Examples Of Stomp & Shake Cheerleading Cheers, Part I (A - H)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision of the preface to this compilation - July 5, 2017

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series that documents some text examples (words) of stomp & shake cheerleading cheers.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT STOMP & SHAKE CHEERLEADING
"Stomp & shake cheerleading" is a referent for a relatively new form of African American originated style of cheerleading for football games or for basketball games. The earliest date that I've found for stomp & shake cheerleading is the early to mid 1970s. (as cited in https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/overview-of-stomp-shake-cheerleading.html).

Stomp & shake cheerleading is particularly known among African Americans from middle school through university levels in Virginia and North Carolina. University squads perform these cheers on the sidelines of football or basketball games and during half-time of those games. High school and younger squads perform either standing on the sidelines during football games, or while seated or standing in the bleachers during basketball games. Stomp & shake cheers are performed by two squads who face off prior to the competitive games in a "cheer battle". In addition, stomp & shake cheer are performed during cheer competitions and at non-competitive performance events that aren't associated with any athletic games.

Stomp & shake cheerleading focuses on the group performance of choreographed percussive, rhythmic foot stomping, (individual) hand clapping, African American social dance moves and some signature moves such as "upstomps" and "jiggapop" that may have been created or adapted for stomp & shake cheerleading. These body movements are often but not always accompanied by the cheer squad's performance of self-bragging and/or competitor insulting/taunting (mostly) unison chanting. Like mainstream cheerleading, the purpose of the cheer squad is to increase the enthusiasm of event attendees. Fans of these styles of cheerleading get "hyped" by the squads' performance moves and by their often confrontational cheers. Almost all stomp & shake cheers are self-bragging and/or insult/taunting compositions with the squad itself rather than their athletic team being the subject of the brags and the opposing cheerleader squad rather than the opposing athletic team being the target of the insult/taunting. However, some stomp & shake cheers-particularly basketball stomp & shake cheers such as "Shoot For Two" -focus on the actual game itself and not the cheerleaders. One feature of stomp & shake cheerleading is that the cheerleaders deepen their voices to increase the probability that the cheers would be heard in the football stadium or basketball gym. However, it usually is difficult to understand the words for many stomp & shake cheerleading cheer routines that have been posted to YouTube.

Although most stomp & shake cheerleaders are female, YouTube videos document that a few males also are members of some university stomp & shake squads. This may particularly be the case for those university cheerleading squads that perform mainstream ("traditional") cheerleading moves as well as stomp & shake cheerleading. In any event, male stomp & shake cheerleaders don't do the characteristic "Jiggapops" (rhythmical, fast double shake of the hips) move that the female stomp & shake cheerleaders do, or at least it appears to me that they don't do that movement the same way as the females on that squad.

Stomp & Shake cheerleading has vehement supporters who love the creativity, innovation, skill, showmanship, "hardness" and "for realness" (according to Black cultural criteria) of this type of cheerleading. However, stomp & shake cheerleading also has vehement detractors who don't consider it to be "real cheerleading", but a form of fraternity/sorority stepping and/or cheer dancing. Stomp & cheer detractors also routinely negatively label stomp & shake cheerleading and its (almost exclusively) Black female squad members as being "ghetto" (behaving and dressing in ways that are highly inappropriate by middle class standards, particularly to behave and dress in sexually provocative ("slutty) ways, and behaving in loud and overly aggressive confrontational ways.

This post is part of pancocojams' ongoing series on Stomp & Shake cheerleading.

Click the stomp and shake cheerleading tag to find additional pancocojams posts about this type of cheerleading.

*"Upstomps" is a signature movement that is performed by female and male members of some stomp and shake squads where the cheerleaders stomp two times with their left foot and perform a knee lift (raise the right leg bent at the knee). In the videos I've watched of upstomping, the toes are usually pointed to the ground. Also, reflecting the style of some stomp and shake squads, when those equads perform "upstomps" the knee is bent at a slight angle toward the right.

