Time and time again, original b-boys have espoused the dancing styles of James Brown as a major pillar of b-boying.

Unfortunately, we live in an age where Brown’s influence and character aren’t as prevalent as it was for those OGs. It really isn’t that rare that a beginner b-boy can recite the runs and outfits of their favorite Korean b-boys but respond with “Huh? Who’s that?” when hearing the name James Brown. Even more unfortunately, there was never a definitive interview where Brown was asked about his thoughts on his influence over b-boying (not that I know of, anyway).

On the flip side, we do have access to some video gems of Brown talking about his favorite dances and the motivations behind them. Above is a video of Brown breaking down his favorite moves.

Click the jump to hear Brown talk about originality, freestyling and only dancing in ways that match his emotions at the time. Sound familiar?