The Harlem shake(哈林搖), originally called the albee, is a dance introduced in 1981 by a Harlem resident named "Al B". The dance was initially referred to as "albee" after his name, but later became known as the Harlem shake as its prominence grew beyond the neighborhood. The dance became mainstream in 2001 when G. Dep featured the Harlem shake in his music video "Let's Get It".
2011年,Baauer從紐約市立學院結束學業後即開始練習創作音樂節奏。在2012年時Baauer在他在布魯克林自家的錄音室錄製《哈林搖》這首歌曲。在這首歌中,Baauer將荷蘭浩室的元素加入至嘻哈音樂中,並加入許多特別的聲音使它顯得特別突出。Baauer不久後將《哈林搖》與其他幾首他所創作的歌曲上傳至他的SoundCloud裡,2012年4月,蘇格蘭DJ Rustie注意到這首歌曲,並在他在BBC Radio 1的節目中播放這首歌曲。不久後,美國DJ、音樂製作人Diplo在聽到這首歌後,主動邀Baauer加入他創立的唱片公司Mad Decent旗下唱片公司的Jeffree's中。同年5月22日,唱片公司在Pitchfork中開放可以免費下載這首歌。