HIP HOP
INFLUENCES
TITLE HOW THIS INFLUENCED HIP HOP MR WIGGLES RECOMENDED
MUST HAVE MUSIC
JAMES BROWN James Brown's music has influenced HIP HOP overall, from his
dancing, call and response, his musical feel, his influence on BREAK BEATS or
FUNK DRUMMING. James Brown hired so many influential drummers and musicians in
his band that he pretty much single handedly shaped the world of BREAK BEAT
MUSIC.
FUNK DRUMMING THE BREAK BEATS. From EARL PALMER to CLAYTON FILLYAU to CLYDE STUBBLEFIELD. these FUNK DRUMMERS created the beats
that made HIP HOP music what it is today.
JAMES BROWN GOOD FOOT From what the TWINS say. James Browns movements inspired
young BBOYS dance styles.
AFRICAN DANCE / CAPOEIRA (Angola)
The roots to HIP HOP culture is in it's bloodlines. And in CAPOEIRA you can see
the movements and it's similarities to BBOYING.
HOOFIN/ TAP / FLASH STYLE
(SAMMY DAVIS JR. NICHOLAS BROTHERS) If you look at certain footwork patterns
and steps where SAMMY DAVIS kicked his feet out, and certain ground moves done
by groups like the NICHOLAS BROTHERS. you can definitely see the influence on
BREAKING>
SALSA/ BOMBI PLENA In the Latino communities throughout NYC, allot of style and
they way the did there moves had that feel of a SALSERO. So the flava and moves
like the RUMBA, and many other played a major roll in the shape and style of
LATINO BBOYS. Especially when dealing with the UPROCKERS and TOP ROCKERS.
NATIVE AMERICAN DANCE / FANCY DANCE The same as in Salsa, NATIVE dance
especially the FANCY DANCE influenced TOP ROCKING and UPROCKING. Especially in
the footwork and the head movements.
KUNG FU MOVIES MARTIAL ARTS movies was so popular among young African Americans
and Latinos. That we would go to 42nd
street back in the late 70's and early 80's where
you can watch like 5 Kung Fu movies for $3-$5. And young BBOYS would borrow
moves and styles and mix it with there dance. Like KEN SWIFT'S PYTHON TOPROCK.
GYMNASTICS BBOYS like TRACK 2 would combine movements from there gymnastics
background into there breaking. Like Track's hand stand pirouette which help
lead to CRAZY LEG'S one hand spin which became known as the 1990. Also young
new comers like BBOY GERMAN who incorporated the THOMAS FLARE into his dance
routine, and was one of the early pioneers in mixing gymnastics with power
moves.
AN EARLY PERSPECTIVE OF THE BRONX BEFORE AND DURING THE CREATION OF HIP HOP
in the late 60's early 70's there was a revolution goin on in the streets of
NYC. we had some of the sickest gangs rumbling in the parks at midnight, and
running the ghetto hoods block by block. Back then being in a gangs like being
in a family. and your family was also your entire neighborhood. Some gangs
stretched out throughout the entire NYC area, and had chapters in every
borough.
BLACK SPADES
SAVAGE NOMADS
SAVAGE SKULLS
CHINGALINGS
GHETTO BROTHERS
THE IMMORTALS
YOUNG SINNERS
ROYAL CHARMERS
THE SEVEN CROWNS
JAVELINS
GLORY STOMPERS
BLUE DIAMONDS
Being raised in the Bronx myself, i grew up on east Treomont in Grand Concourse
near Echo park (an area known for gangs and original hip hop jams). where i
lived we were surrounded by Javelins and Black Spades. I was constantly
learning my street knowledge by hangin out with baby javelins in Echo park when
i was only around 6-7 years old. i drank my first liquor in echo park with
SHORT STOP from the javelins, i smoked my first cigarette picking up buts off
the streets while playing hookie at age 7, i started my first fire by echo park
during school hours and watched the smoke rise till pedestrians yelled at me
and i ran, i also learned my first tag and was givin the name "lil KOOL
KAT" by my older sister. i was hung out my apartment window 4 flights by
members of a gang called the IMPERIAL SPADES that my older sister CINDY hung
out with. Every time my sis left the room they would grab me and hang me out
the window. lol. i was always finding 007 knives, stilettos, and broken
clackers (a toy that had two heavy balls attached to a string and made a click
clack noise when you swung it. It was used as a gang weapon and became banned due
to violence). during these times the music was based on allot of heavy rock
(Jimi Hendrix), and heavy revolutionary soul (James Brown). i learned tons of
ghetto rhymes growing up in the streets from the older cats.
