It’s been a few weeks since the debut of Breaking at the Olympics and it’s high time to look back at some of the highlights from the event. While many had mixed feelings about Breaking Olympics, people still have different takes on it. No matter how you see it, from the community’s point of view, it’s been nothing short of a joyride because it’s got us the much-needed eyeballs.
Let’s explore some of the highlights from the debut of Breaking as a Sport for the first time at the Olympics.
Stakes Were High
Since the day Breaking was confirmed for the Olympics, there’s no denying that the majority of the community got together to make things move. The competitive Breakers started spending more time in the lab and tried to skip events. It’s always good to spend time in the lab as a Breaker and stop competing for a while as it helps you reinvent your style.
On the other hand, the seniors of the community whom we refer to as OGs, got on board with WDSF to make sure the true essence of this culture stays visible throughout the event while keeping in check the rules and regulations of IOC.
Dogg With The Double G
The best thing that the IOC decided was to have Snoop Dogg as the Torch-Bearer at the Games. A man of global following, Snoop Dogg is the OG of OGs in the world of Hip-Hop. Snoop was seen supporting US Athletes throughout the games. His passion and enthusiasm towards the Games brought a whole different vibe to the event.
Moreover, he was not only there to support but had an integral role to play at the Games. He carried the torch through the streets of Saint-Denis, home to the Stade de France Olympic Stadium. The executive producer of the Olympics at NBC, Molly Solomon, describes Snoop Dogg as an “Ambassador of Happiness.”
Similarly, in Breaking, he didn’t hold back at all. Snoop was seen cheering the Breakers from the BTS content to the main stage. Check out some exciting sights here.
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Venue
When Paris won the bidding for hosting the Games, they always wanted to showcase urban sports in their natural habitat, right in the middle of the city. They incorporated the idea perfectly by keeping La Concorde as an open arena. Of course, this came with a hefty cost of managing the city traffic and infrastructure transformation costs but it was all worth it.
DJs and Music
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This was, for true Hip-Hop Heads, the highlight of the show. All the major Break DJs came together to work closely with WDSF to get licenses for playing the best of the best Hip-Hop Classics. Some key names to note here:
– DJ Timber.
– DJ Oneup.
– MGBility.
An incredibly tiring and costly process it was to play tracks like Method Man, Mexican, Rakim’s, and even Snoop Dogg’s tracks. We’re talking about millions of Dollars of investment here, just to get a license for these tracks to be played once. DJ Oneup is an amazing Break DJ from France and he put months of hard work into making this thing possible.
And big-ups to the main guys fueling the Breakers, the DJs of the night, DJ Fleg and DJ Plash.
The world got to listen to the real OG Tracks of Hip-Hop. There were many artists who actually reposted the videos of the Olympics because their music was played including Babe Ruth.
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There’s an in-depth live on DJ Fleg’s Instagram explaining his BTS moments. For those who were digging the music at the Olympics, you must check it out.
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Judges
Let’s get done with the list first.
– B-Boy Intact.
– B-Boy Virus.
– B-Boy Dom-K.
– B-Boy Moy.
– B-Girl Jess.
It became the talk of the town as soon as the judges were announced. Many people started sharing their views online and it is visible on the post. What should’ve only been good things written under the post of Breaking first-ever Olympics Judges, people mentioned how the line-up was not on par for a tournament of such high prestige.
However, this wouldn’t have been the case if people first educated themselves about the process that goes behind becoming one of the juries. It’s not just like every other jam. In this video, Dizzy explains how the judges had to sign up, do a certification, pay an enrolment fee, and travel at their own expense. Of course, not every well-known judge in the community made the effort for it.
Some were even against these regulations of the WDSF. But what is necessary to be understood here is that this was the first time a WDSF Sport was making it to the big stage so they also had to show themselves as a proper sports body. The processes had to look convincing to the IOC.
This is not to defend the WDSF here. You can’t simply ask Ken Swift to get a certificate to judge. It not only sounds funny but is disrespectful to some. The takeaway here is that it was okay to not have the best OG judges because in the end, it was Breaking that was getting the spotlight. Nonetheless, it’s a debatable argument.
Special Breaking Boxes
Paris was welcoming to Breaking! There were special boxes placed around the venue for different countries containing various exclusive Olympic merchandise and goodies.
