New York: Day Twelve - Breaking & Bushwick

Hip-hop means many things to many people. Things get tricky when you try to find a solid answer to, “What makes something Hip-hop?” We can talk about the 4 elements all day, but the fact is that when most people say they are “into Hip-hop”, they often just mean rap music. 

But why should one element take priority over the others? Largely this is due to who we let control the narratives. “Hip-hop” as a term is big business now, and so all too often we let major record labels or media outlets have a say in its definition. Of course this still only really relates to rap music. One group of people who have much clearer boundaries with their definition of Hip-hop is Breakers. 

Now I’m far from expert on the matter, but maybe this is because Breaking itself has a much clearer set of guidelines and principles which have been easier to pass down through the generations. People still look up to the original New York crews for guidance. Even now that Breaking is an official Olympic sport, they’ve had to call on Dynamic Rockers from Brooklyn to help them set the rules and marking system. 

So is Breaking a dance or a sport now? That’s a conversation for another day, and not one I’m likely to be taking any kind of lead on. Regardless on your views, its relationship to the music remains unbreakable, and in this house of course those original Hip-hop breaks are still king. Breaking has always been competitive though. The culture itself is largely centred around battles, and so whilst I’m here in New York to celebrate Hip-hop’s 50th Anniversary, I make sure I head over to the anniversary of the Mighty Zulu Kings, a Breaking crew who are also celebrating 50 years since they first started back in November 1973. They’re hosting a day of battles at The Meadows over in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This is handy as for my final night here in the city I’m staying just up the road in Bushwick. 

One thing I’ve already noticed since being here is that although the inclusion of Breaking has been minimal in the Hip-hop 50 events, it’s been the only element whose global impact is properly represented, with Breakers flying in from as far away as Japan and Taiwan. It’s also got the most multicultural representation here at the MZK Anniversary. In the queue I hear Arabic, Spanish, French, some Asian dialects I’m not able to make out properly. There’s also a much higher percentage of young people than there has been so far, although all ages are represented in the crowd (which to be fair is almost exclusively made up of Breakers).

There’s also a refreshing percentage of women here, with 21 signing up for the battles. Which are split between male and female. Even before the official battles take place the floor is alive with cyphers as everyone starts to warm up, flex their skills a little and maybe suss out their competition. It’s one of the hottest days since I’ve been here, so I take my hat off to everyone who takes part. I don’t stay as long as I intended though, as the battles take place on the floor and the place is packed, I decide to give up my place in the circle so that the members of the community itself can see. After all, I’m really just an enthusiastic observer, whilst they actually live this, and can properly understand the intricacies of what is taking place.

I walk back to Bushwick, admiring the sheer quantity and quality of the murals and graffiti pieces around here. This is definitely one of my favourite parts of the city so far. I thought the Lower East Side was a living gallery, but this blows that out of the water. Plus it’s not as far down the road of gentrification, yet. 

I’ve mainly steered away from any conversations about gentrification on this blog. There’s no question that its spectre looms heavily over each area of the city I’ve been to, and it’s an important factor in many of the things I’ve been doing. To be honest, I don’t know yet where the boundaries of my own hypocrisies might lie in the matter so I’m going to wait until I have a better understanding before addressing it. That said, there feels like there might be so many parallels with Hip-hop itself sometimes, that it might come up still. 

Graffiti has been the Hip-hop element represented least these past weeks on the stages, but it’s the element that’s most noticeable on the streets. Here in Bushwick it’s everywhere, and it helps me to feel right at home. I watch an artist painting a wall for a while. Eventually he turns around and says something in French. Nobody understands him so he translates, “What I like about here is everybody speaks the same language. They always have the culture foremost in their mind." I smile at the irony and optimism in this statement, but I also fully appreciate the sentiment. 

Later that evening I head to a Drum N Bass night at a local pizza shop. Perhaps I really am missing Boomtown. I’m turned away at the door, the place is full apparently. I don’t argue too much. Instead I take a seat outside a Dominican Art Gallery where people are drinking tequila and playing dominos. I spend a while Shazamming the Merengue, Reggaeton and Bachata tunes that the DJ inside is playing. I’ve discovered so much about this city these last twelve days, but I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. I’m heading home tomorrow with a lot to digest and a lot to think about. I’m going to spend a few hours in Queens before I go though so maybe see you back here again tomorrow.