Post by MiBboy on May 13, 2011 18:42:22 GMT -5
The Michigan Bboy Forum 1v1 with STRINGZ / S-UNO
The following interview was done over email during a 2 week span. Enjoy --Michigan BBoy Forum
Thanks for letting us have this interview. Let's start by getting some basic background info... can you give us an introduction about yourself?
My name is Haleem Rasul Ar-Rasheed (born with this name) aka Stringz or S-Uno. Born and raised in Detroit Mi. Been dancing all my life but I have been breaking for 17 years, Jittin about 10 years. I am 33 years young. I graduated from Mumford High, then received my Degree in Graphic Design from Western Mi Un. I declared my faith as a Muslim right before I hit college. In 2001, I filed Hardcore Detroit as a business, where I could grow my dance and art as a profession. Saint Andrews, was the first night club I started breakin in. House shoes was a huge inspiration to me because of his music selection which til this day I rather dance to. My bro would get me in because I was under age. I didn't drink anyway. I hooked up with my now crew mate U-Turn at Saint Andrews and I would start to travel with him to major breakin events in the late 90’s. The Rocksteady Anniversaries were a huge impact on my dance evolvement. I have been to a least six of them if not more. This was before youtube, before dvd’s, before breaking became wide spread again. This was a time when originality stood alone and Bboys did it truly for the love.
You've been in the game for a long time. 17 years is crazy. Would you label yourself as an "O.G?". How would you compare the 'Michigan scene' in the 90's to the Michigan scene today?
I would not consider myself an O.G. generally speaking... maybe an O.G. of my generation, because I looked to dancers like Ken swift, Leggs, Forrest GG, Easy Roc, Quick Step, etc as O.G’s. And they have their O.G’s.
Our scene in the 90’s was very small... you have to keep in mind that the dance was still underground. Some of the crews I can remember back in those times were Khaos crew, Middle school, NSA, cats from Southwest and Windsor and my crew still in search of the perfect name ha'... everyone would run into each other every so often. For me and U-Turn, we would dance anywhere we could. If it wasn't the weekly spot at the club (Saint Andrews), it was sneaking into raves on the weekends, practices spots in Southwest Detroit, the Golden Harvest and many battles at the VFW’s and Car shows.
I would say in my experience there was more cyphering back then compared to now. We would dance for hours at these various dance spots. Today we have some opportunities to support venues that want to support us but the bboys don’t come out. The reasons could be the difference of economic of then and now or maybe some safety issues coming into the city. Back then I use to like the fact that you win a trophy at events. Now, it's all about the money. I see the ratio of bgirls to every bboy has gone up. I see more crews traveling. Crews are becoming very contentious as a whole. I see more bboy entrepreneurs and event planners. I see more Bboys opening up to others urban styles of dance. Overall I see much progression in our scene.
You mentioned Bgirls, your wife is a Bgirl. Correct me if i'm wrong but in michigan there seems to be very few bgirls in general. Why do you think this is?
Yes there are few bgirls in Michigan. But I was proud to see a good showing at a 1v1 bgirl comp in Grand Rapids recently. I've been to some Major events outside of Michigan and witnessed a lesser showing. We would probably have twice as many bgirls if they would stick with it. Maybe because breakin is already competitive in nature and girls are naturally competitive with each other that there isn't enough of a support system to nurture them... bboys can only do so much from what I gather. Maybe
What was the most memorable event you have ever been to? What was the most memorable battle you've ever been involved in?
I've been to many great events... I would say the most memorable event would have to be the Red Bull Beat Riders experience in 2006.
