A short History & Discription Emcee

The term Emcee comes from the abbreviated Master of Ceremonies (M.C.). In its conventional sense, MC referred to the master of a ceremony or of an event. From there,the MC evolved to become an entertainer and a public speaker. This element embraces the American Constitutional right of Freedom of Speech. The MC is the voice of Hip Hop ones who directs, moves, and inspires the crowd with rhyme and reason. DJ Pete Jones, KC the Prince of Soul, Shiba Shiba, DJ Hollywood, Lovebug Starski, Brucie B, The Cowboy, Coke La Rock,MC Happy, Timmy Hall, Grand Master Caz, Melle Mel &The Furious Five, Shake Rock, The Cold Crush Brothers, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Moe Dee & The Treacherous Three, Fantastic 5, Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, Whodini Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Egyptian Lover, Jazzy D, Ice T and KRS-ONE are a few of the MC Legends that made Hip Hop what it is today.


Emcee or Rap is the most famous, financially lucrative, and corporate exploited element of Hip Hop because of the record companies, who saw its value originating with Sugar Hill Gang's"Rapper's Delight" which was the first Hip Hop single to become a Top 40 hit. Kurtis Blow was the first Emcee to get a mainstream record deal. The MC is the Poet and the Spoken Message of Hip Hop. It all began with clean and positive rhymes, just being clever with words. An MC can rap about his thoughts, feelings, experiences, or just about anything at all that he/she is choosing to communicate. Today, the true MC seeks to be a master of his/her own vocal expression, music, message and consciousness.


Most MC's rate themselves on their ability to "rock a party", speak clearly into the mic, tell a good story, or"battle" freestyle "off the top of their head" without writing or planning anything. A talented MC can "drop" one single and turn it into a multi-million dollar product. This is why record companies and rappers have made so much money. It all started with DJ's first utilizing vocals to get the crowd involved. The MC is the powerful element that then took vocals and lyrics and elevated Hip Hop to its modern day Superstar Generating status. Lovebug Starski was the first to coin the phrase hip hop as well as The Cowboy (RIP) the rhyme goes something like this. A little Hip Hop, The hibiti, The hibiti-hip hip hop. A little little, little,little, little Hip Hop as he danced moving his hips. The rest remains history in the making.

A short History & Discription of Djin

The term Deejayin' goes back to 1971 in New York City with the original DJ's: Pete DJ Jones, DJ Hollywood, JJ the Disco King, Kool DJ Herc, Kool DJ Rock, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Champagne (RIP), Grand Wizard Theodore and Red Alert, among many many others. On the West Coast, DJ Antron, Evil E and Hen G, Tony G, Gemini, Captain Rock and the World Class Wrecking Crew were among the ground breaking pioneers. All of these DJ legends set free a powerful force of creative energy, which still emanates to this day. These first DJ's would perform in the Bronx at underground parties, parks, and basements in their local neighborhoods. 


Their creative breakthrough was to bring two turntables together and to play them simultaneously. This was called "mixing". The Father of Hip Hop DJ Kool Herc brought all the elements together and inspired a new movement in the community by bringing everybody to the park with the biggest and loudest sound system playing R 'n B, Funk, Soul, and extending the break-beat of the record giving birth to the dance movement call Bboying. Some say that this is how the name Break Boy, Bronze boy or BBoy got its name from also known as Break dancing. Grand Master Flash created Kutting, which are two records playing continually and repeating the same song as well as re-arrange the song, creating an avenue for the MC to entertain the crowd with rhymes over the instrumental. Grand Master Flash technique was so smooth and fast. Also, according to legend, Grand Wizard Theodore invented "scratching" largely by accident.


He liked the sound and developed the technique which many have utilized and mastered since. This also gave DJ Hollywood the opportunity to grab the mic and shout "Somebody say OOH! YEAAH! "Throw your hands up in the air and wave them like you just don't care and if you have clean under wear Somebody say OOH! YEAAH! Now screeeeam!!!" Dj Hollywood was defenetely the boss on the mic. Some say that this is how MCin' was born. The DJ is the foundation that sourced Hip Hop. Incredible DJ techniques such as "Kutting", "Mixing", "Transforming", "Beat Juggling", and "Triple Threat" were invented and perfected as Hip Hop evolved. DJ Q-Bert is credited with inventing "Flaring" and the "Crab". 

