We Are Toonz

We Are Toonz
Origin Stone Mountain, Georgia
Genres Hip-Hop, Pop-rap
Years active 2013–present
Labels VPP,[1] Epic, Sony
Associated acts Lil Jon, French Montana, T-Pain, Mike Epps
Website WeAreToonz.com
Members
  • Cal Lamar
  • K.B.
  • Crash Bandit
  • Levi
  • Lay'lay

We Are Toonz is an American hip hop group from Stone Mountain, Georgia,[2] formed in 2013, known for the viral debut dance single "Drop That #NaeNae", inspired by Martin Lawrence's character Sheneneh Jenkins from his popular 1990's sitcom Martin.[3]

The group members are Tavin "Levi" Bing-Gardner, Christopher "Crash Bandit" Major, Kavin "K.B." Bing-Gardner and Calvin Larmar "Callamar" Glass and Ellayjah "Lay'lay" Trammell.

History

The group members have danced and rapped together since childhood. Levi and K.B. are brothers and Crash Bandit is their cousin.

The Crew

We Are Toonz has many members: Bear, Rari, rique, Pj, Levi, KB, Crash Bandit, Cal Lamar, Bianca Jay, Lil Spinz, dancing dan, Marc is art. Four members are not in the group: Bear, Pj, Rari, Lil Spinz

Music career

Social Media Influence

We Are Toonz released Drop That #NaeNae in 2013 without much fanfare. The group posted a video of themselves performing the #NaeNae Dance on the social video sharing website Vine and other social media websites like Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. As the song gained momentum the Drop That #NaeNae went viral. The Michigan State Football team can be seen dropping that #NaeNae on YouTube , and breaking down the #NaeNae dance on Vine.[4] Video postings from other college teams dropping that #NaeNae to foster team spirit started going viral as well, Ohio State,[5] Temple University,[6]Auburn University,[7] Notre Dame,[8] and Mercer Bear basketball team victory #NaeNae over Duke's Blue Devils.[9]

Houston Rockets', Dwight Howard posted videos of himself dropping the #NaeNae.[10] After which, he reached out to the group to record a video in Atlanta.[11] Washington Wizards', John Wall celebrated his slam dunk contest win by dropping that "NaeNae" with Paul George.[12] Due to the Vines, videos and GIFs the group saw a 311% spike in mentions of the #NaeNae hashtag.[13]

Coca-Cola

In August 2014 Coca-Cola released a commercial featuring We Are Toonz for their Ahh Campaign targeting the teen and young adult demographic.[14] We Are Toonz are the first hip-hop act to collaborate with Coca-Cola since R&B singer Tyrese Gibson. The group was selected by the brand after seeing them perform at the World of Coke Ahh stage at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Discography

Singles

Single Year Label
"Drop That #NaeNae" 2013 VPP, Epic
"Drop That #NaeNae Remix" (featuring Lil Jon, French Montana & T-Pain) 2014 VPP, Epic
"DJ Play My Song" (featuring Mike Epps) 2014 VPP, Epic
"Lit Up" (featuring Jazze Pha) 2015 VPP

References

  1. ↑ Rauly Ramirez (January 27, 2014). "New Hip-Hop Dance Craze:'Drop That #NaeNae'". Billboard Magazine.
  2. ↑ "Atlanta's We Are Toonz storming the country with the Nae Nae". http://www.accessatlanta.com/. Melissa Ruggieri. External link in |website= (help)
  3. ↑ Rauly Ramirez. "New Hip-Hop Dance Craze: 'Drop That #NaeNae'". www.billboard.com. Billboard Magazine.
  4. ↑ Ben Cornfield. "Michigan State players break down #NaeNae dance in locker room". http://gamedayr.com/. External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ "Ohio State Football NaeNae & Dougie". YouTube.com. xgamerjd.
  6. ↑ "Football does the Nae Nae Dance". YouTube. Temple Owls Football.
  7. ↑ "Auburn football players do the NaeNae". YouTube.com. Kasey Langley.
  8. ↑ Tristan Thornburgh. "Notre Dame Football Busts out NaeNae Dance After Pinstripe Bowl Win". http://bleacherreport.com/. External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ Glenn McGraw. "Mercer Dances All Over Duke With NaeNae, Dance White Boy Dance". GamedayR.com.
  10. ↑ Glenn McGraw. "Video: Dwight Howards breaks out 'NaeNae Dance' for Instagram".
  11. ↑ Edwin Ortiz. "We Are Toonz Lay Claim to the #NaeNae Dance and Talk About Meeting Dwight Howard". http://www.complex.com/. External link in |website= (help)
  12. ↑ Jason McIntyre. "John Wall Doing the Nae Nae with Paul George Was Better Than the Dunk Contest". http://thebiglead.com/. External link in |website= (help)
  13. ↑ Rauly Ramirez. "We Are Toonz' 'Drop That #NaeNae' Dances onto Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". http://www.billboard.com/. Billboard.com. External link in |website= (help)
  14. ↑ "We Are Toonz, Creators of the Nae Nae, Ink Deal With Coca-Cola". Musictimes.com. Erika Benton-Martin.
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