TheMeaningOfDope

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There were 3 segments on RapCity that I’d say were very important in my taking b-boying seriously in the early to mid 90’s and through to 2000 before I realized I was probably better suited to pursue a career as a designer as opposed to a professional dancer - this clip right here, another one of Ghettoriginals at Harbourfront, and Bag o’ Trix when they had them green tracksuit joints on.

There weren’t a lot of avenues for dancers to find relative fame and coin back then, but our concern was more for the love of the artform, the passion for the music, and the need to exert some much pent up aggression about our home lives, social and financial status’, and the general public disregard we were feeling from institutions like the schools we attended versus us trying to make some money.

This episode of RapCity featured the Ghettoriginals: Popmaster Fabel, Mr. Wigglez, QuickStep, Legs Almighty (yes, he would later be known as FloMaster), Crazy Legs, Odessalo (sic?), and one of my personal favorite b-boys, B-Boy Zulu Gremlin. From my recollection, another more readily available segment on the Ghettoriginals doing the ’show’ that they mention in this clip (Harbourfront, Toronto), was aired within a week or so of this episode, where they make mention of films like, WildStyle, StyleWars and BeatStreet as being influential in the promotion of B-Boyin’ and hip-hop culture. I would later order all three from my local discount rental store on video cassette and learn how to really hurt yourself trying this shit without readily available practice spots and “Breakdancing Classes” like we’ve got today.

Without properly understanding the dynamics of true popping and locking at the time, (not the bullshit you may see people referring to as popping and locking nowadays), I always felt like Odessalo (someone please clue me in on the spelling of this dudes name), was the wackest of the whole crew. Not until learning a thing or two from Frank Boogie of the Original Boogie Brats Crew (Toronto, Canada), did I realize that Odessalo was actually pretty dope.

The original style footwork that Legs and Grem are on in this segment really initiated my interest in keeping my footwork on point at all times, and Legs Almighty’s style was real different to see back then, (except for him missing the thread at 6:00). Soon enough “Legs Almighty” aka Flomaster, would be one of the first b-boys that we’d hear about doing choreography on a commercial level, fucking with Usher, Britney, and all of those pop motherfuckers. Back then it was some fucked up shit to hear that, and in the words of arguably the nastiest b-boy ever, Prince Ken Swift,

“…B-boyin’ is not built for stage. If I grab my dick to you, and give you the dick, you know, “Fuck You!”, you know, that’s not for the Olympics, that’s not for Broadway…”

Flomaster would also develop a little bit of a beef with my boy Jessie from Boogie Brats, claiming style chomping and biting. I never got to see them battle, though I’ve got some footage that we’ll be hitting you off with in the near future.

Note: Oliver does not represent the “Hip-Hop Nation” in Toronto, Ontario, or Canada. I promised not to tear him apart, and so I’ll leave you with this: Why the fuck does he say, “Selectah, Roll da music, nuh..” in the beginning of the set, and why does he have his arm flailing around like a moron half of the time?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Dope, Stories, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.