Growing up amongst, gang violence, drugs, poverty, police harassment, broken
down abandon buildings, and bad schools added to this rebellious attitude that
the youth had towards society. it was like living in a war zone at times.
hearing gun shots in the allies at night and seeing the blood stained streets
the next morning on your way to school. that was mine and every other young
kids life in the south Bronx during these
times. back the rumbles could start over any thing from stepping on some ones
shoes, messing with the wrong girls, or being in the wrong turf and not
removing your colors (gang jacket). The south Bronx gangs emulated the biker
gangs except most Bronx gangs couldn't afford
bikes. So war seemed like the only vehicle that these gangs rode. and there was
allot of wars. weapons of choice were zip guns (home made weapon), bats
(sometimes with nails in them), Molotov cocktails, sawed off shot guns, hand
grenades, chains, 007's, stilettos, clackers, nun chucks, pipes, ect. And to
become a member of one of these gangs you would have to go through some sort of
test. One such test was called the APACHE LINE, where a new recruit would have
to walk in between two line of gang members and get beat down from one side to
the other. Another test was RUSSIAN ROULETTE, and as brotha LUCKY STRIKES put
it in the book YES YES YALL. Allot of potential gang members were left dead in
abandon building, with the police thinking it was suicide and not a gang
recruiting ceremony. --------------------------
James Brown Collection
James Brown
GANG INFLUENCE ON HIP HOP
MUSIC
In every aspect of HIP HOP culture there is a connection of some sort of gang
influence. in many cases HIP HOP heads were gang members them selves. lets take
the DJ for example. while KOOL HERC gained respect from gangs by doin his
thing, he was also shoutin them out on the mic, and keepin the peace in his
jams. he developed a respect from these gang members by giving them respect
during his jams. Gangs were also used as protection for DJ's and guarding
equipment, and collecting money at the doors of jams. Then of course we have
one the South BRONX's biggest gang leaders who turned his gang into the biggest
hip hop movement in the streets of new
york and eventually the world. I am talkin about
AFRIKA BAMBAATAA and the mighty ZULU NATION. BAM gained his street movement
with the BLACK SPADES, and soon turned the SPADES into the ORGANIZATION, and
eventually the ZULU NATION. they were the the biggest and most feared as well.
Aside from BAM there was DJ DICE from CHUCK CHUCK CITY CREW, DJ FLASH and the
CASANOVA CREW, and many other DJ affiliations. gangs would show up to jams
often to gain there respects, and if that didn't happen, to break sh%t up. but
one of the most famous chants to come off during a ZULU jam was when a gang
called THE GESTAPO would show up. and back the the ZULU mc's would get the
crowd to chant ZULU!, but the Gestapo crew would respond GESTAPO!, in the end
the mc would chant ZULU! and the whole crowd would chant back GESTAPO! and it
became a popular chant during ZULU jams.
GANG INFLUENCE IN DANCE/UPROCKING (not to be confused with BBOYING)
now in dance, there is a significant amount of information that points to the
fact that gangs had a major influence in a dance called UPROCKIN. one such fact
is that all the gangs in NYC had a certain dance that they did before going to
war. it was sort of like a gang member imitating what he will do to his enemy
when they rumble. the dance involved strikes and movements of violence between
two dancers. imitating (miming) weapons such as zip guns, knives, bats, and
fists. This dance would later be emulated by a brother in BROOKLYN
named "RUBBER BAND" (also a brother named "APACHE") who was
eventually murdered over a dance battle gone bad. It is said that he was one of
the greatest dancers on the streets. RUBBER BAND was also said to have laid the
foundation of the dance with JERKS and BURNS and was responsible for takin the
gang style dance to the clubs and made it popular with the DISCO CROWD and it
eventually became a dance done all over the city by gangsters and non gangsters
alike. But it was common knowledge that BROOKLYN
mastered this dance with such crews as DYNASTY ROCKERS. (for more info on
uprockin "UNITEDUPROCKERS").
