Shariff Hasan and Donovan Leitch partner up to take the Jerkin Movement mainstream with Viacom...

Donovan Leitch has played an essential role in the historic growth of the viral video culture known as the "Jerkin Movement".

The Jerkin Movement has took me to some amazing places..

Salute To BMI's BET Awards Nominees
06/25/2010 - Philippe Chow
Los Angeles, CA United States

Jerkin Can Prepare Your Country for the 21st Century.

The Jerkin Movement is the first time in history where dance, music, fashion, collaborative groups (Jerk Crewz), entrepreneurship, and technology have been fused together to create a culture/lifestyle that has swept across the United States and is now global. The name “The Jerkin Movement” has already begun to evolve into “The Skinny Jeanz Movement”. The New Boyz, YG, Cali Swagg District, The Ranger$, etc. went from doing Jerk songs to now performing more mainstream music. This shift of making the music more mainstream has broadened the audience to be more about skinny jeanz fashion, entrepreneurship, and the desire to be positive in sometimes hostile environments and less about Jerkin the dance craze.

The generation that grew up with Gangsta Rap culture did not see a lot of changes in fashion, music, and imagery in almost a 20 year period. For kids who grew up in the age of personal websites, social networks, and software, the idea and the culture of upgrading, change, and new capabilities are not only familiar to today’s teenager but a way of life. Looking at The Jerk Movement with a new lens, you can clearly see that the seeds of this movement are exactly what I previous stated: dance, music, fashion, collaborative groups (Jerk Crewz), entrepreneurship, and technology.

This fusion has made its way into every single city in the United States; from the high school kids mimicking their peers/crewz (Team Dummy, UCLA Jerk Kings, Kream Kidz, and The Ranger$) all the way to elementary school kids in 5th grade dressing in their own individualistic way, using technology to engage their imagery on social networks, and looking to monetize their social network for profit based opportunities. If you are reading this from another country it may seem bizarre that 10 and 11 year olds are looking for ways to monetize their personalities through technology but, when you live in an amazing country like America, even the youngest in our society are dreamers of what they can contribute in the world.

The unifying relationships of all the elements that came together to form this culture came about organically. What I was able to do was to categorize, organize, and develop a compelling narrative to engage and monetize this organic society in the private sector (mostly with media conglomerates) here in North America. A simple way of looking at the potential affects of this movement, we are at this time calling “Jerkin”, is to see the growth and affect of Gangsta Rap culture internationally. One could make the argument that Gangsta Rap was the soundtrack or anthem for the street drug business (crack and cocaine).

Gangsta Rap created heroes out of individuals law enforcement considered to be drug offenders and gang members while simultaneously creating a legal multi-billion dollar enterprise producing hundreds of millionaires globally. The Jerkin Movement doesn’t have a soundtrack or anthem because the participants in The Movement are the artists themselves and, for them, music was a byproduct of their want to expand their self-expression through their social networks.

The Jerking Movement can go anywhere in the world where Hip Hop has made an impact and give the youth of a given geographical setting a blueprint for expanding their perception of Hip Hop into a mindset more conducive to operating and having success in the 21st century. In closing, when thinking about rebuilding your nation from the grassroots level, the fusion of dance, music, fashion, collaborative groups (Jerk Crewz), entrepreneurship, and technology should be taken into account as a primary investment opportunity to educate and direct the next generation needing to develop the skill sets necessary to compete in the Conceptual Age and global economy.

I'm a Social Entrepreneur, New Boyz is a Rap Group, We created the concept called "TheJerkin Movement"

Every motivation has a seed, just like an apple tree. Many people wonder what motivates my involvement in The Jerkin Movement. In my opinion, my motivation should be similar to every entrepreneur in North America: global engagement and global responsibility for others. If you turn the history book back to 2001 you would see China’s joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). For those of you who don’t know, the WTO is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations. China’s joining in late 2001was the culmination of the agreement of the world’s greatest powers to abide by the same rules regarding the trade of goods and services.

My family members are very active participants in academic society, yet I was a terrible student in school (K-12). When most people think of trends and social movements they usually associate them with an occurrence happening on a grassroots level, but in reality, most trends and social causes start at the academic public policy making level and trickle their way down to the grassroots level where everyday people educate the media, which in turn educates the masses. For example, when China joined the WTO it completely changed the way business and, in the case of this blog, North America function on a global level. It allowed producers of physical materials (clothes, toys, furniture, etc.) to outsource the manufacturing for literally pennies on the dollar. China has a unique relationship with its workforce where they are able to inspire them to work for the lowest wages of manufacturing in the world. Kudos to China, I guess.

The high majority of laborers (people who work everyday) in the United States attribute the struggling economy to a bad 8 years of Bush in the White House and a real estate bust which has led to hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. Many economists would beg to differ. If you sat down with one, more than likely they would tell you that North America is going through a period of economic transformation/reconstruction. The seed level of the masses’ adaptation to the mindset of transformation was manifested last year in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. But, the horn of economic transformation sounded off 9 years ago, and is becoming louder every year.

