Slickback

Origin

Slickback is a dance in which the feet slide sideways or forward so that the dancer appears not to be walking but gliding, as though floating just above the ground. Outside Korea it is usually called the Jubi Slide.

According to Namuwiki's account, the challenge was started in 2022 by the TikTok user jubi2fye, and the name "Jubi Slide" comes from that account.

The alternative Korean name comes from the music. A remix built around dialogue between A Pimp Named Slickback and Robert Freeman, characters from the animated series The Boondocks, was used with the dance, and the name in the track became the name of the move. The same steps, in other words, travel under different names in different countries.

Spread

It became widely known in Korea in the second half of 2023, after videos by the middle school TikTok user Lee Hyo-cheol drew attention — the point being how convincingly he appeared to be levitating. It spread quickly enough that Newsis covered the trend on October 16th, 2023.

Attribution got scrambled along the way. Some Korean coverage presented Lee as the creator of the dance, but the challenge began overseas in 2022; his role was in popularizing it domestically.

One condition favored its spread: it is checkable. People slowed the videos down to see whether the feet really left the floor, and the sheer difficulty of the move kept generating attempt videos. Even failing at it made for content.

How it is used

• As a short-form challenge attempting the move
• As edits emphasizing the levitation illusion
• As self-deprecating content showing failed attempts
• As a reference point when recalling Korean short-form trends of late 2023

Sources

• Namuwiki, "Slickback" — that it originated with the TikTok user jubi2fye in 2022, the derivation of both names, and the correction that Lee Hyo-cheol popularized rather than created it
• Newsis, "'Jubi Slide,' 'Slickback' — what is this dance sweeping Korea and abroad?" (October 16th, 2023) — the state of the trend in late 2023