13 Mar 2013

The Public Struggle | Bboy Thesis

I don’t like to judge bboys – or people for that matter – but when I first heard of Thesis and saw footage of him, I always felt this vibe that he was arrogant. I cannot exactly remember what the heck I was watching but it all came down to superficial feelings of first impressions. And we all know these feelings may or may not be deceiving. Still, there was no denying that this bboy is a beast on the floor – it didn’t matter what his personality was, I had to admire his talent.


Later I stumbled on a copy-paste someone had taken from his tumblr. It was an expression of his feelings as someone under the scrutiny of public expectations and his struggle to stay true to the hip hop culture. I realised then that he actually had A LOT of soul. It's not what he said - it's how he said it.

In his message he says, “I refuse to go any further in the competition field until this scene appreciates it for what it is and not what it was… I lost a battle recently and was told that the reason I lost was because I am known to have done better”. He also says “things can be so misunderstood in this time of age with all the media resources and of course the public point of views… people will fight and fight and fight till no one wins and when it comes down to it, it’s usually people of the unknown and the unknowing”.

Those are very strong words that speak only of the truth. It aligned with what I believed especially when he mentioned that opinions of today are derived from Anons who absolutely know nothing about the culture. Last night I was watching a few old footage of IBE and there was something utterly disturbing about the fact that bboys who were busting out huge explosive moves received so much props from the audience but bboys who stayed true to the culture; who danced, who did foundations and who listened to the music, silently received the deadest crowd you could ever imagine. The people had expectations and they won’t reciprocate unless delivered. The evolution of bboying over the years have created a generation that knows very little about its origins. There’s a lot more to just bboying than just the dance itself. People need to go back to its roots. When Thesis said, “originality is losing it’s foundation”, I completely agree!

To have to lose a battle with no objective reasoning apart from being known to have done better is a total disregard of a bboy's own growth and creativity. All the crowd wants are bboys going wild and eventually losing what it means to dance. This reminds me of that interview with Roxrite where he tells us how people used to give him crap for winning battles that he didn't deserve - his opponents clearly had better moves than him. A few years later the same people would come back to him apologizing because they finally understood what he does - he keeps it real and hip hop.

I can understand Thesis' argument about finding fame. I’m not some famous bgirl who would know it, but it was always something I had wondered about and became fascinated with. Bboying had always been quite a local scene; titles and reputations gained had always been local. However, as it grew it brought another title – fame. Soon bboys are left battling for a title against the rest of the world – quite literally. It struck me when he said “I’ve had international classes with 40+ students but when I have a class where I’m from I have 5 or 6.” That sentence struck a chord in me. In the level of fame bboys reach a wider audience but always in the expense of the closest and dearest. It's something that's often said but never spoke truer than in this context. If our closest is the Hip Hop Culture itself, then it’s what we lose when we embrace fame.

Anyways, mad respect for this bboy who's taking the initiative of stepping out of the limelight just to save hip hop culture for what it is.

I don't know the date when this was posted but you've got to be kidding me if you expect me to file through his tumblr just to search for it. Below is the full message.