Note: These movements names and descriptions were written on this internet discussion forum* and/or shared with me via online communications with former HBCU stomp & shake cheerleaders UpstompJunkie and Charlottefashionicon.
Click https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/07/21/race-and-the-changing-shape-of-cheerleading/ Race and the Changing Shape of Cheerleading by Guest Blogger Azizi Powell on July 21, 2011 for more comments about these terms.

*https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/07/21/race-and-the-changing-shape-of-cheerleading/ Race and the Changing Shape of Cheerleading by Guest Blogger Azizi Powell on July 21, 2011.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PANCOCOJAMS COMPILATION
Selected YouTube video of certain cheers or hyperlinks to YouTube videos of these cheers are included in this post. This post also includes some brief explanatory comments about vernacular terms that are used in these cheers.

In addition, this post includes my comments about the debate about cheerleading squads using stomp & shake cheers that are attributed to other cheerleading squads.

Please add to this compilation for folkloric purposes by sharing words to stomp & shake cheers and/or sharing links to stomp & shake YouTube videos videos in the comment section below. Thanks!

Additional cheer examples that are added after this initial publication are indicated by the publishing date in brackets after the cheer's title.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/examples-of-stomp-shake-cheerleading_29.html for Part II of this series.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/examples-of-stomp-shake-cheerleading_73.html for Part III of this series.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who composed these cheers. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, all those featured in these videos, and the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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DISCLAIMER:
This post documents a very small number of stomp & shake cheers and isn't meant to be a comprehensive compilation of those types of cheers.

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PERFORMING OTHER SQUADS' STOMP & SHAKE CHEERS
There's considerable disagreement about whether other cheerleading squads should perform stomp & shake cheers unless members of the cheerleading squad that originated those cheers teach them to those cheerleaders (in cheer camps or otherwise) or unless prior permission is given to those squads to perform those cheers. Opponents of the use of another squad's original stomp & shake cheers- and particularly using the same moves as the original composers of those cheers consider such use to be stealing and believe that such use is evidence those squads' lack of creativity.

However, it's a widespread custom-particularly among high school, middle school, and younger cheerleading squads- to perform cheerleader stomp and shake cheerleader cheers from unknown and from unknown sources -just as it's a universal custom for cheerleading squads on those levels to squads to perform any mainstream cheerleader cheer that they like.

Also, for whatever reasons, cheerleading squads that are known to have originated certain cheers (and who are often opposed to these cheers being performed without permission by other squads) did publish YouTube videos of their squads performing those cheers. Doing so certainly makes it easier for other people to "copy" those cheers.

I can see both sides of this debate, but, as a (self-described) community folklorist, I'm glad that these videos and lyrics are available for people in the present and the future to see, hear, read, and study for information and insights about the people who composed them, perform/ed them, and watch/ed them.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THESE EXAMPLES
All the cheer examples that are given in this post were retrieved from YouTube videos. The text (words) of these cheers were either retrieved from a comment in a video's discussion thread, or were transcribed by me from that video.

There are many more stomp & shake cheers that I'd LOVE to add to this compilation, but unfortunately I can't find their words online and I can't understood what is chanted in their videos.

The titles used below for these cheers may not be the only titles that have been used in the past or are now used for these cheers. Also, the words for these cheers may not be the original words or what was considered the definitive words for that cheer or what is now considered the definitive words for that cheer.

When no title for a cheer is given, I�ve chosen a title for that cheer and placed an asterisk next to it to indicate the fact that this title is my guess.

Particularly with regards to high school and younger cheerleading squads, in most cases, readers shouldn't assume that the cheerleading squad who performed these cheers in these video is the original composer of that cheer or even the original choreographer of that cheer's movements.

I've selectively included a video for some of these cheers. In some cases, I've included a video for cheers that (I believe) are widely popular, based on YouTube comments and videos. In other cases, I've selected (usually high school cheerleading squad) cheer performances to document how stomp & shake cheers are performed.

If your squad uses these cheers, when applicable, substitute the names of opposing high school, and/or that school mascot, or substitute your school's name and/or mascot.

Additions and corrections to these cheer examples and the words to these cheers are welcome.

