Jerk is being reinvented as a cool word by today's young hip hop artists. The New York Times has an article about a new hip-hop teen dance craze called "jerking."
Julian Goins, the 15-year-old leader of the Ranger$, a five-member jerking crew, hops onto the tips of his sneakers — the Tippy Toe — and then swivels his body ground-ward, legs crossed at the ankle. He pops up like a jack-in-the-box, spins and bounces, gliding backward in the Reject, a move that resembles nothing so much as the Running Man, an ’80s dance-floor step but in reverse.
You can see some jerking in this New Boyz music video. Take a look:
