Photo By Gary Miller
B-Boy City
Alamo Drafthouse North, Oct. 31/ Montopolis Recreation Center, Nov. 1/ Ruta Maya International Headquarters, Nov. 2 What better way to celebrate hip-hop culture than with a breakdancing competition? Thanks to the vision and effort of local dancing hero Romeo Navarro, Austin hosted its 10th edition of B-Boy City last weekend. Attracting dancers, DJs, and MCs from around the country, the three-day blowout captured the spirit of cipher-based expression with the boldness of a community dervish. As relentless tribal beats pounded at every turn, dueling b-boys and their crews were the epicenter of a throbbing ellipse of flesh that fed off windmills and headspins that defied prudence. The individual competition was ultimately taken by ATX's Dizzy, whose flippant bursts of energy and scarecrow sensibilities outmatched the acrobatic grace and speed of El Paso's Fonzi in the finals. While the audacity of the local Masters of Mayhem bested the precision of South Florida's Unique Styles to win the crew competition, the heated semifinal match between Austin's Jive Turkeys and United served as another notable highlight. Throughout the proceedings, DJs Baby G (Austin), Bles One (Seattle), and Element (Arizona) kept the pulse rate high by storming the crowd with a combination of up-tempo rap classics and quintessential breaks. In fact, it was the utilization of the
Ultimate Breaks and Beats series in union with other semiobscure funk from the likes of Lyn Collins, Roy Ayers, and Can that made the gathering even more genuine. There's something about seeing a dancer let it all hang out to the tune of "Soul Makossa" that makes all of the rap on MTV seem entirely detached from reality. Of course B-Boy City was hardly devoid of the presence of MCs as locals from Bavu Blakes and Tee Double to Tray God Shekhem, Linx Squad, and Haps spread the word that hip-hop is alive and well in the 512. With the Lone Star State serving as fertile breeding ground for freestyle expression, it's wholly appropriate our capital hosts a summit like B-Boy City. Strong showings from Seattle, Chicago, and Miami prove this is only the beginning for Romeo Navarro's brainchild with word spreading beyond American borders. As this semiannual event continues to grow, one can only hope it continues to run as smoothly and incident-free as B-Boy City X.