GANG INFLUENCE IN WRITING/GRAFFITI
This is probably the easiest connection to make in reference to gangs inspiring
elements in HIP HOP. the truth is evident in other cities where gangs marked
there turf with there tags and signs and claimed there hoods with graffiti.
allot of writers came from gangs, and while writing can be argued as being an
element of HIP HOP, there were tons of writers that had nothing to do with HIP
HOP and weren't even black or Latino. One of the first writers on record to hit
up in NYC was a writer with GREEK origin named "TAKI", but also what
needs to be noted is that the earliest writers that started the movement in NYC
were in Philly, a writer named CORNBREAD wanted to please a girl he was after,
so by taggin her name on her bus route he figured he can get her attention, and
before you know it , writing flourished it's way to NYC. but aside from this
history, writing was a one of the best ways to let any outside gangsters know
what hood they were in so they can watch there step, and remove there colors
(jacket with there names on it) before they would enter any other rivals area.
This would be the same in almost every ghetto in America, from cholo gangs in LA ,
to the gangs in Chicago, as well as NYC.
MR WIGGLES RECOMENDED
MUST HAVE HIP HOP MOVIES
THE DJ (KOOL HERC)
in 1955 inKINGSTONJAMAICA,
a child was born who would eventually end up in one of the darkest ghettos in America, and
father a culture that would soon change the sound of music .
the child's name: Clive Campbell (aka KOOL HERC)
the place: The BRONX
the culture: HIP HOP
Clive Campbell migrated to New York's west BRONX when he was only 12 years old. When the young Clive
Campbell was attending Alfred E. Smith high school, he was constantly lifting
weights in the school weight room. And when you add his huge body with his
tallness that him as well as his brother KENNETH had. You would understand why
the other kids nick named him HERCULES.
Initially HERC was down with a writing crew (graffiti group) young Herc was
always inspired by the sounds and culture of his JAMAICAN roots, toasting, and
the dubbing (mc'in and dj'in) that the DJ's had in his original birth place was
instilled in his soul. He eventually got a system of his own and began dj'in
locally to help make money to buy his lil sis some school clothes. His first DJ
gig was a party in 1520 Sedgwick. in a small recreation center that his sister
rented for about $25, and they would charge about 25 cents for girls and 50
cents for guys at that time. He began to throw many parties there before a
predominantly African American crowd (at this time the Latinos were more
heavily into LATIN DANCE and DISCO). that's where herc would also fine tune his
personal love for the break sections of all of his records. Although herc could
still get the crowd jumping by playing "Listen To Me" by Baby Huey full
out. Through his knowledge that every Jamaican record had a dub side to it, he
focused on the break downs of instrumentals, and drum solos. He new that by
extending the break he could lock the crowd into a state of frenzy. You see
herc studied the crowd response when ever the drum solo would kick in, and he
figured that by extending that drum solo, he could keep the whole atmosphere in
that one state. So he began buying two copies of each record, (which he would
soak the labels off so that other DJ's couldn't find out what records he was
playing) and began to manipulate the turntables when the break ended on one
turntable he would start it all over again on the next turn table, and would do
this over and over until he saw it fit to throw on the next crazy beat. he
called this the merry go round. Not only was he known for having the funkiest
breaks but hercs biggest claim to fame was his sound system. It was said that
herc named his crew the herculoids, but he son clarified that the name
herculoids was a name he gave to his sound system. It was so loud that no other
DJ could compete with him in a park jam battle which a young up and coming DJ
by the name of Africa Bambaataa found out when he was blown away by herc's
system in a battle. Herc owned what was known as a macintosh amp, which at the
time was the most respected power amp, and also had sure speaker columns, he
dubbed his system the "HERCULORDS" and his distinct sound was based
on his heavy bass. he was also quoted saying that the only person that was
close to him ion his time was a kid named "SMOKEY". herc began
playing in clubs like twilight zone, and eventually the hevalo club. as his
fame grew other DJ's began to make there contributions to hercs sound. Herc was
also known for toastin on the mic and shouting people out from the crowd to get
more crowd response. this came from things he remembered from his native Jamaica. and he
also had what was known as the first mc to rock a hip hop party. "COKE LA ROCK" and HERC also had
an MC named "TIMMY TIM".
FAMOUS DJ'S THAT CAME AFTER HERC
AFRIKA BAMBAATAA: known as the man with a thousand records. BAM'S collection
was no doubt the largest, and the most versatile. Bam was also the leader of
the largest ghetto organization in NYC. The ZULU NATION. And eventually landed
a major deal on TOMMY BOY RECORDS along with mc's POW WOW, GLOBE, and MR.