The most memorable battle I have been in had to have been a call out battle in NY. I was called out by a big name bboy part of a renowned crew. The battle was prompted by third party drama I would rather not get into. But I was just minding my own business at my t-shirt booth watching a sea of cyphers at a Rocksteady Anniversary when I panned across to a index finger calling me over to the middle of the floor. So I went. Right as I came up a huge circle opened out of nowhere. Dude was like ‘lets go’... mad serious. So we’re battling, all of sudden I'm battling him and like 5 more of his crew. I didn't recognize them either. I remember it being mad intense. I felt like my back was against the wall, not looking back... gotta go for mine. And I was. In the mist of the battle, words were being exchanged but can't remember details. I felt like this battle lasted a good 20 min. I thought to myself man I'm probably gonna get jumped after this battle. I knew these cats never seen me get down before, so I knew that the art of surprise would work in my favor. Towards the end of the battle I remember this young cat coming in taking some of the slack off. Later I found out this bboy was named Lil Devious (DVS, X-Fenz) whom I will always remember and show love to. I figured that Devious had some prior encounters with them and was glad to assist me. But the battle came to a end, I did feel like I held mine and got mad respect. After, all I was thinking was I got to pack all my merchandise and walk to the train station defenseless. I took my time to pack and when I walked out the venue to leave, there they was crewed up and posted in the direction I had to go in. So I proceeded in that direction with a feeling of whatever happens will happen attitude. Nothing happened.
Years down the road me and the same BBoy met up at a battle somewhere in the midwest and became cool after. But every so often when I’m out at various jams around the nation, some random person will bring up that battle as a legendary battle.
Incredible battle story. Could you speak a little more in-depth about your experience at the Red Bull Beat Riders? What was it exactly and what were you able to gain from it?
Red Bull Beat Riders (RB) was a dope experience... I believe that RB was designed to bring 30 hand picked dancers from across the world to an inspirational setting as a reward for their contribution and dedication to the art of urban dance. A hidden panel selects individuals who they fell could be pivotal in the advancement of urban dance culture then place them among the pioneers and other influential persons giving them an edge on their future ventures. And it did. There was a thorough application process we had to complete along with a video submission. It was like 5 pages of material probing our dance background. I enjoyed the whole process. One of the questions I remember from the app was: who are your top 3 dance inspirations and why? I knew many applicants would probably see this as a quick answer. Not me, the whole point of this question is to see how you think, what you see as important. This was a very significant question. I will admit, my experiences with going to real major events like the Rocksteady Anniversary prepped me for this opportunity. I knew what the hidden judges were looking for. I knew what footage to show. They were looking for "cutting edge," something they haven't seen before, but still true to the game. And I don't mean over the top power moves. I wanted to show variety, and that I was comfortable in reppin where I was from but understood the roots of the dance. Also, I knew my chances were good because I was from the midwest. At this time, the East and West coast were already prominent.
I remember getting that call that I had been selected. I was so happy. Upon going I had no idea what I would be doing there for a whole week. We were posted out somewhere in north NY at some private school campus, far from the city. It was said that Paris Hilton attended this school when she was very young. An average day there for RB would be waking up meeting at the cafeteria for breakfast and small talk. Then meeting at our main central location to receive our daily overview then off to workshops all day have lunch then back to workshops, dinner then we would have some type of fun activity usually to end off the day. How fun does that sound for a whole week. Everything paid for. Most workshops would start off with an informal dialogue because of our status. I took workshops with Boogaloo Sam, Wiggles, Ken Swift, loose and Burn 1 with the first Rockin’ class ever, Crazy Leggs, Zulu Grimlin, Suga Pop, Brian Green, Ejoe and Archie for house (one of my favorites classes). They even flew in a Shoalin Monk to switch things. Also, before Parkour was popular they brought in some of the major players and had us doing some crazy things. We had a surprise session with the father of Hip Hop Kool Herc. After his lecture and Q&A he played for us 30 for an hour the same way he use to play before they had ear phones and mixers. It was something to see. He would pick up the needle and precisely place it back to extend the breaks. Crazy! One memorable moment, I was able to chill in the computer lab and talk business with the man himself Cross 1. I was able to pick his brain for over an hour interruption free. That alone was worth the whole trip. I was able to create a long term connection with a true pioneer and artist Brian Green. By me having a Jit background we were able to connect in a different way then the other riders. After the RB experience he would fly me back to NY a few times to spread the Jit culture through his main event House Dance Conference. I was able to come in as a guest judge, showcase and instruct workshops. I mastered how to instruct workshops from taking all the workshop at RB lol. So many memories. Met so many other talented people: lockers, poppers, housers etc. This was a week of pure motivation.
Wish I could do it all over again.
Your description alone of Red Bull Beat Riders is inspiring. Can't imagine how amazing being there must have been. Although this may be tough to answer in a short paragraph, can you give our readers a basic idea of what Jit/Jitting is about? Also, how Jit culture differs from breaking..
Jittin', is a street dance form created in Detroit. Its founding steps evolved from a dance group called the Jitterbugs in the mid 1970's. During the turn of the 1980s, the Jit was spreading through the city and began to take new form influence by the Techno sound. The Jit is very intense and precise in footwork. And though the moves are executed at rapid speeds the dance can also be done to various music genres and at various tempos. Some of the key elements of the dance are: shuffles, kicks, wiggles, drops, flaggin', throwback moves, arm work, ground work, and exotic male dancing.
What makes the Jit culture different from the Bboy culture, is that Breaking is known world wide and the Jit is not. But should be. This fact creates its own set of dynamics. During those times (1970s -1980s) the cameras were only capturing the east and west coast urban dance forms and totally let the midwest linger in the darkness. This did not stop Detroit in its progression but it sure did neglect the rest of the world of being exposed to a beautiful gift to dance. And that's why I engaged myself in one of my latest projects: a film documentary of - The Jitterbugs: Pioneers of the Jit.
In my opinion, the Michigan 'scene' has a lot of room for improvement. I think we're easily hidden in the shadows of larger scenes throughout the midwest, like Chicago or Ohio even. The level of skill, the amount of crews/bboys/bgirls, amount of quality events, need to grow. Being apart of this 'community', I think we should all do whatever we can to strengthen our scene, to make noise and get some recognition. There's several ways of doing this. Unity is a big one. Having an entire scene united for a common goal should definitely have an impact. But, I think there's a better way than unity. Beef. Real hard competitiveness. In larger scenes across the country there's always real hatred almost between bboys and crews. This can really push someone to train and work harder, raising the skill level, raising the bar. I'm not saying having 'beef' with someone is a good thing.. I just don't think its the worst thing sometimes. What's your opinion on this, and more importantly what can Michigan do to create a better scene?
Beef is a form of controversy and everyone loves controversy. So I gues beef could draw people to a battle. But it is short lived to me. Beef back then had more of an impact then now. A lot of the Beef I witnessed was over moves back then. "Where's the Beef" ™ ( great name for an event ™). Nowadays moves are all over the place thanks to the internet. I rarely do I see bboys calling a bite today. They don't because we are in a whole new era of this culture. Seems like all moves are up for grabs. Seems like the only way you can create your own identity is to combine these moves in your own way.
Ultimately, it is really about coming together and respect. You need to have respect for yourself first as an individual before you can show anyone or anything respect. Then when beef occurs we will then be able to handle it the right way. For Michigan to become a better scene, I think we will need to travel more to outside events. Not traveling through the internet lol... make an effort to research the history of the dance and seek out and talk with the O.G’s. Make better events. Create a respectable environment that will effect how people will respond. Bring more O.G’s out instead of the newbie’s. So, then we can have discussions on topics like these. It's not going happen in a day. There is a reason why I haven't thrown a breaking event... yet. But believe me when I do it's gonna be that deal!
I'm sure if and when you throw a jam it will definitely be done right. You mentioned the film you recently made, The Jitterbugs. How did the film and showing turn out? What else do you have planned for the future that we can all look forward to?
I did a screening of the film because it was not in it's complete form. But very close. I had to show it at this time because I was involved with a major event called ART X Detroit funneled through the Kresge Foundation, CCS and other associations. I could have use this platform to showcase any of my work but I chose to use it to show the film: The beautiful venue I used (Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History), promo, equipment and other resources was at my disposal and covered by Art X. It was free to the public too. We did it BIG! The event turned out amazing. From my DJ Sicari setting the vibe at the very beginning, then to the response of the audience to the film & QnA and lastly closing it out with a Hardcore Detroit performance. I could not ask for a better night. The isles were filled, and people had to find areas along the wall just because it was that crowded. And it was a wide range of people: old, young, different ethnicities, dancers, non-dancers, etc. I have a small team I have been blessed with assisting me with this particular project. Nick, Phil, and Magi have been a huge impact in the success of this film. Our goal upon completion of this film is to maximize all circuits. We are going to push it as hard as we can and see what can come from it. We have another opportunity on the table for another showing in late June. This will be a very unique viewing that I will reframe from mentioning any details at this time; if you hear about it, then you will know it is official.
