The first time I saw Outrage dance, my heart stopped—in a good way. The way he demonstrated total control of his body and expressed his emotions through movement was beautiful. His chest popped, legs stomped, and arms flung out wide with precision and grace. His light hops made him appear weightless. I was already a super fan of krump, and Outrage was phenomenal. It is not surprising that Daddy Yankee, Usher, and Mary J. Blige have since tapped him to join them on stage.
On May 25, 2025 Versa-Style will be presenting its Street Dance Theater Showcase at Mihran K. Studios Burbank as part of its four-day 20th Anniversary Hip-Hop Dance Festival. One of Versa-Style’s co-artistic directors, Jackie Lopez aka Miss Funk, asked Outrage to perform alongside a lineup of high-profile choreographers.
“I have known them for a long time,” said Outrage, whose name is often shortened to Rage. “I have either battled cats, or we have worked together. It is a community thing.”
Jaylene Mendoza and Darren King aka Outrage – Photo by Peanut@vehgus.
When I first met Rage, he was about 23 years old. Marquisa Gardner, aka Miss Prissy the Queen of Krump, introduced me to him. He lived in Riverside but would drive to L.A. in a heartbeat for a freestyle session or a job. Fast forward 13 years, and I am standing in the garage of his Lakewood house on a drizzly April Saturday afternoon. His 2-year-old daughter greeted me with headphones on her ears and a turtle strapped on her back. His longtime girlfriend, Jaylene Mendoza, was away performing on the European leg of Usher’s world tour.
“She’s hilarious,” he told me again and again, looking in his toddler’s direction. Just like her father.
During our hour-long chat, his daughter would blurt, “It’s a beautiful day outside,” and when she grew bored of painting on the paper at her table, she quickly switched to brushing the bottom of her feet while her dad wasn’t looking. Rage would affectionately call her “Bubba” and “Dude” as he opened paint tubes, helped her in her mini car, and cautioned her not to dab paint on her hoodie.
Young Rage was calm, cool, and collected. He was also—and still is—hilarious. He grew up watching comedians such as Chris Tucker, Jim Carrey, and Martin Lawrence. His impersonations were spot-on, and his laughter was contagious.
“I like to entertain,” he said.
When he first started dancing, Rage called himself Dream Boy. But one of his friends quickly shot the name down.
Darren King aka Outrage – Photo courtesy of the artist.
“You don’t dance like a dream boy,” his friend said. “When you dance, it’s big and outrageous.”Outrage was born.
Throughout our conversation, Rage returned to talk of energy. The good energy he shares with his life partner, who he affectionately calls Jay. Fortunately, most of the time they do not work at the same time; meaning he will stay home with their child while she travels and vice versa.
“We switch roles,” Rage explained. “There has never been a time when we have worked at the same time. One time, when our daughter was about 1 year old, I was working with Daddy Yankee and the tour was in Puerto Rico, and they flew with me. We just got back from London to see Jay for 3 weeks. Our daughter doesn’t know why we’re leaving. She just knows we have work.”
“Of course, she misses mommy,” he added. “That’s her best friend.”
As professional dancers with a young child, they do say no to the smaller jobs. But, luckily, in addition to alternating parenting duties, both have family who live locally and can occasionally step in.
Rage talked about the energy of performing live on stage, such as during Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
“The Super Bowl is the biggest stage, and I was performing with people I enjoy and with someone I listened to when I was younger,” he said. “Dancing live is dope for the soul. People yelling at you, the energy.”
No topic is as personal or sacred as the energy of krump, whether it is felt in the session or on stage.
“The session is still the essence,” said Rage. “You go there to grow. With industry or professional dance, you are being told what to do. It is still dope, but you go to the session for a reason. The session is still home. It can bring out what happened to you that day. It depends where I am at, how my day was, who is there, the music. Sometimes it feels like a euphoria state, relaxing, very truthful. You are emotionally in a place where things are aligning.”
Darren King aka Outrage – Photo courtesy of the artist.
“And then other times I am there, and I feel like I’m on autopilot,” he shared. “Doing it without specific emotion. I am physically releasing but not emotionally. You are vibing and going to a physical higher place, but there is no sense of reason behind it. I have to sit back and think about why the movement is happening. Krump is very telling.”
These days Rage has to literally pick and choose his battles; which sessions to go to and which to skip. Some sessions spontaneously start at 2:30 a.m. He prefers invite sessions for the homies, like the ones choreographer Ian Eastwood throws in his garage dance studio, because “select energies are there.”
Rage, who got his start in the krump community, has worked extremely hard to rise above the label.
