I could talk here about how much of an honor it is when interview subjects say we ask the right questions. Or I could comment on how social networking sites like this democratize the interview process by eliminating the middle man between “celebrities” and their fans.
But none of that means much when you’re hit in the face with some tough, hard-hitting questions like:
penis?
3 feet long
The thing about talking shit… is that it’s hilarious.
What pisses you guys off in the b-boy scene right now?
“I don’t care what song you’re breakin’ to. But when you’re breaking, subconsciously you’re singing ‘Just Begun’ in your head.” – Alien Ness (Foundation)
I remember being in NYC a few years ago and hearing about a session somewhere in Harlem. I got directions from some girl whose name I can’t remember (thank you random NYC b-girl!) and I printed out directions from Google Maps just in case.
At least it seems like every b-boy ever. Elizabeth Dell, producer of B-Girl, talked about this audition in our interview with her, her sister, and Lady Jules last year (see the 3:30 mark in the clip below), calling it “one of my top 10 days in my whole life.”
B-boys featured in this clip include Incredible Josh, Legacy, Spee-D, Flea, Venum, Luigi, K-Mel, Remedy, Do Knock, and Rainen. And probably some others I missed.
I talk about Rawbzilla a lot on this site, but it’s hard not to when his moves in a clip like this are still as relevant now as they were a decade ago.
In this recent interview with MikeyIce, the self-proclaimed “Lizard King” spends a lot of time talking about his inspirations and his thoughts on foundation, judging and biting. The audio and video quality aren’t the best, but depending on your level of patience and your willingness to sit and learn, this interview has the potential to be a game-changer.
Take, for instance, Rawbzilla’s stories about finding inspiration from carousels, cockroaches, Godzilla movies, the Grinch, and even tow trucks — apparently, after driving past a tow truck lift a car, he pulled over and immediately came up with a move on the concrete. “That’s zoning out and pretending you’re something you’re not,” he says.
UPDATE: You can watch the entire thing streaming online here (and it has an introduction by Maggie Gyllenhaal).
If we choose to believe Kool Herc (which is generally a good idea in my book [oh, and he was mentioned here in the New York Times today]), then the “b” in “b-boying” came as a result of the “break” in music that was looped and extended for the dancers.
Fast forward a few decades, and many those same breaks — whether sampled or otherwise — still get played as anthems for b-boys and for hip-hop in general. But how does that impact the original artists who played those songs?
What’s the deal with Pro-Keds? What about with Adidas Superstars? How do I keep my [insert material type here] sneakers clean? How do I match my sneakers to my outfit? Is it true that keeping your shoes clean is part of b-boying?
Ken Swift goes above and beyond by exhaustively answering the most trivial of these questions and more in this four-part (!) interview from reptank. No detail is overlooked, from the importance of light-colored midsole to improve footwork visibility to advice on keeping stitching and laces fresh. He even talks about using cologne to keep your Adidas stripes shiny. (Consider this fair warning that the average person will find this inexplicably boring, but I watched it all in one sitting.)
The interview itself is nothing too fancy, but there’s definitely something endearing about informal knowledge-dropping sessions like these. Factor in the fact that Ken Swift is still rocking floors, and it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone that he’d be a shoo-in on our list of the top b-boys of the 2000s.
Hit the jump to see more of the interview.
I like Karmaloop, even though I don’t really have the money to buy from there very often. And I’ve been watching Karmaloop TV ever since I saw this crazy interview with Bigfoot One.
So I was pretty excited to see that they’d posted up an interview with Easy Rock from Rock Steady Crew. And even though I was disappointed at how short it was, I think he touched on some interesting and important subjects — most notably the fact that it’s alright to have hobbies outside of b-boying, saying:
“I’m not trying to be Mr. New York, Mr. Hip Hop or Mr. This, I’m just me and this is what we do. So there’s no fear of having to put yourself in one category. You can pretty much just do it all.”
Phew, now I don’t have to feel so self conscious about my floral-based stamp collection. I’M JUST BEIN ME!
