Earlier this month, Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, who's known to pop a hot dab after a huge play, declared that he would no longer be using the dance move, which had been popularized in his hometown of Atlanta after being originated within the camp of the Migos.
The exact beginnings of the dab aren't exactly clear, but the prevailing opinion is that the move was first attempted by one of Migos' YRN affiliates. Skippa da Flippa been commonly cited as the true inventor, though just recently, Peewee Longway, who has collaborated frequently with Migos, claimed that he was the first to utter the word "dab." The debate on who came up with the word or who first decided to turn a powerful sneeze into a dance move may not see an ultimate resolution, but it's fair to say that the Migos and the movement they started were the main forces behind the dab's proliferation into mainstream culture. Not only did athletes like Cam and LeBron begin to dab, but the move was attempted and butchered by talk show hosts everywhere and even Hillary Clinton.
A member of the paparazzi recently caught up with Quavo upon his arrival at LAX, and he asked the QC rapper whether or not he was offended by Cam's decision to stop dabbing. He was not, and Quavo understood why Cam felt that the celebratory maneuver has gotten overly popular to the point that its charm has been diluted. "We'll R.I.P. the dab with him," said Quavo upon tilting his head into his locked elbow one last time.
With songs like "Look At My Dab" and "Dab Daddy" still among their staples, the Migos likely won't completely remove the dab from their lives. They are, however, interested in beginning a new trend, though they aren't willing to share any details on what that may be until the formula is perfected. "We ain't gon' tell ya, cause you know y'all gon' take it, and bite it, rewrite it, and recreate it," said Quavo when asked about the next craze that his group has in store for the world.
R.I.P. Dab, you had a good run.