“Krumpers get boxed into that sentiment,” said Rage. “I understand different styles and do choreography. With artists like User, Daddy Yankee, and Mary J., they want me to do choreography and add krump: krump energy, krump freestyle. I can krump to anything. Krump on different stages, sessions, and platforms. They allow me to be that person in those spaces. Krump is home. I have mastered my idea of what krump is for me, so I can be on any stage.”
He continued philosophizing about how his krump has changed since the street dance’s inception in South Central L.A. around 2001.
“The dance comes from the music. The music is the sole proprietor of how and what we dance,” he said. “Krump has the same tempo. Krump is slower. I like uptempo. I like music. If the music is good, it is good. When you dance to a bunch of different music, your dance starts to expand. You hear and look at things differently, and that’s what elevates dance. Dance to things that challenge your mind musically. Put it on different stages and places. Understanding the idea of being able to be transcendent with whatever is playing and putting krump on top of that is what I enjoy doing the most. I want to be a better version of myself without needing crutches. No music, no place, nobody can change that but me.”
Rage talked about the energy of Las Vegas, where Jay and he lived for 2 years while performing with Usher’s “My Way: The Vegas Residency,” versus Los Angeles versus Lakewood, where they now reside.
“The Vegas industry is a little different,” he said. “They have all the residencies and Cirque shows. In L.A. they have commercials and movies. In Lakewood, there is a family-oriented type of energy and hella parks. It is a better place to be.”
The only time negative energy entered the conversation was on the topic of the infighting in the krump community.
“It would be a lie to say I don’t pay attention,” he said. “The people that it affects are friends and colleagues. You have to understand who you want to be around and what energy you want to share. I moved away from the scene because of reasons like that. It is beyond dance. It is very personal. It doesn’t make sense that we’re doing this for this long and we’re still trying to figure out who invented krump. It is personal and does not have anything to do with dance.”
Darren King aka Outrage – Photo by Peanut@vehgus
“When you say you are a krumper, you are already in a negative window,” he continued. “Changing that narrative is hard when others are trying to keep the narrative alive. It is hard to get over the idea of ‘this is what krump is’ when people are continually making that the forefront of what it is. It makes it hard for everyone else to move forward.”
Over the past 2 decades, krump has become an international phenomenon. Dancers around the world have gravitated toward its energy.
“Krump is fun,” said Rage. “It is one of most electrifying dances. People doing extreme movement to music. There is nothing like it.”
According to Rage, people abroad take care of krump a little better.
“Overseas is always better. They don’t take on the inner problems that we have here. I love going overseas.”
Germany hosts the European Buck Session, the world’s biggest competition. France throws The Illest, and Japan holds King of Buck.
“Each country has their own version,” he explained. “America doesn’t. The krump culture can be negative. Why would people in these spaces want you in these spaces? Individually people travel but not as a unit.”
After traveling the world judging competitions and leading workshops, Rage has become enchanted by overseas. He pictures that one day his family might live abroad.
“Every time I go overseas I never look forward to coming back,” he said. “Beautiful people, energy. The food is better. Coming here is like a slap in the face, and not like a slap in the face when you’ve been home 2 days, but as soon as you’re in the airport. I love Amsterdam. I love Japan. The government helps fund dance events over there, and they have grants, so being a professional dancer is job.”
Rage also envisions a future where he is a creative director. Artists he would like to work with include Jay-Z, King Krule, Tyler, the Creator, and Durand Jones & the Indications. Collaborations with Jay are also on the vision board.
“I love music,” he shared. “When I hear music, it brings me to a scene. Creative directing is the goal: commercials, concerts, movies, music videos, shows. I’m so into the artsy side. Whatever I don’t cover, Jay is great at covering. I call her a legend in the industry because she has worked with everyone.”
After getting a taste of acting when the couple appeared on Netflix’s “Dear White People,” Rage would like to be featured in movies.
“As dancers, we’re fighting so hard,” he said. “One job ends, then 3-4-5-6 months, no job.”
Luckily, Rage has built a foundation—both personally and professionally—that both supports him and continues to push him to new heights. And since the first day I met him, he has kept his playful sense of humor.
“That’s mandatory,” he said. “You gotta have fun. Dancing, acting, DJing. Everybody is going through hard times. Make humor out of it. Have fun with it.”
Versa-Style’s 20th Anniversary Hip-Hop Festival, Mihran K. Studios Burbank; Thursday, May 22-Sunday, May 25. versastyledance.org/festival/
For more information and to purchase tickets, please click HERE.
Written by Jessica Koslow for LA Dance Company.
Featured image: Darren King aka Outrage – Photo courtesy of the artist.