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EXAMPLES OF STOMP & SHAKE CHEERLEADER CHEERS
A, B
ALL NIGHT LONG (added July 7, 2017)
Hey blue bears
We rock it hard
so hard we can't stop
we rock it all night long
all night long
(stomp stomp stomp stomp) >>>>> not words, just moves with no words....

That's it!!! hope ya enjoy!?
- La La cheerleaders, Livingstone University (Salsibury, North Carolina), posted by sataraboo, 2011

Featured video: La La's Rockin It Hard



vcheer88, Published on Jan 24, 2008

Get it La La's

****
ALL YOU GOTTA DO
if you want to rock
all you've got to do
is rock
all you've got to do
is rock
If you want to rock
if you want to rock
here�s how we do
all you gotta do
is rock
all you gotta do is
is rock
all you gotta do
is rock
we got to
you got to
you got to
rock
-snip-
This is my transcription of this cheer from a video that is included in the pancocojams post "Five Stomp And Shake Videos Of The West Meck High School Varsity Cheerleading Squad" (Charlotte, North Carolina) https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-stomp-and-shake-videos-of-west.html

Additions and corrections to this transcription are welcome.

In the context of this cheer, �rock� means to be very good at doing something and also means "move your hips back and forth to the rhythm".

Featured video: West Meck HS Varisty Cheerleaders-All you gotta do w/ Julia [Added July 2, 2017]



Sophia Ward. Uploaded on Feb 22, 2011

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BEST GIT BACK (version #1)
MiQuelW, 2007
"You best get back, you best get tough cuz the (mascot) is gon strut their stuff, alright hey! alright, hey!"
-snip-
I'm not sure where I got this cheer from.

**
BEST GIT BACK(Version #2)
MiQuelW, 2007
"When we did this cheer in HS, it was "You better get ready, you better get tough cuz the Bulldogs are gon' strut their stuff. Alrite, hey, alrite... hey!" and the moves were a little different.

"Best Git Back" = "Best get back" ([You] better get back.). "Get back" means "move away from someone or some group" or "move away ("back off") [from a confrontation]

Featured cheer video: SASSY (Best git back)



Prince Edward Varsity Cheerleaders "Best Git Back"

woowooworkit Published on Jan 30, 2007
-snip-
This publisher's name "Woo Woo work it" directly refers to Virginia State University's (VSU)'s "Woo Woos" cheerleading squad and their signature battle cheer "Work It" (That cheer is found below).

"Sassy" is the cheerleading squad name from Prince George County High School (Virginia). According to some commenters in carious Sassy YouTube video discussion threads, one or more former members of VSU's cheerleading squad have taught Sassy some of their cheers, and/or Sassy (and probably certain other Virginia high school cheerleading squads) have received prior permission to perform VSY cheers, and/or members of Virginia area high school cheerleading squads have attended VSU cheer camps and therefore learned VSU cheers.

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C, D
CAN YOU JAM
Can you jam like those west cheerleaders
can you jam like we do
we do
we do
-jasmine mills, 2011
quoted in the pancocojams post "Five Stomp And Shake Videos Of The West Meck High School Varsity Cheerleading Squad" (Charlotte, North Carolina) https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-stomp-and-shake-videos-of-west.html
-snip-
In the context of this cheer, �jam� means �move�.

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COME GET YOU SOME (version #1) [Added July 4, 2017]
Yell: GET YOU SOME!

"You know we got it.
If you want it,
come and get it." x3
"Come get you some!"

"You don't want that green & white.
No, you don't.
So if you want that green & white,
come get you some!"?
-as performed by Woodrow Wilson High School cheerleaders [Washington, D.C.}, words transcribed from comment in discussion thread posted by CHSwildcats19, 2016

Featured video: Woodrow Wilson High School Tigers - Green And White - Come Get You Some Cheer



Cee Cee, Published on Jan 25, 2016
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
This is given as "version #1" because it's the first version of this cheer that I happened upon.

A commenter in this video's discussion thread wrote that this isn't an original Woodrow Wilson cheer. However, that commenter didn't share who came up with this cheer. Perhaps, that information isn't known.

I've posted three other versions of this cheer to date to document how a cheer can have the same words (or very similar words) and different movements.

