In the summer of 2018, 19-year-old Marcus Yates posted a clip of David LaChapelle's 2005 documentary Rize to a Facebook group for local hip-hop fans in Cole Camp, Missouri. The response was modest—four people showed interest—but by that fall, those same four dancers were meeting behind the Veterans Memorial Building to practice the chest-popping, arm-swinging movements of Krump. What started as weekly freestyle sessions has since grown into one of the most unlikely street dance communities in the rural Midwest.
The Arrival
Krump was born in South Los Angeles in the early 2000s, created by Ceasare "Tight Eyez" Willis and Jo'Artis "Big Mijo" Ratti as an alternative to gang culture and clown dancing. For a town of roughly 1,100 people, Cole Camp was an improbable destination. Yates, now 25, had discovered the style through YouTube tutorials and Memphis dance battles posted online. "There was no scene here," he said. "We made it from nothing."
The early years were sparse. The group—eventually calling themselves the Cole Camp Krump Fam—practiced in parking lots, barns, and whatever space they could borrow. Weather forced cancellations. Equipment was scarce. But by 2021, the Fam had swelled to roughly fifteen regular members, with dancers driving in from neighboring Warsaw and Lincoln.
Building the Community
The Krump Fam functions less as a formal crew and more as a rotating collective. Membership has no fees or auditions. Battles follow street rules: a circle, a beat, and mutual respect. Dancer and organizer Tasha Reynolds, 31, joined in 2020 after leaving a competitive studio dance program in Sedalia. "Studio dance was about perfection," she said. "Krump is about release. You can look messy. You can look angry. You just have to be real."
That ethos has attracted dancers from backgrounds that rarely overlap in central Missouri—rodeo kids, theater students, farmworkers, and warehouse employees. Reynolds now coordinates the Fam's monthly "Rumble in the Camp" sessions, informal battles held in the gravel lot behind Firehouse Bar-B-Que on Highway 52.
Local Impact—and Tension
Business support has followed, though not without friction. In 2022, Main Street Roasters began hosting "Krump & Coffee" open battles on first Saturdays. Owner Dana Cho says monthly foot traffic has risen roughly 30 percent since, with out-of-town visitors now accounting for nearly half her weekend revenue. The Benton County Community Center started offering the Fam free space for youth workshops in 2023, after three of Yates's students placed at a St. Louis competition.
Yet some residents remain skeptical. Complaints about noise at outdoor sessions led the city council to discuss a proposed noise ordinance in March 2024—ultimately tabled after dancers and business owners spoke at the meeting. Reynolds called it a reminder that "we're still not fully expected here. That pushes us to be louder, honestly."
What's Next in 2024
This June, the Cole Camp Krump Fam will host their first two-day event, "Heatwave," featuring a workshop with Los Angeles dancer Jasmine "Jazzy J" Okonkwo and a judged battle with a $500 top prize. Yates is also in early talks with the Benton County Arts Council about a small documentary grant. Meanwhile, his weekly youth workshop at the community center now serves twelve to seventeen dancers, some of whom have never taken a formal class.
"We're not trying to be the next L.A.," Yates said. "We're trying to prove Krump can live anywhere people need it."
Marcus Yates and Tasha Reynolds can be reached through the Cole Camp Krump Fam's Instagram page.
