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".

Uprock

A separate but related dance form which influenced breaking is uprock also called rocking or Brooklyn rock. Uprock is an aggressive dance that involves two dancers who mimic ways of fighting each other using mimed weaponry in rhythm with the music.Uprock as a dance style of its own never gained the same widespread popularity as breaking, except for some very specific moves adopted by breakers who use it as a variation for their toprock. When used in a b-boy battle, opponents often respond by performing similar uprock moves, supposedly creating a short uprock battle. Some dancers argue that because uprock was originally a separate dance style it should never be mixed with breaking and that the uprock moves performed by breakers today are not the original moves but poor imitations that only show a small part of the original uprock style

It has been stated that breaking replaced fighting between street gangs. On the contrary, some believe it a misconception that b-boying ever played a part in mediating gang rivalry. Both viewpoints have some truth. Uprock has its roots in gangs.^{:116, 138} Whenever there was an issue over turf, the two warlords of the feuding gangs would uprock. Whoever won this preliminary battle would decide where the real fight would be.This is where the battle mentality in breaking and hip-hop dance in general comes from."Sometimes a dance was enough to settle thebeef, sometimes the dance set off more beef."

History (Origin)

B-boying at its inception borrowed from other performance styles, as many elements of b-boying may be seen in other antecedent cultures prior to the 1970s. Concerning martial arts, b-boying looks very similar to the movement found in the Brazilian martial art capoeira which came about in the 1500s; however, b-boy pioneers Richard "Crazy Legs" Colon and Kenneth "Ken Swift" Gabbert, both of Rock Steady Crew, deny they ever witnessed capoeira when they were young; they cite James Brown and Kung-Fu films as influences instead. Many of b-boying's more acrobatic moves, such as the flare, show clear connections to gymnastics. An Arab street dancer performing acrobatic headspins was recorded by Thomas Edison in 1898.However, it was not until the 1970s that b-boying developed as a defined dance style.

Beginning with DJ Kool Herc, Bronx-based DJs would take the rhythmic breakdown sections (also known as the "breaks") of dance records and prolong them by looping them successively. The breakbeat provided a rhythmic base that allowed dancers to display their improvisational skills during the duration of the break. This led to the first battles – turn-based dance competitions between two individuals or dance crews judged with respect to creativity, skill, and musicality. These battles occurred in cyphers – circles of people gathered around the breakers. Though at its inception the earliest b-boys were "close to 90 percent African-American", dance crews such as "SalSoul" and "Rockwell Association" were populated almost entirely by Latino Americans. Historian Joseph Glenn Schloss described it as such:


In other words, there were three basic stages to the development of the dance: the early rock dance of the '60s, which was Latino and citywide; Brooklyn rocking or uprocking which was Latino and Brooklyn-based; and b-boying, which is Black and Latino and Bronx-based. Within this basic framework, it is not difficult to see how three constituencies-Brooklyn Latinos, Bronx Latinos, and African Americans-could have three totally different perspectives on the history

Terminologi

The terminology used to refer to b-boying changed after promotion by the mainstream media. Although widespread, the term "breakdancing" is looked down upon by those immersed in hip-hop culture. Purists consider "breakdancing" an ignorant term invented by the media that connotes exploitation of the art and is used to sensationalize breaking. The term "breakdancing" is also problematic because it has become a diluted umbrella term that incorrectly includes popping, locking, and electric boogaloo, which are not styles of "breakdance", but are funk styles that were developed separately from breaking in California. The dance itself is properly called "breaking" according to rappers such as KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC.

The terms "b-boy" (break-boy), "b-girl" (break-girl), and "breaker" are the original terms used to describe the dancers. The original terms arose to describe the dancers who performed to DJ Kool Herc's breakbeats. DJ Kool Herc is a Jamaican-American DJ who is responsible for developing the foundational aspects of hip-hop music. The obvious connection of the term "breaking" is to the word "breakbeat", but DJ Kool Herc has commented that the term "breaking" was slang at the time for "getting excited", "acting energetically" or "causing a disturbance".Most b-boying pioneers and practitioners prefer the terms "b-boy", "b-girl", and/or "breaker" when referring to these dancers. For those immersed in hip-hop culture, the term "breakdancer" may be used to disparage those who learn the dance for personal gain rather than for commitment to the culture B-boy London of the New York City Breakers and filmmaker Michael Holman refer to these dancers as "breakers".Frosty Freeze of the Rock Steady Crew says, "we were known as b-boys", and hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa says, "b-boys, [are] what you call break boys... or b-girls, what you call break girls." In addition, co-founder of Rock Steady Crew Santiago "Jo Jo" Torres, Rock Steady Crew member Mr. Freeze, and hip-hop historian Fab 5 Freddy use the term "b-boy", as do rappers Big Daddy Kane and Tech N9ne.

BBOYING

B-boying or breaking, often called "breakdancing", is a style of street dance that originated as a part of hip hop culture among African American and latino youths in New York City during the early 1970s.Fast to gain popularity in the media, the dance style also gained popularity worldwide especially in South korea France, Russia, Japan, and Brazil. While extremely diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, b-boying consists of four primary elements: toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. B-boying is typically danced to hip-hop and especially breakbeats, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns.

A practitioner of this dance is called a b-boy, b-girl, or breaker. Although the term "breakdance" is frequently used to refer to the dance, "b-boying" and "breaking" are the original terms. These terms are preferred by the majority of the art form’s pioneers and most notable practitioners.