Sounds awesome, looking forward to hearing more info about your film. The Michigan bboy scene is small, but thankfully there are a few individuals (like you) out there doing what they can to strengthen it, to make it better, to rep themselves, their city, and this state. You have a strong work-ethic and a great passion for this dance. Like Uturn or Eddie Torres before you, whether you realize it or not you are a role model for many people across the state. What advice can you give to our young readers... to the kids who are just now discovering our scene and this dance?
Strive for longevity. Yes this dance culture is somewhat a life-style in that you must prioritize life to be able to continue enjoying this dance. Balance - just like you have to find a balance point to hold a freeze, it is the same with life. Such as: consider what you put in your body, learning your body's reaction to things, mastering your instincts etc. or just everyday things like balancing your dance progress when considering having children, companions, education or careers. I had to juggle things around, I had to sacrifice things in life and everyone has their shortcomings in life. Like super-heroes, when you read their card stats it all varies but each hero contributes in their own way. I encourage people to put the "Most High" first when prioritizing life.
Also, I see a lot of playing around when approaching this dance, I know this dance is a fun activity for many but at the same time, this is some serious #i$h we are dealing with. Sometimes it's not all fun and games. When I use to play basketball on the regular I enjoyed the intensity of the game but as soon as people started to "play around" doing dumb things during the game, it spread amongst the other players and messed up the whole game and vibe for the rest of the day. Take it serious sometimes. I think this alone would help our scene as a whole.
Excellent advice. That concludes the interview. Thank you very much for letting us pick your mind. This gives people more insight into who you are as a person and a dancer. Thanks again. –Michigan Bboy Forum
The following interview was done over email during a 2 week span. Enjoy --Michigan BBoy Forum
Thanks for letting us have this interview. Let's start by getting some basic background info... can you give us an introduction about yourself?
My name is Haleem Rasul Ar-Rasheed (born with this name) aka Stringz or S-Uno. Born and raised in Detroit Mi. Been dancing all my life but I have been breaking for 17 years, Jittin about 10 years. I am 33 years young. I graduated from Mumford High, then received my Degree in Graphic Design from Western Mi Un. I declared my faith as a Muslim right before I hit college. In 2001, I filed Hardcore Detroit as a business, where I could grow my dance and art as a profession. Saint Andrews, was the first night club I started breakin in. House shoes was a huge inspiration to me because of his music selection which til this day I rather dance to. My bro would get me in because I was under age. I didn't drink anyway. I hooked up with my now crew mate U-Turn at Saint Andrews and I would start to travel with him to major breakin events in the late 90’s. The Rocksteady Anniversaries were a huge impact on my dance evolvement. I have been to a least six of them if not more. This was before youtube, before dvd’s, before breaking became wide spread again. This was a time when originality stood alone and Bboys did it truly for the love.
You've been in the game for a long time. 17 years is crazy. Would you label yourself as an "O.G?". How would you compare the 'Michigan scene' in the 90's to the Michigan scene today?
I would not consider myself an O.G. generally speaking... maybe an O.G. of my generation, because I looked to dancers like Ken swift, Leggs, Forrest GG, Easy Roc, Quick Step, etc as O.G’s. And they have their O.G’s.
Our scene in the 90’s was very small... you have to keep in mind that the dance was still underground. Some of the crews I can remember back in those times were Khaos crew, Middle school, NSA, cats from Southwest and Windsor and my crew still in search of the perfect name ha'... everyone would run into each other every so often. For me and U-Turn, we would dance anywhere we could. If it wasn't the weekly spot at the club (Saint Andrews), it was sneaking into raves on the weekends, practices spots in Southwest Detroit, the Golden Harvest and many battles at the VFW’s and Car shows.
I would say in my experience there was more cyphering back then compared to now. We would dance for hours at these various dance spots. Today we have some opportunities to support venues that want to support us but the bboys don’t come out. The reasons could be the difference of economic of then and now or maybe some safety issues coming into the city. Back then I use to like the fact that you win a trophy at events. Now, it's all about the money. I see the ratio of bgirls to every bboy has gone up. I see more crews traveling. Crews are becoming very contentious as a whole. I see more bboy entrepreneurs and event planners. I see more Bboys opening up to others urban styles of dance. Overall I see much progression in our scene.
You mentioned Bgirls, your wife is a Bgirl. Correct me if i'm wrong but in michigan there seems to be very few bgirls in general. Why do you think this is?
Yes there are few bgirls in Michigan. But I was proud to see a good showing at a 1v1 bgirl comp in Grand Rapids recently. I've been to some Major events outside of Michigan and witnessed a lesser showing. We would probably have twice as many bgirls if they would stick with it. Maybe because breakin is already competitive in nature and girls are naturally competitive with each other that there isn't enough of a support system to nurture them... bboys can only do so much from what I gather. Maybe
What was the most memorable event you have ever been to? What was the most memorable battle you've ever been involved in?
I've been to many great events... I would say the most memorable event would have to be the Red Bull Beat Riders experience in 2006.
The most memorable battle I have been in had to have been a call out battle in NY. I was called out by a big name bboy part of a renowned crew. The battle was prompted by third party drama I would rather not get into. But I was just minding my own business at my t-shirt booth watching a sea of cyphers at a Rocksteady Anniversary when I panned across to a index finger calling me over to the middle of the floor. So I went. Right as I came up a huge circle opened out of nowhere. Dude was like ‘lets go’... mad serious. So we’re battling, all of sudden I'm battling him and like 5 more of his crew. I didn't recognize them either. I remember it being mad intense. I felt like my back was against the wall, not looking back... gotta go for mine. And I was. In the mist of the battle, words were being exchanged but can't remember details. I felt like this battle lasted a good 20 min. I thought to myself man I'm probably gonna get jumped after this battle. I knew these cats never seen me get down before, so I knew that the art of surprise would work in my favor. Towards the end of the battle I remember this young cat coming in taking some of the slack off. Later I found out this bboy was named Lil Devious (DVS, X-Fenz) whom I will always remember and show love to. I figured that Devious had some prior encounters with them and was glad to assist me. But the battle came to a end, I did feel like I held mine and got mad respect. After, all I was thinking was I got to pack all my merchandise and walk to the train station defenseless. I took my time to pack and when I walked out the venue to leave, there they was crewed up and posted in the direction I had to go in. So I proceeded in that direction with a feeling of whatever happens will happen attitude. Nothing happened.
Years down the road me and the same BBoy met up at a battle somewhere in the midwest and became cool after. But every so often when I’m out at various jams around the nation, some random person will bring up that battle as a legendary battle.
Incredible battle story. Could you speak a little more in-depth about your experience at the Red Bull Beat Riders? What was it exactly and what were you able to gain from it?
Red Bull Beat Riders (RB) was a dope experience... I believe that RB was designed to bring 30 hand picked dancers from across the world to an inspirational setting as a reward for their contribution and dedication to the art of urban dance. A hidden panel selects individuals who they fell could be pivotal in the advancement of urban dance culture then place them among the pioneers and other influential persons giving them an edge on their future ventures. And it did. There was a thorough application process we had to complete along with a video submission. It was like 5 pages of material probing our dance background. I enjoyed the whole process. One of the questions I remember from the app was: who are your top 3 dance inspirations and why? I knew many applicants would probably see this as a quick answer. Not me, the whole point of this question is to see how you think, what you see as important. This was a very significant question. I will admit, my experiences with going to real major events like the Rocksteady Anniversary prepped me for this opportunity. I knew what the hidden judges were looking for. I knew what footage to show. They were looking for "cutting edge," something they haven't seen before, but still true to the game. And I don't mean over the top power moves. I wanted to show variety, and that I was comfortable in reppin where I was from but understood the roots of the dance. Also, I knew my chances were good because I was from the midwest. At this time, the East and West coast were already prominent.
