Diddy Supports 'Harlem Shake' Despite Hometown Blowback

'Anything that's branding Harlem, my hometown, I'm all for it,' Diddy says, supporting Baauer's viral-video dance craze.

There might be hell in Harlem over Baauer's "Harlem Shake" dance craze, but Diddy sees the viral sensation as a victory for his hometown.

"It's fun; it's a fun version. Any time people are dancing, especially in this day and age when everybody's trying to be so cool, and people are letting loose, letting off some steam, I agree with it," the Bad Boy music mogul told PointMaza on Wednesday while he was out in Los Angeles withMark Wahlberg at their AQUAhydrate launch.

Diddy's Down With The Harlem Shake

Baauer's kinetic dance hit, which was originally released last year, hit it big recently after a string of infectious viral videos featuring plenty of jump cuts of fans frantically dancing in motorcycle helmets and other wacky costumes. Because of its newfound popularity, the track has amassed over 100 million clicks on YouTube and became the #1 song in the country last week.

Not everyone is thrilled about this new "Harlem Shake," however. The dance, although seemingly unrelated, borrows its name from another dance that is widely credited to Harlem native Al B. As the story goes, Al B first did the drunken-yet-more-rhythmic shake during street basketball games at the famed Rucker Park on 155th Street back in 1981. The original Shake caught fire in the late '90s and became all the rage after G-Dep and Puff featured kids doing the coordinated moves in the music video for their 2001 single "Let's Get It."