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Terry Crews X Samuka
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A major throwback to America’s Got Talent! AGT has had a history of one of the coolest dancers in the world auditioning for them including the Red Bull BC One Champion B-Boy Neguin.
However, among the many Breakers who auditioned and made it through, there’s one name that is tossed around the most and that’s another World Champion B-Boy Samuka from Brazil.
Samuka’s audition clip has almost a million views on YouTube. He got a massive standing ovation not only from the crowd but from all the judges. The name became a massive hit as he moved to the later stages of the competition and also became a very good friend of the Host Terry Crews.
We will add another link to his Quarterfinals performance at AGT, well, because this article is all about the spotlight that Breaking has got in the past couple of weeks.
B-Girls Of The Evening
The debut of Breaking kicked off with the B-Girls Division. The top-4 B-Girls were:
– B-Girl India.
– B-Girl 671.
– B-Girl Nicka.
– B-Girl Ami.
India from Holland was on another level the whole evening. She lost the bronze against 671. Their rivalry had been witnessed by the world in not only the past Olympic Qualifier Games but also at other Breaking competitions like BC One. B-Girl 671 is a young and up-and-coming Breaker from China who has been making noise on the global stage for the past three years. She’s been mentored by the great coaches of Team China, naming the BC One World Champion B-Boy Mounir and another awesome Breaker who has years of experience and titles under his belt, B-Boy Sambo. B-Girl 671 made history by winning the Bronze for China at the first-ever Breaking Olympics. She had been on the podium consistently in the Qualifiers and she did it again.
In the finals, the young prodigy from Lithuania, B-Girl Nicka lost the silver against Ami. B-Girl Nicka is a name you must have heard if you are following the big Breaking events happening all year because she’s always seen in the finals. Yes, a member of the Red Bull BC One All-Star team, B-Girl Nicka, with her traditional Breaking Style wowed the crowd and took home the Silver medal for Lithuania at such a young age. And most importantly, she did it in an OG Breaker Fashion, while rocking a Durag. Who does that? Incredible!
Lastly, the Champion of Champions, B-Girl Ami took home the first-ever Gold Medal in the history of Breaking. This was an emotional moment for everyone who truly loved Hip-Hop and not just Breaking. She kept her composure and showed absolute sportsmanship till the finals, bringing Japan a Gold Medal. Japan already has one of the craziest scenes in the world, having kids who can smoke anyone any day. Their disciplined culture and love for Hip-Hop have been helping them climb up the ladder in the world of Breaking. They have three Battle Of The Year Titles under their battle, multiple BC One Championship Belts, and now an Olympic Gold Medal. What a story! B-Girl Ami was mentored by B-Boy Katsu who coached Team Japan. B-Boy Katsu is a well-renowned Breaker globally who’s constantly judging events all year.
B-Girl Talash
As they say, “Hip-Hop stands for Higher Infinite Power Healing Oppressed People,” B-Girl Talash just demonstrated that. Once again, with the voice of Hip-Hop, she was able to communicate to the world her message about the freedom of Afghan Women. She has a detailed post uploaded on her Instagram which is worth checking out. Let’s all amplify her message.
Some questioned her appearance at the Olympics and we are going to clarify that here. She made it to the big stage through the Refugee Team. This is not the first time this has happened. IOC itself encourages freedom of speech and equality. It is worth mentioning that they were not aware of her future actions before she got on that stage.
Her story is inspiring and is definitely among the highlights. We encourage you to read her post.
B-Girl Raygun
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Before writing about B-Girl Raygun, we’d first tell you the importance of this event. First of all, this was one act and she was not the highlight of the competition. The attention she got from the media should’ve been directed towards the medalists. This is not to sideline her but simply to build the right perspective around the whole “incident” as some may call it. She was just not among the top breakers of the night and the limelight should be kept for the best.
However, she deserved her spot by winning the Oceania Qualifier fair and square. Sadly, this is a typical case of the media trying to create news out of nothing. Not every country in every sport at the Olympics wins a medal. That does not mean not every country can qualify. For instance, Australia has produced the finest cricketers in the world while Japan is nowhere in that game. It is a fairly normal thing for some Olympians to perform below par because not every country is good at everything. Though small, strong, and promising, Australia’s Breaking Scene is not as big as the dominant countries in Breaking like the USA, Japan, Russia, Korea, Canada, and Holland.