BIG'S. they went on to record one of the most famous hip hop songs of all time.
"PLANET ROCK".
GRAND MASTER FLASH: Known as the creator of the quick mix (speed) , cutting,
and also makes claim along with DJ THEODORE for inventing the scratch., FLASH
was also the DJ for one of the most influential hip hop groups "GRAND
MASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE"
Mc's: COWBOY, MELLE MEL, KID CREOLE, MR. NES (SCORPIO)), RAHIEM.
they went on to record many hit records including one of the first rap records
ever:
UNDER THE TITLE "THE YOUNGER GENERATION" SONG TITLE "WE ROCK SO
MELLOW"
(this was actually the 2nd rap record release after king Tim the third).
GRAND WIZARD THEODORE: The inventor of the needle drop, and also the scratch.
He was the younger brother of a well known DJ "MEAN GENE" and part of
a crew called "THE L BROTHERS" and he eventually became part one the
most famous crews "FANTASTIC 5" along with RUBY D, PRINCE WHIPPER WHIP,
DATA ROCK, KEVIE KEV,. FANTASTIC 5 were well known for all there
accomplishments. But they are best remembered for there battle against THE COLD
CRUSH 4.
LOVE BUG STARSKI: Starski was probably the best party rocker of his time, he
was one of the first DJ MC'S, and was also known for coining the mc rhyme
phrase "HIP HOP SHOOWOP DA BOP. Starski is rarely given props for his
accomplishments in HIP HOP. But his crowd rocking style gave way to many DJ's
and mc's.
OTHER DJ's WHO PAVED THE WAY WERE:
CHARLIE CHASE: DJ for the cold crush four, and also known for bridging the gap
between African American and Latino youth.
AFRICA ISLAM: Known as the son of BAMBAATAA,
he was a bboy/ DJ, and had the perfect feel for playing breaks for the hardcore
bboys. he had a crew called the MAY BERRY CREW with mc's DONALD D and KID
VICIOUS.
GRAND MIXER DST: Besides being a dope BBOY / DJ / PRODUCER. DST had incredible
DJ skills, and recorded some great under ground records with his crew "THE
INFINITY RAPPERS" (MC'S SHAHIEM, and ), But DST will always be remembered
by his work with HERBIE HANCOCK on the hit record "ROCKIT" back in
the mid 80's.
WHIZ KID: This man was at one time know as the simply the best. All you ever
heard in the streets was that nobody can mess with WHIZ KID. He showcases his
versatility on the hit record "PLAY THAT BEAT" along with MC GLOBE of
the soul sonic force. In this song WHIZ KID DEMONSTRATED different scratch for
every name that GLOBE CALLED out. He is no longer with us and will be missed by
all OG HIP HOPERS.
OTHER INFLUENTIAL DJ's
there were many DJ's that were around during the creation of HIP HOP culture,
but most were known as main stream, and disco DJ's. it is the opinion of many
that herc was known as the DJ of the ghettos, and for focusing his sound on
break beats rather than disco. These are some of the big DJ's of that time who
still had a major influence on hip hop culture.
KOOL DJ DEE
DJ TEX
DISCO KING MARIO
JOHNNY THUNDER BIRD
HOLLYWOOD
GRAND MASTER FLOWERS
DJ PETE DJ JONES
EDDIE CHEEBA
THE BREAK BEAT
(the percussive part of many SOUL, FUNK, and R&B records)
To get to the origin of HIP HOP, we need to examine one of it's main
components. "THE BREAK BEAT "what this word signifies is a style of
drumming that influenced BBOYS/ BGIRLS, to "GO OFF". All HIP HOP
rhythms have it's origin in AFRICAN MUSIC. But to be specific we have to go
back to the most influential DRUMMERS, of the time period when FUNK music with
break beats were being recorded.
EARL PALMER
ROGER HAWKINS
CLAYTON FILLYAU
CLYDE STUBBLEFIELD
MELVIN PARKER
JAMES "DIAMOND" WILLIAMS
JAMES GADSON
AL JACKSON, JR.
ANDY NEWMARK
DAVID GARIBALDI
JOHN "JABO" STARKS
MAURICE WHITE
RAY TORRES
MIKE CLARK
And many more drummers contributed to the sound that molded what HIP HOP is today.
