Wrote an article for the nice people over at China Youthology. Check it out!
Hangzhou, January 2010.
A huge crowd of Chinese b-boys, b-girls, hip hop dancers, and stylish hipsters has gathered in the cold waiting to enter Reggae Bar, a smoke-filled dive bar replete with Bob Marley memorabilia and Jamaican flags; the occasion is the second installment of the City Kingz competition, attracting top dancers from across the country. These young Chinese dancers are rocking colorful Puma Suedes with the ever classic fat laces, rainbow-psychedelic Nike high tops, a plethora of t-shirts from the online store of the properly-named bboyworld.com website, piercings, tattoos, the whole bit. These attendants are some of the best-dressed individuals I’ve seen over here on the Far East Coast – the Freshest Kids in China. (more…)
Just got back from Boston-based hip hop/b-boy/popping crew Lost Unnown’s Skillz for Billz competition in Shanghai! Only about ten people entered, but it was a good vibe and mix of foreigners/native Chinese. I had the opportunity to battle b-boys Danny and Rocbang of Caster Evolution, two of the nastiest motherfuckers out of the 1.3 billion Chinese population. Danny, if you don’t know, was one of the first b-boys to represent China on the international scene. I remember seeing footage of him winning against Physix of Rivers Crew way before I had any idea I would be coming back to get in touch with my native roots. The three-way battle resulted in Danny advancing, and me and Rocbang battling it out in a tiebreaker (which I don’t feel like posting.. haha). Anyways here’s 3 of my rounds from the night. Peace!
It’s been a minute since the last post. Me and jc have had an eventful three weeks in Shanghai of attending classes and meeting new people. Let me introduce you to one of our new worst enemies best friends:
[Figure 1. Liquid Death]
This little fucker, respectfully known by the name of Mr. Er Guo Tou (二锅头先生), costs about 6 RMB- translated into US currency, that’s just a tiny bit under one dollar. I have him to thank for my new fatty liver, you fucking 112 proof demon. Real talk, all of the bums of the world should just move to China- it’s much easier to be a homeless drunk over here than it is in America, where the price of a 40 will buy you a couple of these bottles. Anyways, the view from our roof- see if you can spot the Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠电视塔) in the first picture:
[Figure 2. Da view.]
[FIgure 3. God damn!! That is a nice fucking view!!]
During the moments in which we’re not indulging our alcoholic tendencies, we go to various places to get down with the Shanghainese b-boys. Just this weekend we attended our first jam in China, a 3v3 b-boy battle at the Reebok basketball courts at Shanghai’s athletic stadium (上海体育馆). Overall first impressions of the event: there wasn’t a lot of time to cypher at the beginning (nor a lot of energy in the cyphers), the DJ fucked up a couple times during battles, and it was pretty rare to see b-boys who have developed their own style/musicality. There was a crowd of about 500 people watching, but a lot of the battles were dead silent. Where’s the hype China!?!? One could scapegoat China’s collectivist tendencies (who wants to be the only schoolgirl groupie screaming ‘woooo’?).. but I have to admit, a lot of the first round battles were pretty boring to watch, with only a handful of dope, memorable runs.
[Figure 3. Chillin' with Shanghai's b-boy Danny, Moski, Stone, and Other Dude]
[Figure 4. b-boy Stone and jc, with the homie Little Seven in the backgrHOLY SHIT WHO IS THAT GUY BEHIND HIM]
For your viewing pleasure, here’s footage of me, Moski, and Stone battling some Shanghainese b-boys. WE GOT ROBBED!!!
And then what I considered to be the hypest battle of the night… Caster/Dust Breakers (L) against a crew from Nanjing. All of these guys were on some other shit compared to the rest of the b-boys that entered.
After the jam, me and jc went to eat hot pot with Little Seven, b-boy Stone, and his future ex-wife. Stone also brought along our mutual friend Mr. Er Guo Tou. Mad hospitable, down to earth people. All in all, a Saturday well spent. Looking forward to seeing what else this scene has to offer in the future!!
And.. one last thing before I call it a night. We all know that China is the bootleg capital of the world- DVDs, shoes, BUFU gear. But PEOPLE TOO?!? Chillin’ with the Chinese bootleg b-boy Physix:
So this past semester at Boston College I did an independent study on the general topic of Asian popular culture. I started out reading up on topics like Bruce Lee, Japanese hip hop, and modern East Asian cinema, but I eventually found myself researching something that I’m a little more obsessed with (no offense Bruce!): b-boying. So if you are even remotely interested in the topics of Asian popular culture, South Korea, hip hop, b-boys, history, read on!! My apologies in advance for the shitty formatting and lack of citations. If you want to read more about these topics, check out some of the following.. a lot of the quotes in the paper are from these books, as well as bboyworld, style2ouf, and koreanroc!!
Hip Hop Hallyu: The Korean Wave and the Rise of the Korean B-boy
Introduction.
In TIME magazine’s 2007 poll of the 100 most influential people of the year, Korean pop idol Rain (Bi) was named as the second-most influential individual in the world with over 1.5 million votes, beating celebrities, politicians, and other notable individuals ranging from Stephen Colbert to Barack Obama. The Korean Wave of pop culture, a global trend that arguably began in 1997, has turned South Korea into a cultural production center, with its products being exported and consumed around the globe. An interesting development within the Korean Wave has been the rise of the Korean b-boys (breakdancers), who are unquestionably among the best b-boys in the world, dominating a dance style that originated in the Bronx in the 1970s. A decade ago, the South Korean b-boy scene had been in its infancy; during the relatively short period of time since 1997, it has grown into one of the most well-developed b-boy scenes in the world, supported in part by corporate and government interests. This paper will examine the history of Hip Hop and b-boying within the United States, b-boying’s paths of transmission to South Korea, its subsequent development, its place within the Korean Wave, and the broader implications of the rise of South Korean b-boy culture and the Korean Wave. (more…)
