History

The Harlem shake is a dance that originally began in Harlem, New York, in 1981.^[1] Since its beginnings it has spread to other urban areas and became popular in music videos. The self-purported inventor of the dance was "Al B", a Harlem resident.^[2] Because of its founder, the dance was originally called the "albee" in Rucker and Harlem, but then later became known as the Harlem shake.^[3]
Al B is quoted saying that the dance is "a drunken shake anyway, it's an alcoholic shake, but it's fantastic, everybody appreciates it." He said it comes from the ancient Egyptians and describes it as what the mummies used to do.^[3] Because they were all wrapped up, they couldn’t really move, all they could do was shake.^[4][5] Al B states that he has been doing the Harlem shake since 1981. The dance first caught on at the Entertainer's Basketball Classic or EBC and spread from there to other areas.^[3]