Name: How the jump rope got its rhythm
Uploaded: 2018-03-15T12:50:22Z
Duration: 3 min 22 s
Description: "Down down, baby, down down the roller coaster..." Hip-hop owes a lot to the queens of double dutch. Ethnomusicologist Kyra Gaunt takes us on a tour of the fascinating history of the jump rope.

Kyra Gaunt: How the jump rope got its rhythm

How the jump rope got its rhythm

"Down down, baby, down down the roller coaster..." Hip-hop owes a lot to the queens of double dutch. Ethnomusicologist Kyra Gaunt takes us on a tour of the fascinating history of the jump rope.

Jump rope is more than a simple toy; it shaped music, culture, and community, especially for Black girls in urban America. In the 1950s, girls claimed the sidewalks of Harlem, Bronx, and Brooklyn, using skipping games like Double Dutch to create rhythmic spaces of creativity. These playground chants and beats became the backbone of countless hip-hop tracks, echoing across generations. The jump rope’s steady rhythm helped carry memory, culture, and movement far beyond the playground.