Best Viral Dance Craze Upshot

THE DAB is dead; long live Atlanta’s indigenous cool. Well before reaching peak saturation at the top of the year, when Hillary Clinton took her presidential pandering to desperate levels on “Ellen,” dabbin’ became the latest cultural signifier of black teenage virality. Less traditional dance move than exclamation point, it evolved from high-THC cannabis cough to Cam Newton’s signature end-zone celebration. Middle America’s fascination with the dance — and Gwinnett rappers Migos’ soundtrack — eventually led to an outpouring of appropriation-themed thinkpieces. But there was a silver lining: Atlanta’s ground-level dance culture, including young digital innovators such as HOTTLANTA dance scene filmmaker Mr. 2-17, got some well-deserved attention from clued-in media outlets like FADER and MTV News — which crowned dancer/choreographer @SheLovesMeechie the “truest star” of the scene. If Hillary makes it to the White House, she’ll have them, in part, to thank. less...