This particular drum sound was said to have been created in NEW ORLEANS. According to the book "GIVE
THE DRUMMER SOME" (I highly recommend this book). Drummers like EARL
PALMER (who is said to be the earliest funk style drummer ever) would imitate
all the sounds coming from hundreds of marching band drummers who fused Latin
percussion influences from the AFRICANS in NEW ORLEANS native land BRAZIL. Add
the sounds of new Orleans jazz to this gumbo and you have a unique sound that
jazz drummers would imitate but only on one drum kit (as opposed to hundreds of
drummers) this added a whole new syncopation to the drum patterns of that day
which was like a revolution in music. You see according to CLAYTON FILLYAU,
when he started playing for JAMES BROWN, he refused to have the band lean on
him as just a live click track, he pretty much made it clear that he was doing
his thing and other musicians better keep up. When CLAYTON played on live at
the APOLLO. That became a major break through for funk drumming. And before you
knew it, every band had a drummer with a similar sound. BREAK BEATS eventually
became the heart and soul of what we call hip hop today. BREAK BEATS is what
AFRIKA BAMMBATTA used to describe to the young ROCK STEADY bboys as "THE
CALL OF THE DRUM". Once the drums start playing, people that fell the
spirit of these drums will gather. And this is what was referred to as a
"JAM" no matter how far you were, once a DJ started playing these
beats. People would gather from all parts of the Bronx
to one spot. Some people will here about a jam from word of mouth. But allot of
people will actually hear the music from afar and rush over to the jam. The
BREAK BEAT was so powerful that it attracted people from all communities
(mostly AFRICAN AMERICAN, PUERTO RICANS, ). And these people would gather in
the jams to hear there favorite beats, chill with some ladies, show off there
latest gears (clothes), and also to BATTLE. These beats that were manually
looped to extend them (thanks to the innovation by KOOL HERC), created an
atmosphere that was some what a blood line connection to the tribal pasts of
these young African American, and Puerto Rican teenagers. A DJ would tease the
crowd with the opening of a funk song with the vocals singing over the beat,
guitars, and horns. But once that break would kick in, the crowd would get down
harder and the DJ would then manually extend the break with two turntables and
back spinning the records in such a way as to get the crowd in a frenzy. By
show casing the DJ's speed, and precise on time cuts. The crowd would respond
by getting down harder with there latest moves and dance. But to get the crowd
into the grooves even harder the DJ's started introducing vocalists that would
chant, and crowd please and keep the people partying. These vocalists were
called "MC'S".
DIGGIN FOR BEATS/ DIGGIN IN THE CRATES/ FINDING BREAK BEATS
One of the most forgotten arts of HIP HOP is undoubtedly the art of finding
break beats. it seems that most of today's DJs are more focused in showcasing
there skills than finding funky new ill breaks from obsolete rare records and
impressing the crowds with a new beat. this art form was probably the main
element that actually kept people comin back to jams. just to hear what new
beats there favorite DJ would surprise the crowds with. Besides keepin the
party rockin and making the people move. DJs were also known for certain break
beats that they introduced to the HIP HOP ears. KOOL HERC was known for washing
off record lables and replacing them with different ones so that other rival
DJs would not know what record he was playing. they would sneak a peak at his
records and go to the record shops only to find out that they were tricked into
buying the wrong albums. places where HERC and many other DJs would buy there
breaks at were places like "the RHYTHM DEN", or "DOWNSTAIRS
RECORDS". back in the early 70's it was all about the rare breaks.
scratchin, and cuttin was a the criteria of the future, but in 73 it was all
about your sound system, and who had what record that nobody else had. that was
the marks of respect. Also look at the article BEAT QUEST.
THE MC
In the early days of HIP HOP an Mc sounded more like a smooth radio disc
jockey. BAMBAATAA will always refer to original concepts of what an MC is and
where is came from like SHIRLEY ELLI'S "The Name Game" and "the
Clapping Song". And people like PIGMEAT MARKHAM's "Here Comes The
Judge". Also credited were groups like THE BLACK POETS, and THE WATTS
PROPHETS. Street snappin (mama joke) called THE DOZENS.
They were the masters of ceremonies, the mic controllers, the party pleasers,
teasers, with the. By saying rhymes on the mic, and doing crowd call and
responses, MC'S became the main focus of a jam, at times the most vital
attractions as well. They were the stars of the show mainly because they were
the most heard and most exposed out of all of the other elements of a jam.
