New York City Breakers

The New York City Breakers, also referred to as NYC Breakers or NYCB, are a pioneering B-boy group from The Bronx formed in the early 1980's by Michael Holman. The group originally consisted of members from Wildstyle and "Floor Master Crew"[1]

History

The New York City Breakers are a Breaking crew originally known as the Floor Masters formed by Michael Holman in the early 1980's.[2] Holman was inspired by a battle between the Rock Steady Crew and The Dynamic Rockers at the Lincoln Center.[3] The original members were: "Action" (Chino Lopez), "Kid Nice" (Noel Manguel), "Glide Master" (Matthew Caban), "Lil Lep" (Ray Ramos), "Mr. Wave" (Tony Droughan), "Icey Ice" (Cory Montalvo), "Powerful Pexter" (Tony Lopez) and Flip Rock (Bobby Potts).[2][4] Their first real exposure came in 1982, with an offer to battle Rock Steady Crew; in NYC at a club called Negril.[5][6]

Their first performance was on the nationally televised talk show The Merv Griffin Show in 1983.[7][8] Soon after, the NYCBs began appearing in live performances with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in Boston. They were featured in the 1984 film Beat Street where they battled the Rock Steady Crew[9] and appeared on the first hip-hop television show Graffiti Rock, created by Holman.[10] They also made appearances on various other television programs such on Ripley's Believe It or Not!, NBC's TV Special The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Teams,[11] CBS Evening News and P.M. Magazine[12] and the film Sixteen Candles.[7]

The New York City Breakers also became the first B-boys to release an instructional video and album (Break-Master) which went gold and broke down steps on how to hold a competition. They performed in Washington D.C for sitting President Ronald Reagan, during 1983 at the Kennedy Center Honors.[13][14][15] Photos of NYCB and Ronald Reagan were included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Roots, Rhymes & Rage:The Hip-Hop Story" exhibit.[16]

Film

Television

References
  1. Portilla, Alberto de la. "From Queens to Hialeah: The Incredible Story of Miami's Original B-Boys". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  2. Price, Emmett George (2006). Hip Hop culture. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 114, 173. ISBN 978-1-85109-867-5.
  3. Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn; Fonseca, Anthony J. (2018-12-01). Hip Hop around the World [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-09618-4.
  4. Blandford, Linda (1984-03-14). "A chill wind from the Bronx". The Guardian. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  5. Old School .com. (2010, August 12). The New York City Breakers. http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/bboys/nycbreakers.htm
  6. Ogg, Alex; Upshal, David (2001). The Hip Hop Years:A History of Rap. Fromm International. p. 56. ISBN 9780880642637.
  7. "'New' dance craze blends acrobatics, mime, and inventiveness". The Christian Science Monitor. October 14, 1983. ISSN 0882-7729. ProQuest 1037927784.
  8. "Television schedule". Daily News. 1983-06-19. p. 171. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  9. Driver, Ian (2001). A century of dance. Cooper Square Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780815411338.
  10. "'Graffiti Rock' Tunes In On the Hip-Hop Culture". The New York Times. 1984-06-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  11. Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi (2012). Hip hop dance. The American dance floor. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. pp. n15. ISBN 978-0-313-37846-1.
  12. Marlow, Curtis (1984). "The New York City Breakers". Breakdancing. pp. 82–83.
  13. Portilla, Alberto de la. "From Queens to Hialeah: The Incredible Story of Miami's Original B-Boys". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  14. Klein, Joshua (2003-03-22). "`8 Mile' not the first film to travel the hip-hop road". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  15. Sands, Ken (January 21, 1985). "Reagan Worker Peterson Gets His Reward". The Spokesman-Review.
  16. Guidry, Nate (November 18, 1999). "Hip-Hop History:Rock and Roll Hall exhibit traces the roots of Rap". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Further reading
  • Holman, Michael (1984). Breaking and the New York City Breakers. Freundlich Books. ISBN 9780881910162.
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