HISTORY OF DAB (DABBIN)

The Dab is a move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a motion that has been noted to resemble sneezing."The move is quite basic; one leans into their elbow like they're sneezing.

ORIGIN

The Dab has its origins in the Atlanta hip-hop scene, but there is disagreement about who originated the dance. Artists frequently mentioned as possible originators include Migos (as in "Look At My Dab"), Soulja Boy, Skippa Da Flippa, Peewee Longway, and Rich The Kid
Famous hip-hop rapper Bow Wow attempted to explain the origin of the dab dance, saying it related heavily to the cannabis dabbers community started long before the dance in 2012. He was met with opposition from other rappers who immediately took to Twitter to insult and disagree with him.
There is also speculation that the dance originated from Dabbing, an action taken where someone snorts cocaine from their elbow while acting like they are sneezing. However, there is no proof that this claim is true nor false. NFL football player Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers is well known for performing this dance when he scores a touchdown. Manchester United Jesse Lingard is also well known to perform this move when he scores a goal.
POPULARITY
In 2015, the Dab gained popularity in the U.S. As XXL Magazine reported in August 2015, "What began as a provincial down South adlib is rapidly turning into a marvelous move in clubs and on street corners. It's called dabbin"

POPULARITY IN SPORTS

The Dab picked up fame in U.S. sports taking after an eight-second celebratory Dab by Cam Newton, football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, amid a 2015 game against the Tennessee Titans during week ten of the season. The game occurred on November 15, 2015. According to a Sports Illustrated account of the incident, "when two Titans players faced Newton about the celebration, he continued dancing in their faces, even as he backed away."

After his famous dab against the Titans, Newton clarified at a press conference why he had dabbed. He credited a 16-year old for instructing him to "dab on them folks":

I'm a firm believer that if you don't like me to do it then don't let me in ... I just like doing it, man. It's not to be boastful, and from the crowd's response they like seeing it. ... Tell me what to do "Dab on them folks," so I tried "Dab on them folks," in that tone too. "Dab on them folks." He's only like 16, but he's got an Adam's apple out of this world.

It was later confirmed that the 16-year old was Newton's younger sibling Caylin.

SOURCES

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dab_%28dance%29