City Girls Release “Twerkulator” Music Video
The City Girls released the Missy Elliott-directed music video to their single “Twerkulator” on July 7. The hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami and JT came out with the single in late May. The music video amassed over one million views within the first 24 hours of its premiere on YouTube and ranked #1 on the YouTube trending list for music.
Elliott starts the video with a message to the city declaring, “Everyone, please take shelter immediately. The Twerkulators have already invaded Twerk City and you don’t have much time.” In the opening sequence, a dancer twerks and kicks down replicas of city buildings while people run for cover.
Yung Miami and JT are featured dancing throughout the video in sparkly black matching sets with neon yellow accents, and posing in pink, patterned bodysuits. In one frame, they represent the hands of a clock, promoting swimsuits from their Icon Swim x City Girls collection.
The music video includes elaborate movement and dance choreographed by Sean Bankhead. Derek Blanks served as the creative director.
Missy Elliott reflected on the experience and expressed her gratitude on Twitter. “I am So Humbly Grateful for the opportunity to work on the Twerkulator video,” she said. “They WORKED HARD & rehearsed from 11 am to 11pm.”
JT also took to Twitter to react to the initial success of the music video: “#1 trending YouTube video & #1 trending youtube music over 1 million views in 24hrs okay I see the growth,” she said.
The City Girls performed “Twerkulator” at the 2021 BET Awards in late June. The performance featured a large dance crew, blazing flame effects, and a city skyline projected behind them.
“Twerkulator” samples Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force’s 1982 song “Planet Rock.” The unreleased version of the song initially attracted viral attention on TikTok after 20-year-old Layla Muhammad choreographed a dance back in March.