I remember getting that call that I had been selected. I was so happy. Upon going I had no idea what I would be doing there for a whole week. We were posted out somewhere in north NY at some private school campus, far from the city. It was said that Paris Hilton attended this school when she was very young. An average day there for RB would be waking up meeting at the cafeteria for breakfast and small talk. Then meeting at our main central location to receive our daily overview then off to workshops all day have lunch then back to workshops, dinner then we would have some type of fun activity usually to end off the day. How fun does that sound for a whole week. Everything paid for. Most workshops would start off with an informal dialogue because of our status. I took workshops with Boogaloo Sam, Wiggles, Ken Swift, loose and Burn 1 with the first Rockin’ class ever, Crazy Leggs, Zulu Grimlin, Suga Pop, Brian Green, Ejoe and Archie for house (one of my favorites classes). They even flew in a Shoalin Monk to switch things. Also, before Parkour was popular they brought in some of the major players and had us doing some crazy things. We had a surprise session with the father of Hip Hop Kool Herc. After his lecture and Q&A he played for us 30 for an hour the same way he use to play before they had ear phones and mixers. It was something to see. He would pick up the needle and precisely place it back to extend the breaks. Crazy! One memorable moment, I was able to chill in the computer lab and talk business with the man himself Cross 1. I was able to pick his brain for over an hour interruption free. That alone was worth the whole trip. I was able to create a long term connection with a true pioneer and artist Brian Green. By me having a Jit background we were able to connect in a different way then the other riders. After the RB experience he would fly me back to NY a few times to spread the Jit culture through his main event House Dance Conference. I was able to come in as a guest judge, showcase and instruct workshops. I mastered how to instruct workshops from taking all the workshop at RB lol. So many memories. Met so many other talented people: lockers, poppers, housers etc. This was a week of pure motivation.
Wish I could do it all over again.
Your description alone of Red Bull Beat Riders is inspiring. Can't imagine how amazing being there must have been. Although this may be tough to answer in a short paragraph, can you give our readers a basic idea of what Jit/Jitting is about? Also, how Jit culture differs from breaking..
Jittin', is a street dance form created in Detroit. Its founding steps evolved from a dance group called the Jitterbugs in the mid 1970's. During the turn of the 1980s, the Jit was spreading through the city and began to take new form influence by the Techno sound. The Jit is very intense and precise in footwork. And though the moves are executed at rapid speeds the dance can also be done to various music genres and at various tempos. Some of the key elements of the dance are: shuffles, kicks, wiggles, drops, flaggin', throwback moves, arm work, ground work, and exotic male dancing.
What makes the Jit culture different from the Bboy culture, is that Breaking is known world wide and the Jit is not. But should be. This fact creates its own set of dynamics. During those times (1970s -1980s) the cameras were only capturing the east and west coast urban dance forms and totally let the midwest linger in the darkness. This did not stop Detroit in its progression but it sure did neglect the rest of the world of being exposed to a beautiful gift to dance. And that's why I engaged myself in one of my latest projects: a film documentary of - The Jitterbugs: Pioneers of the Jit.
In my opinion, the Michigan 'scene' has a lot of room for improvement. I think we're easily hidden in the shadows of larger scenes throughout the midwest, like Chicago or Ohio even. The level of skill, the amount of crews/bboys/bgirls, amount of quality events, need to grow. Being apart of this 'community', I think we should all do whatever we can to strengthen our scene, to make noise and get some recognition. There's several ways of doing this. Unity is a big one. Having an entire scene united for a common goal should definitely have an impact. But, I think there's a better way than unity. Beef. Real hard competitiveness. In larger scenes across the country there's always real hatred almost between bboys and crews. This can really push someone to train and work harder, raising the skill level, raising the bar. I'm not saying having 'beef' with someone is a good thing.. I just don't think its the worst thing sometimes. What's your opinion on this, and more importantly what can Michigan do to create a better scene?