A short history & Description of Breakin'/Bboyin'

The American dance of Breakin' or B-Boyin' originated from the ghetto neighborhoods of New York City in the Mid-70s. It was developed by many different crews and individuals including Spy, Frosty Freeze, Mr. Freeze, Chino, JoJo, Rock Steady Crew, New York City Breakers, Incredible Breakers, and the Dynamic Rockers, among many others. When DJ's first started spinning their records and the break beats began to play, Breakers or B-Boys adrenalin would start to flow, motivating them to create a "cypher" or circle in which to "battle" one another on the dance floor.


This is where B-Boyin' was born. B-Boyin' requires and demands more physical strength than any of the other elements. The foundation of BBoyin' includes combinations of moves such as "Power Moves", "Footwork" "Spinning", "Freezes" and "Top Rocks". Breakin' was developed from many different dance cultures such as African, Indigenous, Latin and Russian Dance, Tap, Capuera, Lockin', Lindy Hop,Martial Arts, and Gymnastics to name just a few. "Top/Up Rockin" is a preparation and a building of energy created to release in the middle of the "cypher". It is a battle dance that B-Boys do similar to Indigenous Dance. "Footwork" is an intricate style which uses circular based leg movements with original steps such as "CC's", "Flips", "Splits", and different"Freezes" such as the "Chair Freeze" and "Hollow backs" to complete a freestyle routine."Power Moves" is another style, utilizing aerodynamics, flying in the air, powerful maneuvers where your feet never touch the ground, always spinning and twisting with control.


Some "Power Moves" include "Aerials", "Headspins", "Air Flares", "Air Thomas Flares", "Halos", "Windmills", "Handspins", "Elbowspins", "Backspins" and combinations of all of these. The Shake City Rockers, Air Force Crew, L.A. Breakers, Rockin Wizards, Pony Express and several other crews in Los Angeles took B-Boyin' to new and miraculous heights never before imagined nor thought possible.

World championships (BBOYING)

• Battle of the Year (BOTY) was founded in 1990 in Germany.^] It is a breaking competition for b-boy crews. BOTY holds regional qualifying tournaments in several countries such as Zimbabwe, Japan, Israel, Algeria, Indonesia, Italy, and the Balkans. Crews who win these tournaments go on to compete in the final championship in Montpellier, France. BOTY was featured in the independent documentary Planet B-Boy that filmed five b-boy crews training for the 2005 championship. A 3D film Battle of the Year: The Dream Team is scheduled for commercial release in January 2013. It was directed by Benson Lee who also directed Planet B-Boy.

• B-Boy Summit is an international four-day conference founded in 1994 by b-girl Nancy "Asia One" Yu in San Diego, California. The B-Boy Summit places a lot of emphasis on the history of hip-hop culture and breakers understanding the roots of where it came from. For this reason, the conference includes a breaking competition, a talent showcase for rappers and DJs, and live paintings by graffiti artists so that "each element of Hip-Hop combine[s] together to make the cipher complete."There's also competitions for lockers and poppers as part of the "Soul Fest" portion of the conference.

• The Notorious IBE is a Dutch-based breaking competition founded in 1998.IBE (International Breakdance Event) is not a traditional competition because there are not any stages or judges. Instead, there are timed competitive events that take place in large multitiered ciphers—circular dance spaces surrounded by observers—where the winners are determined by audience approval.There are several kinds of events such as the b-girl crew battle, the Seven 2 Smoke battle (eight top ranked b-boys battle each other to determine the overall winner), the All vs. All continental battle (all the American b-boys vs. all the European b-boys vs. the Asian b-boys vs. Mexican/Brazilian b-boys), and the Circle Prinz IBE.The Circle Prinz IBE is a b-boy knockout tournament that takes place in multiple smaller cipher battles until the last standing b-boy is declared the winner. IBE also hosts the European finals for the UK B-Boy Championships.

