The League of Clowns
The dancers in Roc’co Tha Clown’s “The League of Clowns” are a family of sorts. They’re also torchbearers for a 30-year-old tradition that originated and flourished in South Los Angeles after Thomas Johnson, aka Tommy The Clown, began performing at birthday parties in 1992 and later hosted dance battles that pushed the youth in a new and more hyperkinetic direction: krumping.
For over 15 years before beginning his own group, The League’s founder- Jesse Philpott, aka Roc'co Tha Clown- trained and performed with Tommy's crew. While Tommy remains the most prominent face of the hip-hop clown and krumping communities, Roc’co and The League Of Clowns are growing steadily. By focusing on clowning and school, these clown group leaders aim to keep their young dancers on a path that manifests their dreams and sidesteps street violence in South Los Angeles.
In 2020, Roc’co sponsored a clown group to begin performing in New Orleans, and he dreams of spreading The League to youth across the country. “You know, everybody ain’t gonna be able to play baseball,” he said. “But most of the youth out here in the city are able to shake a leg a little bit.”
