A few months ago, CypherStyles.com came through as always and got me the latest Massive Monkees DVD, titled The 2Oh6Step: Souled Out (a play on the 206 area code of Seattle). Barry from CypherStyles.com was even nice enough to get me in touch with Terrance Guillermo, better known as Domes from the Massive Monkees. I sent him some questions, he sent me his answers, and I lazily sat on them until now.

27 members strong, Massive Monkees is one of the premiere b-boy crews in the world. Not only have they been tearing up the battle circuit and cyphers, but their community service has led to an official Massive Monkees Day being declared by Seattle mayor Greg Nickels. If that’s not enough to catch your attention, One Be Lo, one of my favorite emcees and formerly half of the legendary Binary Star, is now down with MM. And you may have seen Jeromeskee promoting the  documentary The Way of the B-Boy recently, a dope combination of instruction and history starring him and Fever One.  So I’m a little perplexed as to how I managed to put this off so long, seeing as how pretty much everywhere I turned, there was something to remind me of the Massive Monkees.

Not to mention that the DVD itself is one of the most fun that I’ve seen in a while. We get a taste of the individual styles of Tim the Pitt, Secret Skwerl, Flow Funk, Twixx, Jo Rawk, Rhythm Rage, Iron Mike Brysen, Cornbread, Armagedden, Juggernot, Jeromeskee, while also getting a chance to see the way that they are able to combine those individualities in a routines section. Not to mention there’s what looks like a pajama dance party featuring Jeromeskee and Jo Rawk.

“We wanted to show the chemistry we had with each other through the routines section and all of the clowning around,” Domes says. “We wanted the world to know it wasn’t just about the individual Massive Monkees. We wanted to show how much we actually did together – work, vibe, and kick it.”

Which is why Domes has tried to represent every b-boy and b-girl in Massive Monkees on the DVDs.

“There are so many members and everyone is pretty busy these days,” Domes says. “Every b-boy/b-girl in Massive Monkees has had their own section besides Lotuz. She lives in Texas, so it was hard to hook up with her to get her section made. Eventually it would be nice to highlight everyone. In the special features of this Souled Out I made a section that introduces to you to everyone in the crew (as of the beginning of this year.)”

Coincidentally, the crew’s first DVD was created on the same computer that the Lords of the Floor was edited. On getting the computer, Domes realized that a copy of Adobe Premiere, top of the line video editing software, was left on the computer. It was this that inspired Domes to start work on an official Massive Monkees video, and two years later, their first DVD was released.

“We plan on coming out with a couple more DVDs,” says Domes. “I have been working on putting together a DVD with the history of b-boying in Seattle from the early 1990′s to around 1999. I want to show what Seattle was like before Massive Monkees or Circle of Fire ventured out of Washington, and what breaking was like when it was in its more segregated state. Juseboogy and I have also been working on putting together a DVD showcasing b-boys around the world that have skill but don’t necessarily get in the spotlight.”

The friendship and chemistry between the members of Massive Monkees is evident on the DVD, but what would you expect from the crew that came up with a routine where they take turns humping each other and smacking each others’ asses (before you cringe, it happens to be one of the dopest routines around).

This bond between crew members is something that is often sought but rarely found among other crews, which Domes says is due to the natural way in which the crew formed.

“Before a lot of us got into breaking, we were childhood friends. Juse and I have known each other since we were babies, Flow Funk and Rodericko are brothers, and most of us went to the same high school or were from the same neighborhoods. So before Massive Monkees got together, when it was just Massive Crew and Untouchable Style Monkees/BOSS Crew, the two separate groups were comprised of family and friends.

“When we merged as Massive Monkees, it was pretty much the same thing. The mentality of dancing first and learning/preserving the foundation was so rare at that time in Seattle, that when Massive Crew and Untouchable Style Monkees/BOSS Crew got together we realized we all shared the same mind state. It was inevitable that it would happen. So I guess I would say the way we came together was natural.”

Pick up the DVD here.