @alexandernegron3128
"Wop Wop Wop Wop dont stop
Right first put yo left hand on top
WOP WOP WOP WOP 🕺"
**
33. @christmasdevil6415
"I looked up wap now I'm here"
**
34. @maren5056
"ah this is what the WAP comes from
only gen z will know what I mean"
**
35. @gracehuynh_
"Gen Z be like "I thought it said wap not wop"
36.
"I didn’t come here looking for the WAP
dance..."
**
37. @MarisaXO
"Anyone else look this up due to watching rainbow do the wop
on mixed-ish? 😅"
**
38. @Charmedsas1
"1st time I saw the wop was on a different world when I
watched it a few years ago.
I'm not from the us😄
Who's here from 2020?"
**
39. @ninamaechen3142
"I said WAP not WOP 😂🤦🏻♀️"
**
40. @ryanilagan3
"I came for the WAP 😏. This ain't
it tho"
****
2021
41. @curtiswhiteheadjr1322
"I was there in ‘86 when B Fats dropped this joint with his dance. Thank you, Queen for respectfully representing. ✊🏽💯"
**
42. @MrBones2020
"OG wap right there"
**
43. @chucku.1745
"These kids don't know hip-hop culture. History repeats
itself."
****
2022
44. @PatinaEdochie
"Righttt that oldschool 80s/90s WOP I knew in childhood 🔥"
45. @troystewart2909
"80' teens know the real Wop and Harlem Shake. Memories at the skating rink .... (sigh)"
****
2023
46. @geterdone2023
"She ain't doing it hard enough you suppose to break yo neck."
**
47. @angelam.haigler9695
"Best tutorial I've seen of this. Great job! I was there when it originated, lol."
**
48. @colt45northtexas
"Are the Beastie boys known to do this?"
**
Reply
49. @dbspaceoditty
"im literally here because i just listend
to intergalactic like
"he didnt just say what i think he did, no way, wanna watch beastie boys do the wop just like i did" "
****
50. @merledixon6674
"This always reminds me of intergalactic by beastie boys!
"I've been known to do The Wop!" "
**
51. @frederickcohen955
"Yeah you Wopping, but
slow down Ma you gotta finesse it. Real
B Boys/Girls had a smooth cool flow..
They actually had a record called" Woppit" by B Fats when that dance hit the scene.. Original B Boy"
****
DISCUSSION THREAD #2: "Tony - The Wop, The Cabbage Patch & The Prep"
published by DJ Tony Vito, Apr 20, 2007
Yes, that's me, kickin' old school moves .... 80's lives
on! The third step in this video is a
dance we used to call the Raindance at Bentleys on 40th and Madison; I've since found out that it is better known
as The Prep.
[Comments]
2007
1. @avp0713
"the video is a split-second ahead of the audio... but
you get the idea..."
****
2008
****
2009
2. @Tallcocoa
"That was so smooth! You took me back on the dance floor 1990
kick'n it with you!"
****
2010
3. @kenswift12345
"Love the prep moves. Brings me back to my youth!"
**
4. @SMC799
"Honey, I'm 40 and grew up in NY and we did those dances and
they were FUN! You did your thang! Loved it!"
**
5. @mookeychase0907
"LOL,Dats right Tone bring dat 80s ish back homeboy!"
**
6. @chakalh2
"what the name this song ?? please"
**
7. @avp0713
"@chakalh2 - POISON by
Bell, Biv, Devoe"
**
8. @peridot29
"Great....Rep the OLD School... or should I say, "OLD
SKOOL!!!"
**
9.@missVeemack
"@avp0713 oh your not white? Well on this video you look
white. Deosnt matter though your old school moves are on point."
Reply
10. @avp0713
"@kingsphatgirl -
white? ok, well I guess if Obama's
white, then i'm white too, thanks though."
**
Reply
11. @avp0713, 2012
"@gigga143 - People tend to forget that black people come in
sooooo many shades.... my little brother doesn't even had a dark or olive skin
tone at all.. my sister is white color with light blue eyes.... do we actually
need to wear a sign that says "WE ARE BLACK TOO" "..
-snip-
The comment that @avp0713 responded to is no longer part of this discussion thread (as of Dec. 6, 2023 if not before then.)
****
2011
12. @Afrodesiahhh
"Hey...not many can bust out this little known move. You can
Prep almost as good as me! Down South we
added a sweet little move to it though...maybe I'll post a vid doin' the do
with the complete choreography ; ) Your
wop...priceless."
**
13. @mothball50
"But can you do the smurf, robocop, and gallop? I was diggin
the wop btw. It was big in Cali."
**
14. @phinchy007
"THAT WAS FUNNY......GREAT JOB. THE PREP WAS MY DANCE......"
****
2012
15. @avp0713
"@rinny02852 - Yes I've seen the "new" whop and I
can bust that out too. I put up all
these old school dances a few years ago, but I do all the new dances
too... Sometimes when I DJ I have to get
out there and break it down for the audience.... lol.
We had so much fun doing the wop; there were a few different ways to do it."
**
16. @brooklynbaby2100
"I remember when my older brother taught me how to do this when I was still in Brooklyn I hate the new wop and Im only 16
****
2013
****
2014
17. @HarkeningGodsVoice
"Thank you for doing the "real" wop..not that new
song that the kids today think it is.
Just like when those Harlem shake vids went viral and everyone forgot
that an actual Harlem shake move had long since existed!"
**
18. @royaldigitalmedia
"Where's the wop?"
**
Reply
19, @avp0713
":33 to :55 but that is the '80s WOP. They came out with THE WOP again in like
2008, but it's a sequence of steps. I
can do that one also, but this vid is about
'80s throwback dance moves."
****
2015
20. @NoHippieBBQCooking
"46 years old.. My generation knows this dance.. You nailed
it.. Even got the hand on the hip at the end.. If people aren't older than lets
say 42 they can't really understand"
****
2016
****
2017
21. @creativequeen8371
"Thank you, Tony! This PROPER instruction on how to do the
wop and those other brilliant old skool moves I try and buss (ailments allowing
lol) in my house or when out with my equally old skool friends, just for the
sake of old times. Not seen but one video that comes close to this. I love the
wop move where you make a fist and throw you hand up, really slow, behind your
head and bring it back down through the air slowly, but with force, eyes shut -
to really show you are feeling the
music. Now THAT'S old skool. Love it!"
Reply
"Thank you so much. Too many of today's kids do it different
and I just can't with that.....thank you for keeping it old school"
**
23. @ofudgems
"Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy that's what I'm talkin' 'bout right there!
Yeah, those were the days man! Respect!"
****
2018
24. @zippieslugdelafluor9038
"Man...I could wop with the best of them back in the day. I
still dig that one out when I dance. None of that twerking for me. Lol"
****
2019
****
2020
25. @leorionj
"Finally, the only video I found of the cabbage
patch being done CORRECTLY! Get it, Tony!"
****
This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