While the DJ was spinning the phattest break beats that made other DJ's wanna
find out what that record was, the mc was manipulating the crowd with there
clever word play. This eventually lead too mc's forming a crew with the DJ and
throwing bigger jams that would include battles to see who had the tightest
crew. The first mc on record to rhyme over break beats was a mc by the name of "COKE
LA ROCK".
KOOL HERC featured "COKE LA
ROCK" in his earlier jams to fill in and crowd please
while Herc was spinning records. The next mc (on record) to grab the mic in a
Hip Hop jam was mc "COWBOY" known as an eventual member of the famed
"FURIOUS 5 MC'S". At this point there were many mc's to grab the mic.
Some of the most notable ones and there contributions were:
BUZY B: Known as the king of crowd pleasers, he was one of the most popular
party rockers of his era.
MELLE MEL: Mel was known for his incredible lyrical skills. Before there was a
RAKIEM, BIGGY SMALLS, AND BIG DADDY KANE, MEL WAS HOLDING IT DOWN.
GRAND MASTER CAZ: CAZ was also known for his lyrical skills in the same vein as
MELLE MEL. CAZ precise delivery and ill metaphors, and was a key member in the
COLD CRUSH 4 MC'S.
KOOL MOE DEE: MOE DEE was one of the best. He
combined intricate lyrics with a fast rhyme style and along with his crew mates
THE TREACHEROUS 3 (LA
SUNSHINE, SPECIAL K) they had consecutive ghetto hit records
that put them on the map. And one of the most unforgettable and famous battle
of all times. KOOL MOE DEE-VS-BUZY B.
OTHER NOTABLE MC'S WERE
WHIPPER WHIP: He had the smoothest voice and precision delivery.
DATA ROCK: Also a great mc
COWBOY: a true legend, and smooth rhyme sayer
THE BBOYS
(TOP ROCK, FOOTWORK, FREEZES, POWER)
This is a topic that must be broken down into three separate generations in
order to fully understand the history of this dance. In researching bboy
history, i found that there were many names being tossed around as the fathers
of this dance, but the names that i would here the most were "THE NIGGA
TWINS". but when referring to actual moves that has become the foundation
of this dance, the names that would constantly come up were groups like
"CRAZY COMMANDERS", and "SAL SOUL". I found myself just
like every other bboy seeking history very confused. but only up until a an
event that took place in Ohio on Sept. 10-11 1999. in this panel
discussion we were finally abel to bring THE NIGGA TWINS as well as BBOYS TRAC
2, and JOJO. two sets of bboys representing two different generations. and i
must say that fireworks were bursting in the room that day. but in the end when
the smoke cleared i was able to scrape up this breakdown, which is still based
on my thoughts of what took place between these two generations of bboying. So
i will attempted to do this by dissecting BBOY history into the "EARLY
70'S". "MID 70'S", and the "80's".
THE EARLY 70'S
"THE CREATION AND THE BLUE PRINTS"
Now before i get into this section, there is an important issue that needs to
be cleared up. during the early 70's the original bboys were mostly if all
African American. in the Bronx we had a mixture of both black and Latinos
living in the same hood, but there were two subcultures going on at the same
time. while the young African American kids were more into the James Brown
sound, most Latinos were into salsa and a dance called UPROCKING which became
famous in BROOKLYN NYC. So i will break down both dance styles. (these two
styles and there histories are still being researched, and i am still looking
for more information)
THE BBOYS
When i finally got to meet the NIGGA TWINS (Keith and Kevin), the first thing
that i asked them was who was the first bboy ever? and the first name they mentioned
was "JAMES BROWN". they felt that James set the pace in the dance
that they did, and in examining what they did during there era, there is some
truth to that. you see the original BBOYS from the early 70's didn't break the
same way we were breaking in the mid 70's. and if you ask them what they think
of the bboys from the mid 70's ear they will straight up say "it's dope
but it ain't bboyin". what bboys like the twins consider bboyin is a
totally different style and foundation than the "TOP ROCK , FOOTWORK, AND
FREEZE" foundation that we teach today. there are many truths to unveil
about early bboys. so lets start with the name. the name "BBOY" was
actually not the name of every kid that breaks, but an actual phrase coined by
the father of HIP HOP "DJ KOOL HERC". the word BBOY was a short term
for "BREAK BOY"< or "BEAT BOY",and even "BRONX
BOY". a dancer who dances to BREAK BEATS. HERC gave this name to a group
of elite dancers of that era that were getting down in his jams. dancers like
KLARK KENT
THE AMAZING BOBO
JAMES BOND
SAU SAU
TRICKSY
THE NIGGA TWINS
EL DORADO MIKE
and more
these dancers were among the most respected bboys in the bronx in the early
70's, and they were called the bboys. to them the word BBOY was like the name
of there specific crew. how did the this word become an actual title for the
dance? my guess would be that the legend of these dancers would eventually
carry the word BBOY to represent the name of the dance to all the young up and
coming dancers who followed there footsteps. in my experience as a young HIP
HOP dancer in 1976. the word BBOY was any body who was BREAKIN at the time. but
in any event, we excepted this name and till this day it is still the best
descriptive term for the dance. although there were many expressions during the
70's that people used to describe the actions of breaking. terms like "GO
OFF" were popular was that we would tell someone to dance. but it is clear
that such phrases were just an expression no different than phrases like
"GET DOWN" or "CUT UP". those were terms used by the crowd
to get dancers to do there thing. but not actual names of a dance.
