A new viral dance video craze based on gospel singer Shirley Caesar's classic song "Hold My Mule" has swept the nation, with countless web users posting their own dance moves to the food driven remix sampling the track. Caesar has stated that although she's not a fan of the twerking moves that some posters are improvising to her song, she considers the movement a blessing, and sure doesn't mind the extra cash expected to fill her coffers due to the song's resurgence.
Remix Spurs Viral Dance Craze
It all began when Atlanta based remixer DJ Suede received a video clip of Caesar singing her classic gospel hit "Hold My Mule" in a 2007 remake of the 1988 original. Suede remixed the song for pure fun in anticipation of Thanksgiving, focusing on the line in which Caesar rattles off a slew of yummy dinner treats that she's got cooking: "I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, lambs, rams, hogs, dogs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits ... you name it!", she preaches when recounting the story of a farmer who screams out his list of edibles after being ejected from a church for shouting too loud.
The remix was posted on Suede's Instagram, and things really took off when R&B sensation Chris Brown posted a YouTube video of himself dancing to the new version of the song which has to date received more than 2 million views.
The video craze has led to "Hold My Mule" topping the Billboard Gospel streaming song chart, echoing the success of another viral dancing craze, the "Mannequin Challenge" which has propelled theme song "Black Beatles" by Rae Sremmurd to the number one spot on Spotify's streaming chart.
Caesar Starts "U Name It" Website, Condemns Twerking
Caesar has expressed her gratitude for the resurgence of the song, which experts say could bring in around $250,000 in royalty payments, and has capitalized on it quickly in another way, starting a website which sells all sorts of "U Name It" merchandise. Still, Caesar feels some of the dance moves are getting out of hand.
"I can even put up with the dancing, but all of the shaking, and the twerking, and all of that-I just want everybody to know that I'm a gospel singer. I'm a born-again believer. I'm a pastor, and I don't ever want anything, not anything, to bring a [negative] reflection on what I stand for," she said. It appears however, like most things viral, that the "U Name It" challenge has taken on a life of its own.
