Krumping

MUSTWORTHINESS Because dancers in clown makeup and rainbow Afro wigs are shaking their saggy satin booties like something is very wrong neurologically.
WHERE TO FIND IT The superfast dancing has been featured in Missy Elliott's ''I'm Really Hot'' and the Black Eyed Peas' ''Hey Mama'' videos, and is the subject of photographer David LaChapelle's award-winning documentary short ''Krumped.''
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE L.A. entertainer Tommy the Clown. ''Krumping is crazy dancing. I started dressing like a clown [for kids' parties] and combining it with hip-hop moves, and then in 1992 began teaching it to kids in South Central to channel their negative energy. I wasn't thinking about videos.'' Maybe not, but the dancing has become a full-fledged craze in Compton and South Central, with rival clown gangs staging competitions.
THE BIRTH OF AN ADJECTIVE ''When one of my students started going wild, we'd say, 'Man, he's getting krumped.' Like going nuts.''