After long-term media exposure to b-boying, it can become a tendency to polarize b-boying history. There are the super-old interviews and originators from before people were even calling it “b-boying” or “hip-hop,” and then there are the fresh new cats who represent the future.
However, this interview with the New York City Breakers (who are shown above) from Bomb Hip-Hop (who got it from Subculture Magazine) is intriguing and insightfulbecause it comes from that gray area in the ’90s — an era whose history often seems to get overlooked because it fell in the gap between the more dynamic ages of Beat Street and You Got Served.
It really is amazing to see how in just over a decade, so much about b-boying has changed — as well as how little as changed.
Take, for instance, how London answers a question about b-boy music:
…We used to dance to James Brown or Apache. Those beats were somewhat fast, but now beats have slowed down. Now the average tempo is between 95 and 110. Back then, it was like 120.
By now you’ve probably either seen the clips or heard the chatter about the movie B-GIRL, starring Mighty 4 2006 champ Lady Jules. We had the opportunity to sit down with her as well as Emily Dell, the writer and director, and her sister Elizabeth Dell, the producer.
They address everything from the struggle to get the film made to dealing with negative feedback from b-boys and b-girls.
There will be a special advance preview screening of B-GIRL as part of the Evolution pre-party in Atlanta this Thursday, December 3rd. The screening is at 7:30pm at the Plaza Theater (1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, 30306).
Here’s the rundown:
“Tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased at www.bgirlmovie.com/events, or $15 at the door. The one ticket price includes the screening, Q&A with the Director, Emily Dell, and local ATL b-girls VENDETTA and SEVERE, and the afterparty.” EDIT: Just got word that the screening is now free.
Many thanks to Jules, Emily, and Elizabeth for taking the time to talk to us.
We’ve always let you know when to get your hands on cheap Pro-Keds, and thanks to a tip from Harold we’re letting you know that you States-side readers can get your hands on them for just $10.35. Click above to go to the sale page.
Also don’t miss our Cypherside Chat with Poe One. It might just blow your mind. Here’s one of my personal favorite quotes:
“Style is an approach. It’s not anything else. They’re trying to say a style guy is a footwork guy. I’ve seen footwork guys with no style.”
Peace, and happy Thanksgiving!
We’ve seen a 73-year-old b-boy and an 83-year-old woman doing freezes, but I have to say that this 70-year-old woman from China seems the most legit of all those.
The video, found on the Old School Scholar blog, shows more than just the gimmick of an old woman dancing. It touches on issues of culture, politics, and mutual respect between the generations in its short eight minutes. It’s framed around a pretty manufactured “battle” between the crew of old ladies and a crew of young b-boys, but we do get the pleasure of seeing the grandmas discover how to give props.
We had to sit on this one for a while because we weren’t sure we–or anyone else–could handle it. Given the delicate nature of the economy and political tensions in the world right now, we didn’t want to throw the globe into a state of fiery spinning chaos by introducing a full clip that would make heads explode from too much rawness. But the time has come.
So, click here here for our interview with the father of hip-hop.
It’s unedited and uncut for your viewing pleasure. Filmed at Street Science earlier this year, Kool Herc discusses his thoughts on the current state of b-boying and hip-hop, thoroughly intimidates us and, as the title of this blog post implies, drops some eye-opening surprises.
To see the final Breakumentary: Old to the New featuring this footage as well as interviews with Focus, Differ, Toyz, Menno, Katsu and others, click here.
Oh, and no making fun of my voice or my usage of the word “sir.” Okay, maybe just a little bit.
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?
If the Strife.tv coverage of Jean Claude Van Jam weren’t crazy enough, now there’s the latest from this web series that’s kind of like a The Daily Show for the b-boy community (and it just so happens to feature footage from that same Strife.tv episode).
Among other highlights, there are plenty of jabs at recent and upcoming events like Freestyle Session, IBE and Red Bull BC One, and there’s even a “BBOY LOOK-A-LIKE CONTEST” comparing b-boys to Street Fighter II characters.
In other words, it’s the sort of thing every b-boy has wished he could do but decided not to because it’d piss too many people off.
Yeah, it’s pretty funny.
Click the jump to view older episodes.
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