I'd love to know more information about this cheer (and other cheers that are included in this compilation- for instance, if you know this cheer, what is the earliest date that you can recall hearing it (by year if not by month and year), and what cheerleading squad do you recall performing it?

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COME GET YOU SOME (version #2) [Added July 4, 2017]
You know we got it. If you want it, come and get it (3x)

You don't want that (school colors). No, you don't.
But if you want that (school colors), come get you some.?
-as performed by Attucks, words transcribed by Dana Robinson in the discussion thread of this video

Featured video: You know we got it. If you want it, come and get it!



Dana Robinson, Published on Jan 24, 2016

Attucks vs. Tech during city tourney 2016

Attucks cheerleaders
-snip-
This is given as "version #2" because it's the second version of this cheer that I found.

I left a comment in the discussion thread for this video asking where this high school is located and if anyone could share information about this cheer.
-snip-
Update: Here's the response that I received from Dana Robinson on July 6, 2017. Thanks, Dana!
"Azizi Powell The full school name is Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School and it's located in Indianapolis, Indiana. This school was built in the 1920's for the African American population of indianapolis as an answer to segregation. There is a museum located within the school as this was the first school with an all African American basketball team to win its state finals. A basketball great that came from this school is Oscar Robertson who played for a number of NBA teams. This is an article done by IndyStar, the Indianapolis newspaper, highlighting stomp and shake cheerleading and the Attucks cheerleaders.

?https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155193197523914&id=347221378913
-snip-
As an aside, this is the first example of stomp & shake cheerleading that I've found in Indiana.

Here's one of my replies to Dana Robinson's comment:
"Dana, the Facebook comments about the Attucks cheerleaders were very interesting. I'm assuming from those comments that this stomp & shake style of cheerleading isn't common in Indianapolis.

Some commenters mentioned that this style is common in the South (I'm assuming that those commenters meant among a number of African American cheerleading squads in parts of the south. -Note One person on that Facebook thread from Miami wrote that this is the way cheerleaders cheer in that city. But I've read comments from people in Texas who were unfamiliar with this cheerleading style.)

Would you please add the link to the IndyStar article about these cheerleaders? Thanks!"?


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COME GET IT [Version #3] Added July 4, 2017



Come Get it - tryout cheer IHS 2016

Cristina McClelland, Published on Apr 12, 2016

-YOU DON�T GOT IT IF YOU WANT IT COME GET IT
-YOU DON�T GOT IT IF YOU WANT IT COME GET IT
-YOU DON�T GOT IT IF YOU WANT IT COME GET IT
COME GET YOU - SOME

SIXERS GOT THAT STRENGTH AND PRIDE
DETERMINATION ON OUR SIDE
VICTORY, WE ALWAYS TRY
V- I- C- T �O- R- Y

-YOU DON�T GOT IT IF YOU WANT IT COME GET IT
COME GET YOU - SOME
-snip-
This cheer is given as "version #3" because it is the third example of the cheer that I found online.
These words for this cheer are given in this video's summary.

This cheer is actually a combination of two stand alone cheers: "Come Get It" and "[high school team name] got that ,squad], and also a combinatiooI'd categorize this cheer and its routine as a combination of two cheers, thsGot That Strength And Pride". The first cheer is a stomp & shake cheer and the second is a mainstream (standard) Cheer.

In my opinion, the cheerleading routine is combination of both stomp & shake cheerleading and maisntream cheerleading, with the mainstream cheerleading style being the heaviest influence.

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COME GET YOU SOME [version #4] (Added July 4, 2017)



SRHS Panther Cheer, Published on Sep 29, 2016

"You know we've got if you want it come get it, You know we've got if you want it come get it, You know we've got if you want it come get it, come get you some. You ain't got that panther pride, no you don't, but if you want that panther pride, come get you some"
-snip-
This video is given as version #4 because it's the fourth example of this cheer that I've found to date. It's interesting that four different videos of the same cheer were published within four months of each other. I think this demonstrates how quickly some cheers are "picked up" ("copied", "stolen", "used" by other squads) as a result of the cheer being posted on YouTube.

