11 Landmark Moments in the History of Twerk

Twerking may be as old as time itself. For as long as there has been music, at least music with some stank on it, people have twisted, gyrated, and dropped it to the ground. From African dance roots to New Orleans streets, where bounce music gave birth to twerking as we know it today. The first recorded use of the word "twerk" dates back to 1993 and DJ Jubilee's "Do the Jubilee All"--"Twerk baby, twerk baby, twerk, twerk, twerk"--followed by New Orleans rapper Cheeky Blakk's "Twerk Something!" in 1995. Then in 2013, twerk hit terminal velocity, thanks in large part to Miley Cyrus, her wayward tongue, and her love--and some would say appropriation--of twerking, which led to its cross-cultural breakthrough. Next thing you know, everyone and their grandmother is twerking and twerk has made its way into the Oxford Dictionary.

So in celebration of the fifth season of Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce, premiering June 8th at 11P/10c on Fuse TV, we're going to take a twerk down memory lane.

Related | Watch: Epic Trailer for Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce Season 5

Click through the gallery for 11 landmark moments in the history of twerk.