  World
B-Boy Championships,
Saturday and Sunday 07/08
February 2004 @ Wembley Arena
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0077 added
23.03.04 words K-Per & Instrumental
technical:
QED
There
are many B-Boy championships these days, each representing their local
and national talent alongside overseas competitors who participate in
competitions not held in their own country. This year sees a new event
join the fray, one that chooses to truly represent the impact, influence
and spread of this pillar of Hip Hop culture by organising what is the
first official World B-Boy champs. Albeit an ambitious choice and
challenge, the company behind the event, Just Fabulous, have pulled out
all stops to make this a memorable event that will hopefully become a
regular part of the Hip Hop calendar. For one they offer more prize money
then any other Hip Hop related event I can think of, $100,000, add to
that a succession of national competitions with more prize money taking
the total to around $2m! They also recorded and broadcast the event on
TV, invited some of the biggest name in Hip Hop history, and set up the
event in a venue that, if not practical, represented the ambition and
grandeur of the event.
Wembley Arena is a strange choice for such an event, at full capacity
the 12,000 seats venue is renowned for poor sound quality and restricted
views of the stage. For this occasion, the organisers closed off part of
the seating in the arena and extended the stage into the standing area,
giving the crowd and cameras a better view. The stage also featured a
transparent floor, which resulted in some interesting footage of the
breakers but apparently was not the ideal surface to dance on.
Judges:
Dedson (Wanted Crew, France)
Lonestar
DJ Renegade
Teams were marked on technical ability, overall presentation and style
Note: The first review was done from the press room, whilst the
second was done from inside the venue itself.
Saturday Review, 2 on 2
competition, by Instrumental
 Once the venue started to fill, The Clipse took to the stage, getting
the crowd’s attention with their distinctive Neptunes’ produced sound.
They also contributed a track to the official event CD. Pharoahe Monch
then appeared solo and rocked through ‘Agent Orange’ and got the whole
place on their feet for ‘Simon Says’
The Jungle Brothers followed, dropping a tight set of their classics
‘Jungle Brother’ and ‘Because I got it like that’. We were not expecting
a full show, due to the other acts on the bill but at least they
returned for ‘Buddy’ with De La Soul later on.
De La have always has one of the tightest, smoothest stage shows in
Hip Hop and this was no exception. Leading the crowd from an original ‘Me
Myself and I’ medley to the infectious ‘Oooh’, their true charisma shone
through.
After a 20 year hiatus, Slick Rick could have simply walked on stage,
without performing and the crowd would have greeted him like a long lost
friend. However, not wishing to disappoint, he rocked through ‘La Di Da
Di’ and ‘Children’s Story’ culminating with his wife coming onstage to
adorn him with further items of platinum and gold jewellery, adding
weight to his diamante eye patch. Rick’s set may not have been very
polished or sonically impressive and his DJ had a few hiccups, which did
not help Rick as he valiantly battled his sore throat, but it was great
to see him back in the UK after such a long absence.
The 2 on 2 battles followed, introduced by LL Cool J, himself the
personification of smoothness! The huge video screens and projections
dwarfed the breakers, who at times seemed overshadowed by the technology
surrounding them. The fast pace of the evening kept the crowd engaged as
the teams hit the stage in quick succession.
The Wanted Crew from France emerged deserved winners, with the best
moves and stage-presence. There were few people in the audience who
would have disagreed with that decision. Massive Monkees came in a close
second, also representing with some tight floor-work.
Other crews who displayed notable skills included Style Crew from Brazil
and Addictos from Spain.
The overall standard was good, but not spectacular and the general
feeling after the event was that the skills and true B-Boy ethic were
over-shadowed by the complex lighting and sound effects all over the
arena. The official camera crews hovered all around the stage, eager to
catch every move and gesture by the teams, while other press were kept
back 30ft from the stage. This approach did give result in some
excellent footage but their presence frequently distracted from what was
happening on stage. In the end, the prize fund was paid out and although
some problems were encountered on the night the event was deemed a
success by the majority of the b-boy community. Teams were flown in from
all over, many of who had never competed in the UK before, and they all
got paid, which must be a good thing.
- Instrumental
Saturday
Gallery, 2 on 2
competition, by
Elio Stolz P2
Sunday Review, 4 on 4
competition, by Kper
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