From the Sep 2 – Sep 8, 2004 issue

Music

My Philosophy

by Larry Mizell Jr.

Competition is a core ethic of hiphop culture; whether DJ, MC, graf artist, or b-boy, you have to show and prove, not only to gain respect, but also to keep on top of your game. As it stands now, Seattle's Massive Monkees--winners of the 2004 World B-Boy Championships in London--are the top of the b-boy game. "In town, I would say that we've been majorly overlooked by most of the media outlets and promoters," Benito Ybarra, MM manager extraordinaire, tells me via phone. "Going overseas really shows you how much more they respect the culture out there."

My own travels abroad this summer demonstrated just that. In Denmark, I found everyone involved in hiphop had a love of the entire culture: Copenhagen, besides being full of beautiful architecture, was decorated with some incredible graf. The Danish b-boys I stayed with were dead serious about their craft--reverent of the pioneers who paved the path, such as NYC's legendary Rock Steady Crew, who inspired the Massive Monkees in more than spirit. "One of our mentors, Fever One, is from Rock Steady, not to mention (groundbreaking local collective) DVS Crew," Benito tells me. "We had our initiation phase back in the day, when he, Oracle, and a few of those other cats would come out here and build with us up on Beacon Hill."

Asked about rival crews, Ybarra contends that Massive inspire themselves primarily. "Honestly, we're not really looking at what other crews are doing; we're focused on what we do, first and foremost," he says, adding, "competition gives us the chance to test ourselves." Steel does sharpen steel, but friction causes heat--are there underlying tensions at Massive's core that power the group to greatness? "Sure, there's some friendly competition among some of the guys," Benito admits. "They don't battle each other, but, for instance, they had to have some competition to see who was going to come to Freestyle Session." (Freestyle Session, held this past week in Long Beach, was one of the biggest b-boy battles in U.S. history--MM took second place.) This crew-first way of thinking is why b-boying, perhaps more than any other of hiphop's core elements, exemplifies the culture's community-based ethic. B-Boy battles are indeed battles; but each crew respects the next and fully supports what each other does. In contrast, MCing is much more directly ego-driven, its practitioners are too-often steeped in machismo and hostility. An MC lacking flow or charisma but packing the right punch lines, catchy hooks, or the considerable push of a major label can, and often does, prevail. "The thing is, there's no real way to be a wack b-boy," Benito concludes. "A wack MC can maybe get over with some kind of marketing scheme, but there's simply no way you can do that in this aspect of the culture, because you really have to show your skills." Make sure you catch Massive at Bumbershoot this year; the world's best breakers are a freakin' local natural resource--act like you know.

hiphop@thestranger.com

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