Beef is a form of controversy and everyone loves controversy. So I gues beef could draw people to a battle. But it is short lived to me. Beef back then had more of an impact then now. A lot of the Beef I witnessed was over moves back then. "Where's the Beef" ™ ( great name for an event ™). Nowadays moves are all over the place thanks to the internet. I rarely do I see bboys calling a bite today. They don't because we are in a whole new era of this culture. Seems like all moves are up for grabs. Seems like the only way you can create your own identity is to combine these moves in your own way.
Ultimately, it is really about coming together and respect. You need to have respect for yourself first as an individual before you can show anyone or anything respect. Then when beef occurs we will then be able to handle it the right way. For Michigan to become a better scene, I think we will need to travel more to outside events. Not traveling through the internet lol... make an effort to research the history of the dance and seek out and talk with the O.G’s. Make better events. Create a respectable environment that will effect how people will respond. Bring more O.G’s out instead of the newbie’s. So, then we can have discussions on topics like these. It's not going happen in a day. There is a reason why I haven't thrown a breaking event... yet. But believe me when I do it's gonna be that deal!
I'm sure if and when you throw a jam it will definitely be done right. You mentioned the film you recently made, The Jitterbugs. How did the film and showing turn out? What else do you have planned for the future that we can all look forward to?
I did a screening of the film because it was not in it's complete form. But very close. I had to show it at this time because I was involved with a major event called ART X Detroit funneled through the Kresge Foundation, CCS and other associations. I could have use this platform to showcase any of my work but I chose to use it to show the film: The beautiful venue I used (Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History), promo, equipment and other resources was at my disposal and covered by Art X. It was free to the public too. We did it BIG! The event turned out amazing. From my DJ Sicari setting the vibe at the very beginning, then to the response of the audience to the film & QnA and lastly closing it out with a Hardcore Detroit performance. I could not ask for a better night. The isles were filled, and people had to find areas along the wall just because it was that crowded. And it was a wide range of people: old, young, different ethnicities, dancers, non-dancers, etc. I have a small team I have been blessed with assisting me with this particular project. Nick, Phil, and Magi have been a huge impact in the success of this film. Our goal upon completion of this film is to maximize all circuits. We are going to push it as hard as we can and see what can come from it. We have another opportunity on the table for another showing in late June. This will be a very unique viewing that I will reframe from mentioning any details at this time; if you hear about it, then you will know it is official.
Sounds awesome, looking forward to hearing more info about your film. The Michigan bboy scene is small, but thankfully there are a few individuals (like you) out there doing what they can to strengthen it, to make it better, to rep themselves, their city, and this state. You have a strong work-ethic and a great passion for this dance. Like Uturn or Eddie Torres before you, whether you realize it or not you are a role model for many people across the state. What advice can you give to our young readers... to the kids who are just now discovering our scene and this dance?
Strive for longevity. Yes this dance culture is somewhat a life-style in that you must prioritize life to be able to continue enjoying this dance. Balance - just like you have to find a balance point to hold a freeze, it is the same with life. Such as: consider what you put in your body, learning your body's reaction to things, mastering your instincts etc. or just everyday things like balancing your dance progress when considering having children, companions, education or careers. I had to juggle things around, I had to sacrifice things in life and everyone has their shortcomings in life. Like super-heroes, when you read their card stats it all varies but each hero contributes in their own way. I encourage people to put the "Most High" first when prioritizing life.
Also, I see a lot of playing around when approaching this dance, I know this dance is a fun activity for many but at the same time, this is some serious #i$h we are dealing with. Sometimes it's not all fun and games. When I use to play basketball on the regular I enjoyed the intensity of the game but as soon as people started to "play around" doing dumb things during the game, it spread amongst the other players and messed up the whole game and vibe for the rest of the day. Take it serious sometimes. I think this alone would help our scene as a whole.
Excellent advice. That concludes the interview. Thank you very much for letting us pick your mind. This gives people more insight into who you are as a person and a dancer. Thanks again. –Michigan Bboy Forum
