Dutty WHUT?!

Sign # 1 that I'm Getting Older:

So while I was out having a life this summer (or hitting the Captain-Morgan-and-Cokes, take your pick), North America was apparently hit with the phenomenon known as the Dutty Wine.

It's basically this dance that goes along with the song of the same name that's performed by reggae dancehall artist Tony Matterhorn. Now, I'm sure I've heard the song on the radio a handful of times, but never really stopped to notice.

But my ears perked up late one night about a week and a half ago watching MTV.ca (I ain't 'shamed) and there was this discussion going on about what's hot on the 'Net. This girl in the audience got handed the mic and said, "The Colombian dutty wine video on You Tube. This guy does it better than most black girls. It's crazy."

Say whaaat? A guy who wines better than most black girls? Not possible.

So the other night, I was surfing around online and tried to track down the video in question. I didn't find it at first (because I can't spell), but I did discover there were other versions of other people doing the Dutty Wine. Like, 1,704 of them. Probably not counting the repeats, there's probably still over 1,500 out there.

I'm not kidding. Over the last several months, people actually took up cameras and videotaped themselves doing this thing. Teenage girls. Dudes. Video girl-wannabes. Kids. Friends just joking around. White people. Babies. Puppets. Stuffed animals. There was even one girl who was doing it crazily at a party outdoors, in the dust. At different points of the video, she lost both her balance (the beginning) and her hairpiece (the end).

But of all the Dutty Wines I've seen, this one is the craziest - and the one I was originally looking for. Say "hola" the Columbian Dutty Wine.



I guess the key to doing this dance correctly is the neck-roll -- you have to feel as if you're giving yourself whiplash. If you get whiplash, you've either overdone it or have done it wrong.

And the splits?! I love dancing, but after watching all those videos, lawd! I need to go out and order a pair of canes and a neckbrace.