Rodrick “Scubble” Davis, The Footwork King

The New Orleans’ Second Line is a celebration of life, which traces its origins to the African traditions at Congo Square and the evolution of Jazz Funerals.  It’s a cultural artform that is commonly misunderstood but the purest form of a Second Line can be found any given Sunday in New Orleans, when one of the 40+ Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs (SAPCs) hosts their annual parade. The 4+ hours of community inspired music, art, and movement routes its way through the neighborhood, as the club floods the streets with vibrantly colored suits, feathers, and lightning quick steps in rhythm with the band. This improvisational “footwork” is an individualistic artistic expression, in symphony with the movement and energy of the community, and no one does it better than Rodrick “Scubble” Davis, known respectfully as “The Footwork King”.

“Scubble” came up in Treme, (the 6th ward), where the culture of New Orleans has always thrived. At a young age, his mother encouraged him to participate in the second lines to get his high energy out. With charisma like Kobe and moves like Michael, he has become one of the most exciting and entertaining Second Line Steppers and Grand Marshals of all-time. From the age of four, he has paraded with several different SAPCs. He’s an energizing fixture at all “Second Line Sundays” and a role model for the next generation. After winning a few footwork competitions, “Scubble” started making appearances as a for-hire Grand Marshal, electrifying parades, parties, concerts, and festivals. He’s toured and graced the stage with Trombone Shorty and has become a critical component of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and The Jazz Crawl cultural exchange tour. You can catch him leading the Treme Sidewalk Steppers’ annual Second Line parade around the first Sunday in February or “toeing the rope” alongside every other clubs’ parades, throughout the whole year…

Read the whole article, by Rick Tringali, in The New Orleans Arts Rag Volume 2