The Department of Transportation has issued a warning against Filipinos joining the viral street dance challenge for the obvious risks it poses to their lives.
What started off as a fun dance challenge called “In My Feelings Challenge” or “Kiki Challenge” has became a safety issue to many countries who have joined the bandwagon.
It involves the participant getting out of a slow moving vehicle and dancing alongside it with the door open in the middle of traffic to the tune of Canadian rapper Drake’s hit single, “In My Feelings.”
When Filipinos were seen online jumping into the dance trend, the transportation agency took it to its official Facebook account to discourage others through an infographic, emphasizing that safety should always be topmost priority.
Anong mas patok sayo? Yung MAKIUSO o ang KALIGTASAN MO? Mga friends, bago mag-balak na mag #inmyfeelingschallenge,…
Posted by Department of Transportation – Philippines on Monday, July 30, 2018
“To be clear: Hindi po namin ini-encourage ito ha. Dini-discourage nga po namin ang mga kababayan natin na gawin ito dahil alam natin na ito ay delikado. Again, bago maki-uso, isipin mo muna ang kaligtasan ng iba, at kaligtasan mo,” DOTr clarified in the comments section.
A parody video from a TV studio called Paperbug TV also seemed to show a similar picture, wherein the driver was suddenly hit by a speeding jeepney while he was dancing.
Now for a very important message from PaperbugTV to everyone doing the Drake In My Feelings Challenge. #MagingatSaKIKI#drakeresponsibly #inmyfeelings #challengeBig thanks to Den Gerard and to Shmek'm for all the help. Kindly Like and Follow this page for more videos.
Posted by PaperbugTV on Monday, July 16, 2018
There are several Filipino celebrities who have succeeded in the dance craze, such as Ronnie Alonte, Kyline Alcantara, Bela Padilla and Empoy, whose viral recordings may have influenced other Filipinos to do the same.
When it all started
Based on reports, the challenge only started when TV personality Shiggy posted a video of himself busting some moves to Drake’s song on the street of a residential neighborhood using the hashtag #InMyFeelings.
Interestingly, Shiggy’s own visual did not involve getting out of a moving car.
On that day, the song, which came from his fifth album Scorpion, reportedly went to number one in the US music charts.
Since then, many Hollywood stars shared their own takes on it on their Instagram accounts, such as Will Smith, Ciara, Kevin Hart and Lil Jon, which also gained immediate traction after.
Others may have used the word “kiki” because part of the lyrics in the song goes,
When incidents of people getting hurt were reported and had circulated online, police in some countries called out future participants on possible penalties they may receive.
In the state of Florida in US, its police department issued a penalty worth $1,000 and possible criminal charges for those who may wish to take part in the dangerous trend. —Artwork by Uela Altar-Badayos