She should be given the respect that she deserves to be an Olympian but that’s about it. No trolling and conspiring against her is justified under any circumstances because she earned her spot.
There are more videos on Coach Sambo’s YouTube channel regarding this and everyone who is curious should check them out.
It was good to see the whole community coming together to the defense of Raygun being trolled everywhere including WDSF. This shows that we are unbreakable.
B-Girl Syssy
The star of the night and our special honorable mention is B-Girls Syssy from France’s very own Melting Force Crew. She repped her home turf hard and kept bringing her A-Game throughout the battles. Below is a quick highlight that you won’t find the mainstream media showing.
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B-Boys At Their Best
Coming to the B-Boy Division, we must begin with the legendary Breaker from Korea “B-Boy Hong-10” who was the oldest in the line-up. This guy’s fitness is on another level. He has inspired generations of Breakers and is still in top form. His Group was very tough with Breakers like Lee, Jeffro, and France’s very own B-Boy Lagaet. It was a close battle but Jeffro managed to outshine him and made it to the top-8.
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Whoever watched the battle live, knows that Jeffro pulled out his big guns in front of Hong-10 and played it smart. Let’s all appreciate the legend though. Hong-10 had been on the podium in the Qualifiers and was definitely a favorite. Big-ups!
B-Boy Hiro-10
Let’s start off our discussion of this young lad with this video posted by Snoop Dogg.
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Hiro-10 has killing it consistently all year. He’s one of those Breakers who make it to every highlight without even making it to the finals sometimes. A straight-up rocket from Japan, B-Boy Hiro-10, who is now representing the world-class Jinjo Crew, made Japan proud.
In a hype battle against Victor, he went all out. He knew he was not going to make it by the second round, so her turned towards the crowd, made the heart sign, and spun around to do the modern Breaking’s most iconic power round that the future generations are going to cherish forever.
B-Boy Victor
And now the big dawgs! Beating Japan’s B-Boy Shigekix in the battle for Bronze, B-Boy Victor came out victorious. A Two-Time Red Bull BC One Champion, representing BC One All-Stars, and Squadron, Victor Montalvo has become the face of Breaking in the USA. From starring in huge commercials to getting hosted and interviewed by the top news channels, he is everywhere and for all the right reasons. He has won almost every Breaking Championship you can think of.
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He was preparing hard for the battle because he was the first American to qualify for the Olympics. The whole world has eyes on him and he did not disappoint.
Ill Abilities
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Isn’t that a jaw-breaking sight? That’s Ill Abilities. This is an International Dance Crew which has eight members.
– B-Boy Lazylegz.
– B-Boy Kujo.
– B-Boy Sergio.
– B-Boy Redo.
– B-Boy Krops.
– B-Boy Samuka.
– B-Boy Perninha.
– B-Boy Junior.
If you were aware of the term “Breaking” before reading this article, you must have already known one name from this list. Yes, France’s very own B-Boy Junior, a member of the Wanted Posse and BC One All-Stars has also joined Ill-Abilities.
Ill Abilities was formed in 2007 with the intent of battling performing and competing globally, showing the world that everything is possible. It has been a standard in the Hip-Hop scene to take a negative term and turn it into a positive one. Ill represents nasty, incredible, and raw talent. This crew uses its negative disabilities and turns them into world-class abilities.
B-Boy Samuka, the eye-candy of America’s Got Talent is also a part of this crew and they performed before the finals at the Olympics. They got a standing ovation from the French Crowd which is a testament to their absolute raw talent.
They are internationally recognized and have performed on the biggest stages. From motivational speaking to theatrical performances, this crew contains masters of the game.
Talking about the masters, let’s discuss B-Boy Kujo here for a second. Jacob “Kujo” Lyons was born with 100% sensorineural deafness in his right ear and suffered several instances of conductive hearing loss in his left ear. This got him more into powermoves from day one. He was inclined to pull off mind-boggling blowups that were so ahead of time. Originally a member of the Innovator of Innovators “Soul Control” crew, he became one of the top breakers of his time. Along with his crew, Kujo, and Soul Control pioneered some insane Breaking moves and transitions that later became the foundation.
B-Boy Finals
Last but not least, let’s talk about the finals, the battle for the Gold! No, we are not gonna do it like this. We are gonna mention the tracks.