I felt the vibrations of this horn in 2004, which inspired me to spend the next 2 years of my life researching and traveling the international markets trying to achieve a self-education about the global markets and my place within it on a grassroots level. As I traveled and became more educated about what was happening in the world business-wise, specifically in areas like China, India, Middle East, and some of Africa, the anxiety of seeing the potential that many of my fellow Americans could be left behind turned my motivations of entrepreneurship into a passion and call to action of social entrepreneurship. Wikipedia defines a social entrepreneur as someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change . The question I posed to myself as a social entrepreneur was: “How could I bring about awareness to this dire issue our country is currently facing?”

I took it upon myself to collaborate with family member to design a learning method/curriculum to stimulate a learning culture and collaborative work environment with kids, parents, and teachers in Los Angeles Unified Schools. For more information about my curriculum, Google: Shariff Hasan “Home and Community”. In the curriculum I was able to take very complicated economic ideas about what the workforce should look like in the 21^st century and, through collaborating with academics, we were able to create a classroom structure/environment that allowed the young students to learn how to educate themselves using technology and imagination. Oddly enough, many of the students had their own mini-entrepreneurial ventures, mainly focused on their ability to create music on their laptops and promote themselves through social network sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This interaction with the students motivated me to do more online research about the teenage social networking music scene. Being a filmmaker who previously released a teen film called “American High School”, I saw another opportunity in the teen genre to do a narrative around this teenage entrepreneurial movement, fueled by technology, I saw in Los Angeles inner city schools.

One day, I received a friend request on MySpace from an online music group called “New Boyz”. They introduced me to the teenage dance culture which recently made its way online through viral videos produced by the dancers. This was when I decided to combine the teenage entrepreneurship movement I had already been documenting with the New Boyz and other artists representing this positive entrepreneurial ideology. “The Jerk” was a dance and “Jerkin” was the way teens described an exciting occurrence (no pun intended). The concept of the story of “The Jerkin Movement" with the New Boyz as the focus was something I presented to the New Boyz, their parents, and current management. At the time, there were many more popular teenage artists online recording songs about the Jerk dance (such as YG, Tayf3rd, Vixens, etc.) but for me, the New Boyz, Earl Benjamin and Dominic Thomas, were classy and charismatic young men I wanted to promote to the masses as leaders to help bring the social awareness of economic opportunities through technology in the 21^st century.

Over the last year, The Movement has grown exponentially around the world, which has resulted in my doing 2 feature film deals; one is an independent comedy entitled “The Function” and the other, a dance film being develop by a studio and produced by the same company responsible for dance hits like “You Got Served” (Google: “Jerkin the Movie” for more details). Now that The Jerkin Movement has reached international proportions, my focus of social entrepreneurship has now extended around the world and I am looking to educate the world’s youth about the opportunities existing through technology, self-expression, and out of the box creativity through curriculum, movies, TV shows, blogs, seminars, and public speaking. There are so many success stories around the world about teenagers who have become famous and profitable through the social network of The Jerkin Movement. Hopefully, this blog outlined my seed motivations for my involvement and promotion of The Jerkin Movement internationally.

Teenagers are Going LoOney TuneZ over The Jerkin Movement in Germany!!!

Germany has been a top selling Hip Hop market and now they have The Jerkin Movement.
Shariff: How old are you and where do you live?

LoOney TuneZ: We're all about 16-18 years old and live in germany/stuttgart.


Shariff: How did you first hear about Jerkin?

LoOney TuneZ: The reason were the GGPRangers, we saw them in youtube and so we started with jerkin in germany.


Shariff: Are the” New Boyz” being played on your local radio stations?
LoOney TuneZ: No, i don't think so. Never heard them on our local radio stations.

Shariff: What is the name of your Crew? Who are the members? How did you come together as a Crew?

LoOney TuneZ: The name of our Crew is ' LoOney TuneZ '. The members are Philipp Lucius (Stuntman), Jordan Williams (Skinny), Tomislav Husic (Iron), Ahmed Al Timimi (Eddy). Jordan knew Eddy since he came here, they played soccer together and than Jordan met Phillip in a Disco and they seen each other jerkin and Jordan said to Philipp "Let's make a Crew" and Philipp said he has another friend (Tomislav) that knows how to jerk, too. Jordan had a friend that can jerk also.

Shariff: Did you wear Skinny Jeanz before you started Jerkin?

LoOney TuneZ: No we didn't, because we use to wear baggy jeans.


Shariff: When did you make your first Jerk video?

LoOney TuneZ: 2-3 months ago.


Shariff: What was the most difficult dance step to learn? How long did it take to learn it?

LoOney TuneZ: The most difficult dance step was the "Dougie". It took 2 weeks.


