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On February 7 and 8, Seattle's now- internationally legendary b-boy crew Massive Monkees took home the prize in the 2004 World B-Boy Championships in London, England. The boys from Beacon Hill made themselves a cross-continental sensation at Wembley Arena, winning the prestigious title in front of 6,000 people--including host LL Cool J and such performers as Slick Rick, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Pharoahe Monch, the Clipse, and beatboxing sensation Killa Kela. And just in case you couldn't make the event, the championships were produced by the Just Fabulous Group for a 12-part television series that will air in over 20 countries for over 200 million viewers.
One of the group's winning moments involved J. D. Rainey, the aerial menace known as Twixx, who in a sudden-death dance-off helped secure the almost $15,000 in prize money by hitting a shoulder roll to a straight leg, sideways freeze, and while hitting the freeze, raising one hand to motion for the crowd to make some noise--just as the time expired.
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"We went crazy," notes Marcus Garrison (AKA Juse Boogy) of witnessing Twixx's moves. "At that point we, along with everybody else, knew we won, it was obvious."
Adds Twixx, "We were out there representing the people in our crew who couldn't be there with us. We were representing our community and Seattle."
Although the win was obviously impressive for the local group, they seem to be staying true to their humble roots. Garrison explains, "We went out there and did what we do every day. I'm just happy we were appreciated for doing what we love to do by people who haven't seen our style of dance before. Now we just have to work harder at what we do for a long period of time."
An ecstatic Benito Ybarra, the Monkees' manager, said the odds were definitely against his crew, as the overall sentiment wasn't for an American team taking the title. "It was obvious nobody there wanted anybody from the States to win, but it's kind of fitting that despite the fact that all three judges were European, the three crews from the States finished in the top three--the other two crews being the legendary Style Elements Crew and the Super Crew [composed of various California All-Stars], whom Massive beat in the finals to take the title."
Competing overseas actually enabled the Monkees to form a close kinship with Style Elements. The Bay Area crew was an inspiration for our local boys, helping them take their dance skills to a new level. "I would say they and Circle of Fire [are important to the Monkees] in different ways," notes Garrison.
Ybarra says it wasn't easy for the Monkees to stay away from the negative influences surrounding their community when growing up, but he notes that one factor in their success was seeing the downfall of dance mentors who got caught up with the wrong elements. Now the Monkees' goal is planting a positive seed so that the next generation of b-boys will be able to fulfill the legacy created when the protégés of the DVS and Boss Crews were forced to practice on the far end of the Jefferson Community Center dance floor. Jerome Aparis (AKA Jeromeskee) is one of the four Monkees who took the title, and he also teaches classes to younger aspiring b-boys on the fundamentals and foundation of the culture and dance.
So while the hard work is beginning to pay off, the more difficult road lies ahead of feeding off the recent momentum in order to take the b-boy art even further. The Monkees will be performing at Bumbershoot again this year, and will throw a series of jams at the Vera Project leading up to the event, the first one with their friend Remind on Friday, March 5. (The Vera event, called B-Boys Gone Wild, is a spoof of the popular video that plagues late-night infomercial spots.) The crew also has a weekly club night at the Lakeside Grill on Wednesdays, with Soul One and Marc Sense as the resident selectors. And if that's not enough, they also have plans to launch a clothing company and b-boy videos. To stay up on the Monkees' success, check out www.massivemonkees.com.
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