• Red Bull BC One was created in 2004 by Red Bull and is hosted in a different country every year.The competition brings together the top 16 b-boys from around the world. Six spots are earned through six regional qualifying tournaments. The other 10 spots are reserved for last year's winner, wild card selections, and recommendations from an international panel of experts. A past participant of the competition is world record holder Mauro "Cico" (pronounced CHEE-co) Peruzzi. B-boy Cico holds the world record in 1990s. A 1990 is a move in which a breaker spins continuously on one hand—a hand spin rather than a head spin. Cico broke the record by spinning 27 times. A documentary based on the competition called Turn It Loose profiled six b-boys training for 2007 championship in Johannesburg. Two of these b-boys were Ali "Lilou" Ramdani from Pockémon Crew and Ronnie Abaldonado from Super Cr3w.

• R16 Korea is a South Korean breaking competition founded in 2007 by Asian Americans Charlie Shin and John Jay Chon.Like BOTY and Red Bull BC One put together, Respect16 is a competition for the top 16 ranked b-boy crews in the world. What sets it apart from other competitions is that it is sponsored by the government and broadcast live on Korean television and in several countries in Europe. In 2011, R16 instituted a new judging system that was created to eliminate bias and set a unified and fair standard for the way b-boy battles should be judged. With the new system, b-boys are judged against five criteria: foundation, dynamics (power moves), battle, originality, and execution. There is one judge for each category and the scores are shown on a large screen during battles so that the audience can see who is winning at any given moment.

Power Versus Style

Multiple stereotypes have emerged in the breaking community over the give-and-take relationship between technical footwork and physical power. Those who focus on dance steps and fundamental sharpness are labeled as "style-heads." Specialists of more gymnastics-oriented technique and form—at the cost of charisma and coordinated footwork—are known as "power-heads." Such terms are used colloquially often to classify one's skill, however, the subject has been known to disrupt competitive events where judges tend to favor a certain technique over the other.

This debate however is somewhat of a misnomer. The classification of dancing as "style" in b-boying is inaccurate because every b-boy or b-girl has their own unique style developed both consciously and subconsciously. Each b-boy or b-girl's style is the certain attitude or method in which they execute their movements. A breaker's unique style does not strictly refer to just toprock or downrock. It is a concept which encompasses how a move is executed rather than what move is done.

Downrock Style

• Traditional New York Style: The original style of b-boying from the Bronx, based around the Russian trepak dance, this style of downrock focuses on kicks called "CCs" and foundational moves such as 6-steps and variations of it.
• Euro Style: Created in the early 90's, this style is very circular, focusing not on steps but more on glide-type moves such as the pretzel, deadlegs, undersweeps and fluid sliding moves
• Canadian Style: Created in the late 90's, also known as the 'Toronto thread' style. Based upon the Euro Style, except also characterized by elaborate leg threads

Bboy style

• Power: This style of b-boying is what most members of the general public associate with the term "breakdancing". Power moves comprise full-body spins and rotations that give the illusion of defying gravity. Examples of power moves include headspins, backspins, windmills, flares, airtracks/airflares, 1990s, 2000s, jackhammers, crickets, turtles, hand glide, halos, and elbow spins. Those b-boys who use "power moves" almost exclusively in their sets are referred to as "power heads" or power movers.
• Abstract: A very broad style of b-boying which may include the incorporation of "threading" footwork, freestyle movement to hit beats, house dance, and "circus" styles (tricks, contortion, etc.).
• Blowup: A style of b-boying which focuses on the "wow factor" of certain power moves, freezes, and circus styles. Blowups consist of performing a sequence of as many difficult trick combinations in as quick succession as possible in order to "smack" or exceed the virtuosity of the other b-boy's performance. This is usually attempted only after becoming proficient in other styles due to the degree of control and practice required in this type of dancing. The names of some of the moves are: airbaby, airchair, hollow backs, solar eclipse, reverse airbaby, among others. The main goal in blowup-style is the rapid transition through a sequence of power moves ending in a skillful freeze.
• Flavor: A style that is based more on elaborate toprock, downrock, and/or freezes. This style is focused more on the beat and musicality of the song than having to rely on "power" moves only. B-boys who base their dance on "flavor" or style are known as "style heads".