How the Fantastic Four took Double Dutch to new heights
The ties between Double Dutch and hip-hop can be traced to Nelly's "Country Grammar," Missy Elliott's "Gossip Folks" and "Throw It Back," and the Cartoon Network animated series Craig of the Creek.
Dutch settlers may have brought Double Dutch to America, but it was Black girls who put it on the map, says Lauren Walker, president of the National Double Dutch League. "Double Dutch is Black girl magic. It came from a union of young girls in their community getting together to socialize, and to engage in each other's dreams and ambitions."
They also put their own spins on popular rhyming songs, like "Miss Mary Mack," and brought them into the ropes, says ethnomusicologist. "You learned from your elder siblings, you learned from your same-age peer age group, in schools, hanging out on the stoop, on the sidewalk."