now lets get down to the moves. back in the twins times. they never did moves
like the "HEAD SPIN", BACK SPIN", or the " CHAIR
FREEZE". these moves came from the next generation. moves that the
original BBOYS were more like "THE SLING SHOT", "THE
FRANKENSTEIN", and "THE DRACULA" lots of stand up dancing that
involved allot of shuffling, and was very funky, and there was also sweeps and
ground moves similar to what SAMMY DAVIS, or the NICHOLAS BROTHERS would do.
And in examining there top rock style (vertical dance), it was totally
different than bboys of today. they seemed to have a whole different style and
foundation to there dance. but the most important asset to a bboy was how they
,manipulated the music, and how they would catch phrases in a record. MELLE MEL
(from the Furious 5 mc's) told me and CRAZY LEGS a story about probably the
best bboy back then named "SAUSAU". when this brotha would dance he would
improvise off of anything. the music, the crowd, and even objects around him.
and one time he started gettin down on the ground in an out door jam and
somehow ended up on a tree still gettin down. although this generation of bboys
did not do the basic foundation that we know of today, the "6 step",
"baby freezes" and so forth. they created the original form the would
eventually evolve into today's BREAKIN, and they laid the blueprints for the
next generation of BBOYS to come.
THE MID TO LATE 70'S
"THE NEXT LEVEL"
Now before i get into this section, there is an important issue that needs to
be cleared up. during the early 70's the original bboys were mostly if all
African American. in the Bronx we had a mixture of both black and Latinos
living in the same hood, but there were two subcultures going on at the same
time. while the young African American kids were more into the James Brown
sound, most Latinos were into salsa and hustle, and of course a tsyle of dance
known as UPROCKIN, which was made popular in rooklyn new York. Latinos were
also in allot of park jams that were going on during the early 7o's mainly
because we shared the same hood as our cousins in the African American
comunity. But during the mid 70's the young Latino youth started picking up on
the culture more. Dj CHARLIE CHASE was becoming a well known Puerto Rican DJ
within the HIP HOP scene. and his eventual forming of the MC crew (rap group)
THE COLD CRUSH 4, made him a house hold name in the NYC ghettos. And along with
him pickin up on the culture were young Latin BBOYs. And with that came a new
breed in BBOYS in the mid 70's there crews of either all african americans, and
all Latinos, And there were also crews that were mixed with both. Soon this
next generation of BBOYS started to take over. BBOYS like:
POW WOW
BEAVER
ROB SPY
SUNDANCE
BOS
JOJO (SPIDERMAN)
TRAC 2
MONGO
OFF
VINNIE
SPIVEY
CADILAC MEL
WEEBLE ROCK
BLUE EYES
JOEY
and a young CRAZY LEGS
and many more.
and the there were crews like:
ZULU KINGS
CRAZY COMANDERS
TDK
SAL SOUL CREW
7DS
TBB (The Bronx Boys)
MASTA PLANS
FANTASTIC FOUR
ROCK STEADY
and more.
