Whatever Happened To New Boyz?

It's hard to forget the bright neon skinny jeans, Air Jordans, and oversized snapback hats of the early 2010s. In an era where mastering your "swag" (or fashion sense) and writing cliché Tumblr quotes were top priorities, the next step on the list was keeping up with the widely popular dance moves. Out of the dance moves of the era — think Psy's "Gangnam Style," the "Harlem Shake" meme, or Cali Swag District's spin on the Dougie — the one that many won't forget is the jerk.

Jerkin' originated in Los Angeles in the late 2000s, according to MTV. The dance would become popular at the hands of groups New Boyz and Audio Push, who would both record hits centered around the dance. In 2009, Audio Push released "Teach Me How To Jerk," and that same year, New Boyz won nationwide fame with their hit, "You're A Jerk." Produced by New Boyz member Legacy, "You're A Jerk" reached commercial success, peaking at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

New rap and dance groups emerged as a result of the single, keeping the jerkin' culture alive for a short period of time before it was ushered out for the new era of rap. In the process, we stopped hearing music from Legacy (born Dominic Thomas) and Ben J (born Earl Benjamin) of the once-famous duo. Here's what really happened to the New Boyz.

After reaching the mainstream with "You're A Jerk," New Boyz proved themselves not to be a one-hit-wonder after releasing "FM$" and "Tie Me Down" featuring Ray J. Snagging other features from artists such as Iyaz and Chris Brown and releasing two albums, things seemed to be going uphill for the duo at the time.

Unfortunately, Legacy and Ben J would abruptly part ways four years into their career. In November 2013, Ben J officially shared in a statement that the two decided to split up and pursue solo music careers, per HotNewHipHop. "After selling out shows and touring all over the world, we've decided that we'd like to share our talents with our fans individually," Ben said. "Together or apart; we've made our mark in American music history and our imprint will never be forgotten."

In retrospect, Ben J attributes the group's demise to R&B singer Tinashe. In an in-depth interview on Vlad TV in 2020, Ben J suggested that the "2 On" singer, who was dating Legacy at the time, had a negative influence on him. Detailing the difficulty they had in getting Legacy to commit to certain appearances, Ben J claims his music partner once "pretended like he had ... food poisoning" after Tinashe told him not to do a gig with Disney. Ben J continued, "Why you leave your group for this bum a** b****. How you let this bum a** b**** get famous off you? You crazy, bruh." Yikes.

When New Boyz made their debut over a decade ago in 2009, the group walked so future rap duos such as City Girls and Rae Sremmurd could run. Since nostalgia is in fashion and fans are eager for past music duos and groups to reunite, the hope for New Boyz to get back together is out there. However, some splits mean musicians refuse to work together for the long haul. 

Reconciliation looked good a year following the end to New Boyz as Legacy and Ben J did reunite as a unit for Nick Cannon's 2014 film, "School Dance." But fans eager for the West coast jerk unit to fully get back together were let down when Ben J gave a simple, yet harsh, message in 2020: "That n**** Legacy ain't f*****' with me." In an interview on Vlad TV, Ben J said he could not get his former collaborator to team up after their past issues. "I can't get him to be a part of the group, I don't know how you gon' get him here to do this interview," he said.

Just when it was looking like we were going to have to keep our jerkin' days in the past, TikTok intervened for the celebs and jumpstarted some unexpected New Boyz activity.

A hit on TikTok can really go the distance sometimes. When a video of a teacher doing the jerk started racking up views on the platform, Ben J of New Boyz took to Instagram to shout it out. "Teacher goes viral to my song 'You're a Jerk' showing all his Gen Z students how to actually jerk," he wrote in the caption, complete with laughing emojis. This teacher wasn't the only one feeling the nostalgic vibes from the track as everyone started submitting their best jerk efforts as a challenge.

The New Boyz Twitter account reposted jerk videos from notable figures like Jason Derulo, Taye Diggs, and Jake Paul as they kept the iconic moves going. Once the viral teacher video found its way out of TikTok feeds and onto ABC News, Ben J posted once again. "Hold on son?! Bro.... [Legacy] we back on the News 12yrs later!" He wrote in an Instagram caption, adding, "Let's keep it going."

Despite Legacy's focus on making music and animations — also under the moniker Dom Dolo — the feel-good throwback inspired him to resurrect his New Boyz vibe. Legacy shared his own video, this time showing everyone how to actually jerk. "I made the song so this coming straight from the source lol," he wrote on the clip. The unexpected social media buzz even led to a long-awaited reunion for something special.

Longtime fans of New Boyz got a special surprise to kick off 2022 as the duo of Legacy and Ben J moved past their split and hyped up the wave of nostalgia for their fan-favorite hit. In December 2021, Legacy posted a TikTok captioned "Phase 2." The brief clip started with him doing the jerk and ended with Ben J arriving on scene. "New Boyz reunion for the fait of planet earth," he wrote on the video.

New Boyz released "You're a Jerk 2" on January 18 and fans were shocked. "So great to hear new music from the New Boyz," one person wrote on Twitter. They added, "These dudes shaped everything from the way I dressed, rapped, carried myself. Let's go!!!" Another joked about the timing: "Can't believe the new boyz dropped you're a jerk 2 before james cameron dropped avatar 2."

Releasing the track seemed to be a positive moment for New Boyz with Ben J stating on Instagram with the announcement, "The comeback is real." As for more singles or a new album, however, the reunion may have simply been a one-time throwback. Legacy shared on Twitter shortly after "You're a Jerk 2" was released, "highkey dont even wanna do this entertainer s***." He noted having struggles with "chronic depression & anxiety" while expressing wanting to make "ART without having to compromise with anybody." This may not be a permanent reunion, but at least fans got another chapter of the New Boyz story.