M-Bone, a dancer in the hip-hop quartet Cali Swag District, was killed in a drive-by shooting on Sunday night in Inglewood, Calif. Though not a household name, the 22-year-old born Montae Talbert has become part of an enduring dance craze, one that's been viewed more than 50 million times on YouTube and imitated by everyone from Elmo to Ellen Degeneres to Michelle Obama.
The dance move called The Dougie originated in Dallas, but Cali Swag District made it big nationally with their song "Teach Me How To Dougie." Before their hit, they were four unknown teens from a rough neighborhood in the southwestern part of Los Angeles county, looking for a way into the music business. M-Bone was their dancer.
Jeff Weiss, a freelancer for the Los Angeles Times, interviewed Talbert and the group earlier this year. Weiss says that M-Bone was integral to the group's success.
"When you're a dance group at least one of the guys in the group needs to be really good at it," he says.