These crews were also mixed with both Latino and African American youth. And
with these young Latinos came a new flava in the BBOY world. A more SALSA type
of feel which was added on the already established BBOY style. Also More of the
UPROCKING style was mixed with the BBOY style TOP ROCKING and while both styles
of vertical dance have there own history and flava, there are similar steps
used by BBOYS during this time period. And with both cousins comunities
battling each other as well as dancing along side each other, some of the most
inovated moves started to apear.
moves like:
THE BABY FREEZE
THE CHAIR FREEZE
SWIPES
ONE SHOT HEAD SPINS/DRILLS
TRACKS
CC LONG FOOTWORK / THE 6 STEP
THE 4 STEP
BABY BRIDGES
THE NECK MOVE and the BUT SPIN (which eventually led to the back spin)
see who imvented these moves
HIP HOP/FUNK STYLES DANCE
BBOY MOVES HISTORY
The dance thrived during the mid 70's but as the 70's started to come to an
end, so did BBOYING withing the African American youth. More African american
kids were picking up microphones and MCing, and buying DJ equiptment to do
parties and start crews.
BBOYS who turned to other elements of HIP HOP include:
DJ KLARK KENT/SUPERMAN (Herculoids)
GRAND MIXER DST (Zulu Nation/ Infinity Rappers)
PHASE 2 (legendary Writer/ graffiti)
DJ AFRIKA ISLAM (Zulu Nation/ Mayberry Crew)
MC MELLE MEL (Grand Master fFash and the Furious Five MC's
ALMIGHTY KG (Cold Crush 4 MC's)
POW WOW (Zulu Nation/Soul Sonic Force MC'S)
and many others.
By 1979 the dance was concidered played out by most people in the BRONX.
THE 80's
"THE POWER MOVE ERA"
During the early 80's BREAKING was still concidered old, But there was still
signs of it throughout NYC in other boroughs. A young BBOY named CRAZY LEGS
from the Bronx moved closer to Manhattan and started taking trips there more
often till he eventually met up with a BBOY named FROSTY FREEZE. FROSTY FREEZE
introduced LEGS to allot of young BBOYS in the area of 98th street in Amsterdam
in Manhattan. Legs immidiattly started to battle and dance with these young
cats and eventaully recieved the blessings from the one of the leaders of ROCK
STEADY CREW in the Bronx to start a chapter in Manhattan. So CRAZY LEGS began
recruiting members from both Bronx and Manhattan like:
KEN SWIFT
FROSTY FREEZE
RIP 7
TAKE ONE
TY FLY
LIL CRAZY LEGS
MR FREEZE
BUCK 4 (R.I.P.)
KURIAKI (R.I.P.)
DOZE
KIPPY DEE /RASHAWN (R.I.P.)
and boogie boys (New York's incorrect term for poppers)
KING KIETH
RAVI
KIPPY DEE
MR WIGGLES
FABEL
ELECTRIC COMANY CREW (from the bronx)
Rock steady crew began traveling and battling crews all over the 5 Boroughs.
Other young BBOY crews emerged and started competeing. Crews like:
FLOORMASTERS (Bronx)
DYNAMIC ROCKERS (Queens)
INCREDIBLE BREAKERS (lower east side Manhattan)
and many others
RcokSteady crew went on to battle Dynamic Rockers at Lincoln Center in the
early 80's which was filmed and made part of the famous HIP HOP documentary
STYLE WARS.
In tne 80's old moves were taken to new levels and made more complicated and
added to the dance.:
one shot drill HEAD SPINS became CONTINOUS TAP HEAD SPINS by KID FREEZE
the BACK SPINS became CONTINOUS (windmills) by CRAZY LEGS
TRAC 2's HAND STAND PIROETTE became 1990's by CRAZY LEGS
SWIPES became NINJA FREEZE or AIR SWIPE by ICEY ICE
The next generation of BBOYS took from different influences and started
creating new styles.
ROCK STEADY CREW, DYNAMIC ROCKERS, NEW YORK CITY BREAKERS, MAGNIFICENT FORCE,
INCREDIBLE BREAKERS, were all on top of the game. some crews were featured in
major movies and tours that helped proppel the dance all over the world
WILD STYLE: featured ROCK STEADY
FLASHDANCE: featured ROCK STEADY CREW
BEAT STREET: featured ROCK STEADY CREW, NYC BREAKERS and MAGNIFICENT FORCE
DELIVERY BOYS: featured INCREDIBLE BREAKERS, AND DYNAMIC ROCKERS
Newcomers started comin up and bringing amazing moves to the table. Moves like
AIR TRACKS, HEAD GLIDES, 2000's, FLARES,
ICEY ICE
KID FREEZE
FLIP ROCK
CHINO
BRIAN
KID FLOAT
FLIP ROCK
История Хапы из первых уст)))