Shariff: Who is your favorite Jerk artist and why?

LoOney TuneZ: The Rangers. We like their flow and style.


Shariff: What is your favorite Jerk song?

LoOney TuneZ: The Rangers - I'm Feelin Myself


Shariff: What are the top 5 songs on your iPod?

LoOney TuneZ: 1. The Rangers - I'm Feelin Myself
2. The Rangers - Go Hard
3. Faze - Bang Like A Drum
4. Young Sam ft J-Nasty - Tear dat up
5. Swag Kids - I'm A Nerd

Shariff: Did you know there is a movie coming out about Jerkin?

LoOney TuneZ: We heard about it on youtube, so we're excited to see the movie.


Shariff: How would you describe your Swagg?

LoOney TuneZ: Our Swagg is sick.


Shariff: How big is Jerkin in your neighborhood? Who was the first person you saw Jerkin in your neighborhood and how did they find out about it?

LoOney TuneZ: In our neighborhood is nobody jerkin except for us. The first people we saw in our neighborhood jerkin was JMG Ent.


Shariff: What do your friends say when they see you Jerkin?

LoOney TuneZ: They like it.


Shariff: Have you ever been to the United States?

LoOney TuneZ: No we haven't, but we want to.


Shariff: Is there anyone you would like to give a Shout Out to?

LoOney TuneZ: We will like to give a shout out to The Rangers and our fans that keep supportin us.

The Jerkin Movement has OFFICIALLY made its way to the UK, ushered in by "Supah Koopas" Jerk Crew

Fil Fil of Supah Koopas explains how they are the only Jerkin Crew in their neighborhood representing The Movement.

Who has more Swagg? French or UK Jerkers?

Shariff: How old are you and where do you live?

Fil Fil of Supah Koopas: Swagg JR is 17, Fil Fil is 16 and Drey is 15. We all live in West London.

Shariff: How did you first hear about Jerkin?

Fil Fil: When New Boyz - You're a Jerk came out.

Shariff: Are the” New Boyz” being played on your local radio stations?

Fil Fil: Yes, but not a lot.

Shariff: What is the name of your Crew? Who are the members? How did you come together as a Crew?

Fil Fil: The name of the crew is Supah Koopas; the members are Swagg JR, Fil Fil and Drey. My self Fil Fil and Drey started saw a jerkin video such us "Jerkin in Jerkville" from the Ranger$. And then we started to recruit people, from there my self Fil Fil and Drey thought to make a jerkin crew to rep U.K.


Shariff: Did you wear Skinny Jeanz before you started Jerkin?

Fil Fil: No we didn't, because we use to wear baggy jeans.


Shariff: When did you make your first Jerk video?

Fil Fil: 4 -5 months ago.


Shariff: What was the most difficult dance step to learn? How long did it take to learn it?

Fil Fil: The most difficult dance step was the pin drop, this was because we were not confident to drop and we also felt like we had no control of our selves when we were dropping.


Shariff: Who is your favorite Jerk artist and why?

Fil Fil: Cliff Savage, because of his creativity and flow.


Shariff: What is your favorite Jerk song?

Fil Fil: At the moment our favorite Jerkin tune is Cliff Savage - It's Nothing.


Shariff: What are the top 5 songs on your iPod?

Fil Fil: On our iPods our top 5 songs are. Omarion - I Get It In, Ranger$ - Im Felling My Self, Rockstar - LA City, Drake - Find Your Love, Cliff Savage - It's Nothing.

Shariff: Did you know there is a movie coming out about Jerkin?

Fil Fil: Yes, We found out a few months ago and now we cant wait to see it.


Shariff: How would you describe your Swagg?

Fil Fil: Creative, Unique and Fitted.


Shariff: How big is Jerkin in your neighborhood? Who was the first person you saw Jerkin in your neighborhood and how did they find out about it?

Fil Fil: No one Jerks in our neighborhood. We were are the first people to jerk on our neighborhood.


Shariff: What do your friends say when they see you Jerkin?

Fil Fil: Some people admire and some people hate.


Shariff: Have you ever been to the United States?

Fil Fil: No, but we are planning to go next year in 2011.


Shariff: Is there anyone you would like to give a Shout Out to?
Fil Fil: We will like to give a shout out to V.A.S, Simz, Cee K and all the people that are supporting us on the Jerkin movement.

Jerkin Movement, Social Entrepreneurhip....Same Thing!!

The Jerkin Movement is the fastest growing model of social entrepreneurship and the Jerkin business model is quite simple. It centers on taking the positive aspects of your self and turning them into a brand while working within a group called a “crew” to promote a collective brand all through social networking on/offline.

Wikipedia defines a social entrepreneur as “someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change”.
Jerkin and social entrepreneurship are synonymous based on Wikipedia’s definition.

Young kids deciding to focus on their positive attributes and turning them into brands is a direct result of The Jerkin Movement’s impact on internet savvy teenagers.