Vibe Awards 2003: left to right - Jackie Conard, Tony Dow, Margaret Fisher, Sharon Bolden, R. Kelly, Stefan Wipf, Lynette, Christy Latham, Andre Blackwell.
To my knowledge, Steppin’ started garnering national attention in the mid to late 90’s, and captured both national and international attention in the early 2000’s. While some of the attention that Steppin’ received helped the dance grow nationally, much of the attention was criticized heavily by practitioners of the dance. There were those who criticized the national mediums for either neglecting to learn the dance and understand the culture, or for connecting the dance to pimps and other noxious images that poisoned the general "non-Steppin'" public’s view. Then there were Steppers who understood that some of the bumps taken to expose Steppin’ to a national audience were necessary evils to help the dance grow.
To this end, I’ve compiled what I believe to be the top 10 instances of national exposure, organized by order of importance, that have contributed to Steppin’s national growth. Please feel free to reorganize and submit your own list, adding any instances of national exposure you feel have contributed that I’ve forgotten.
Here is my top 10 …
1. R. Kelly – “Step In the Name of Love” – Video “2003”
2. R. Kelly – “Happy People” – Video “2004”
3. Love Jones – Movie Clip “1997”
4. R. Kelly – Vibe Awards (Step In the Name of Love) – Televised Performance “2003”
5. R. Kelly – Billboard Awards (Step In The Name of Love) – Televised Performance “2003”
6. Gerald Levert – “Baby You Are” Video “2000”
7. Fab Five Freddy - Vibe Magazine - Steppers Article “2003”
8. R. Kelly – Star Spangle Banner – HBO Pay Per View – Televised Performance “2005”
9. T. Pratt - Sister 2 Sister Magazine – Steppers Article “2006”
10. GMC Envoy Commerical - Garry Fields & Teresa Harrison - GM Commercial featuring Steppers “2006?”
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