• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Entertainment

Michael K. Williams Dancing To House Music Is The Black Joy You Need Today

This video of the “Lovecraft Country” star dancing himself free in the park is what we need going into the weekend.
Michael K. Williams Dancing To House Music Is The Black Joy You Need Today
By Kirsten West Savali · Updated September 8, 2021

Michael K. Williams may be best known for his gritty, generation-defining role as Omar from “The Wire,” and most recently for his compelling and nuanced portrayal of Montrose on HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” but here’s what you might not know…

The brother can dance.

And we mean dance dance.

Williams, the youngest of ten children, started his career as a dancer, touring with global icons like Madonna and George Michael. He also choreographed—and performed—the moves for Crystal Waters’ 1994 hit “100% Pure Love.”

Article continues after video.

Williams, who also played Chalky White on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” has shared his love for dance in several interviews, telling his childhood friend and inspiration Queen Latifah that he first dreamed of being a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson.

Article continues after video.

“All I wanted to be was a dancer. I didn’t really have any thoughts on being an actor when I first got into the arts,” Williams said in 2018 on People TV’s “Couch Surfing.”

Michael K. Williams (@BKBMG) dancing to @FrencHMonTanA and @goSwaeLee's "Unforgettable" 😂❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/ghqqlfaD1a

— 🧛🏼‍♂️🦇 (@vxmpire) June 17, 2017

Williams, who has openly discussed his turbulent youth, said that being sliced in the face with a razor blade changed his career—and his life—when Tupac Shakur specifically asked for him to play his brother in the film Bullet. It would be Williams’ first movie role.

“I think he saw my pain, my struggle, my heart,” Williams told NPR. “I was starstruck. I was like, ‘Wow, this is Tupac Shakur.’ “

Now, during a time when Black joy is so needed, and the freedom of Black bodies in motion feels especially urgent, video has emerged of Williams channeling the ancestors and the House music gods as he dances his soul to what feels like healing to “Celebration” by Djeff Afrozila Feat. Ade Alafia (Manoo’s Aitf Remix).

“Let’s really talk about range,” @BougieBlackness tweeted Thursday. “This was Michael K Williams dancing to house the other day in the city. A man of many talents.”

Oh, indeed.

Watch below and get your entire life. And salute to his dance partner, who is perfectly in sync with him, for pouring energy, love, and support into the artist. The sharing embodied here is transcendent.

Let’s really talk about range. This was Michael K Williams dancing to house the other day in the city. A man of many talents. https://t.co/50Hctyz6U6 pic.twitter.com/zSS7GduYYv

— Queer Latifah ♎️ (@BougieBlackness) October 22, 2020

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now