– Method Man – Judgment Day
The first song is a classic Hip-Hop tune. This was a win for Hip-Hop in every way. We made it! Method Man was being played while the whole world was watching an element of Hip-Hop make its debut on the big stage. It couldn’t get any better than this. Every Hip-Hop Head who dreamt big, saw this day coming.
The whole arena was hyped up cheering for their French Man. B-Boy Danny Dann, representing Vagabonds Crew who are an OG Crew in France. From winning Battle Of The Year multiple times to making a BC One Champion, Vagabonds has done it all. B-Boy Mounir who is coaching Team China and a BC One Champ, represents Vagabonds. Coming to Danny Dann, this guy was no stranger to the podium. He had consistently been on the podium. Danis Civil won Gold at the European Championships 2022 in Manchester and at the European Games 2023 in Krakow.
He was in beast mode all evening. With his on-beat footwork, he started off strong with some burners, going into an unorthodox power set, back to an abstract footwork pattern, back to a quick power transition, stood up, and killed the beat in a funky fashion.
Philip Kim, also known as B-Boy Phil Wizard, a member of the BC One All-Stars and the Wizard’s Crew, is a 27-year-old Breaker from Canada who has also won the biggest of the biggest competitions in the world of Breaking. Another Breaker who was no stranger to the podium, Phil Wizard had won Gold at the WDSF World Breaking Championship in 2022, at the Pan American Games in 2023, and at the WDSF Pan American Breaking Championship 2023 in Santiago.
He stepped in imitating and mocking what Danny did in his toprocks, a typical B-Boy approach. Went straight into his thread style and kept threading at multiple levels like it’s nothing. These seamless threads were on the beat. He did the classic six-step footwork and hit an original direction-changing freeze. Then, he went back into some floor-threads and transitioned into a straight-leg shoulder spin while holding his foot. He further ends his round on a hurricane move.
– Think (About It) – Lyn Collins
Another classic funk tune! Danny is full of character and his humorous personality is joyful to watch here. He comes out dancing to the music. This is nothing but dance right here. He cancels a munch-flare and goes into a backflip, as soon as he lands, he goes into a sharp flag freeze, stands up, and looks at Phil right in the eye like, “Can you do it?” Phil laughs it off and doesn’t attempt the flip. Dany continues with a traveling footwork pattern and transitions into power, flares, level changes, and cross-leg mills here. Comes out of power with classic footwork shuffles and plays with the beat in an immaculate manner while looking at his opponent. These speed changes were incredible.
Phil jumps in and does an original footwork pattern, responding to what Danny did. He transitions into another original swimming down-rock on his knees, this time while spinning which makes it look a million times more epic. He then jumps into a handstand doing shuffles with his feet and transitions down to a side freeze while continuing the shuffle and looking at Danny. This was all on the beat and then he quickly hits multiple rough patterns on beat, more threads, and then finishes on an opposite-hand elbow freeze from the head.
– Mexican – Babe Ruth
Now this track has got to be the most famous and adored tracks in Breaking. Danny takes a full circle on the stage. People are up on their feet. The French are chanting for their country-man. Danny again comes in with his slow-paced, funky and funny dance steps, taking the crowds support. He goes into some quick footwork threads, a flare, does a back handspring transition to a baby freeze, which he doesn’t land properly. Phil is quick to point it out. He continues with a down rock pattern, changing levels in his final round.
Team Canada’s flags are high up behind Phil and the support is real. Phil comes in with energetic toprocks and does an original thread go-down with a toe-spin on beat. The crowd goes nuts. He quickly controls the flow, does a few foot taps in his footwork while waiting for the next beat, and boom! Phil jumps into a back handspring and cancels it to a flag freeze. He really sticks this freeze and cements his position as the Champion at this point. With some quick down rocks, he finishes his rounds, stands up, and sings the iconic lyrics of the song.
They both walk to the edge of the stage and the crowd goes crazy. This is it! Breaking has done it. The countdown begins and Phil takes it. Both the competitors face the judges and applaud their performance. They definitely deserved a big hand.
There you have it. The anthem of Japan was played for B-Girl Ami and the anthem of Canada gets played for B-Boy Phil Wizard. This was the only podium in the Olympics where the podium athletes were dancing together. The whole community bows to these warriors.
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