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DON'T STOP [added July 3, 2017]
Don't stop
get it get it
(Don't Stop) 3x
Don't Stop Rock With it.?
- posted by Caitlin Harris, 2017 in the video given below

[These words were formatted from sentence form for this post]

West Charlotte JV cheerleaders 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPgNkpo9Z-g

alwaysbubblydeva, Published on Jan 6, 2012

This video was uploaded from an Android phone.
-snip-
West Charlotte High School is in Charlotte, North Carolina.

****
E, F
FIRE IT UP
Come On Hawks
Lets Hear It
Fire Up That Spirit !
Do do it..
Do It
You Got to Put Your Mind Into It...
Everybody Get Get Down......
Everybody Get Down..
-West Meck High School Cheerleaders (Charlotte, North Carolina) words posted by Nakayla Lane, 2011
-snip-
This commenter corrected the words that another person wrote for this cheer, saying "i Would Know Because I go To West Meck".

Featured video: West Meck HS Varsity Cheerleaders-Fire it up



Sophia Ward, Uploaded on Feb 22, 2011
-snip-
"Fire it up" means to raise the energy.

In the context of this cheer, "get down" here means "do something really well".

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G, H
GET IT UP [Added July 1, 2017]

[Pancocojams Editor: This is actually a chant that consists of only one line "Get it up!". "It" probably refers to the crowds' energy (spirit). Two other ways of saying this are "Fire It Up!" and "Get hyped!"]

Howard University Cheer 2011-2012



MarcJamesEwell, Published on Sep 11, 2011
Howard University Cheer @ the Howard vs. Morehouse AT&T Classic Game. Look how they got the crowd going. Go Beautiful Bison Women!
-snip-
Comments:
1. datchik75715, 2013
"They are saying get up! Its a song they do with the band?"

**
2. Oshia Smalls, 2013
"HU Cheerleaders has the crowd SO hype. I'm going to the 11th grade and VERY interested in cheering for Howard. My top three colleges I want to attend and cheer for are the following: Howard U, Southern U, and Hampton U; in that order!! C/O 2013/2014 leggo!!?"

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GO S. U. GO
Go S. U. Go [repeat multiple times]
-Winston-Salem State University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPI1qOVXLxQ
2013 WSSU Cheerleaders, How to Cheer, Go S. U. Go
Artistry Photography, Published on Nov 27, 2013

****
"HAWK ROCK"
If you want to rock
like a hawk rocks,
all you have to do
is rock nonstop.
just rock
(just rock)
just rock
(just rock)
ROCK NONSTOP
-BVCS2011, 2012
-snip-
from West Meck HS Varsity Cheerleaders-Hawk Rock.MOV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZCZoTkWK_o

Sophia Ward, Uploaded on Feb 22, 2011

****
HAWKS WE DO
Hawks we do
this is how we do
Hawks we do
we do
-snip-
This is my transcription of this cheer; quoted in Five Stomp And Shake Videos Of The West Meck High School Varsity Cheerleading Squad (Charlotte, North Carolina) https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-stomp-and-shake-videos-of-west.html

Additions and corrections to this transcription are welcome

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HEY*
Hey
Hey You
It's the Red White and Blue
The things you think you do
"school name" does times two
So put down your pompoms
And take out your bows
Now that we're here
You can go
-posted by Coach Kay, 2015 in the video given below.

*No title was given to this cheer so I given it this title until I learn otherwise.

Friendly HS vs. Forestville HS 2014 Cheer Battle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCSKuSAFok

Coach Kay, Published on Mar 1, 2015

Forestville Cheerleaders came over on our side of the field and challenged us! THEY WASN'T READY!!!
-snip-
This is a high school (stomp & shake) cheer battle, but I'm not sure where these high schools are located.

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HUSTLE (added July 6, 2017)

featured video: HUSTLE!!!!


vcheer88, Published on Mar 13, 2009

Livingstone College Sassy & Suave Cheerleaders

Lyrics given in discussion thread comment:

19notes19, 2013
"h.u.s.t.l.e hustle -mascot- for our victory?"
-snip-
Livingstone University is located in Salisbury, North Carolina.

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This concludes Part I of this series.

This is a work in progress as additional cheers may be added to this post.

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