The ‘Harlem Shake’ is a YouTube meme which lasts between 30 and 60 seconds and feature the song “Harlem Shake” by electronic musician Baauer. Usually, the video begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by people not paying attention or unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video cuts to the entire crowd doing something crazy for the next 15 seconds. For a prime example, check out UBC’s Harlem Shake.
A lot of people across the lower mainland have been submitting their own versions of the Harlem Shake, which of course are designed to serve a humorous purpose, but the irony behind the two different “Surrey Harlem Shake’s” is something you can’t take lightly.
Mayor Dianne Watts and her entire team have done an amazing job with city of Surrey and cleaning it’s reputation but due to the on going gang violence, the reputation continues to collapse. Last month a local clothing designer began selling parody shirts with slogans such as “Surrey – the future dies here” which were ironically a hit.
Surrey is a booming city and offers a variety of great neighborhoods and public parks, but with everything aside, it makes us wonder, is the city’s reputation in jeopardy?
Written by: Sean Bassi
