Mighty's Thoughts: The State of the Portland B-boy Scene Currently

Sooo, the b-boy scene in Portland.....

I'm actually liking it right now. Before, the scene seemed to go in phases where it would be active for about a year, then the next year it would seem like everyone dropped off the face of the earth and there wasn't anything worthwhile going on. No practice spots or anything. No shows, no community, nobody making moves.

Now, it seems like its on the upswing again. We got a few people/crews making some moves out there.
There's a few out there (Huy, myself, PSU Breakin Club, Robocop) that are throwing events on a pretty regular basis. You got your Ashes 2 Ashes, Reed, So Fresh So Clean, Arcane Arts, etc.
There's also Oskar, who has been throwing different events in Gresham and Hood River (ex: Gresham Juice).
There are a few open practice spots like the PSU Breakin Club's spot, (and I think Parkrose has an open one as well?, if there's any other ones out there then spread the word everybody, make that ish known, that's why they're called OPEN practice spots).

We got a few crews that are making some moves around the greater NW. My crew is traveling around here and there. Moon Patrol is getting out there. Some of Rhythm Bandits have been repping pretty well in Washington from what i've seen. And there's a few more that are doing things here and there.

But my gripe is the lack of solidarity I see in some of the scene. And it mainly has to do with the crews themselves.

My definition of a crew is a group of people that are coming together for a common cause/goal/movement. They are homies first and foremost. It's all about the unity and solidarity. They have to have that, and they have to have a similar mentality, drive, and focus. Otherwise it just won't work.

Now, especially within this last year, i've seen several younger crews pop up, which is really dope to see. For one, it helps to build and strengthen the b-boy community in Portland (and surrounding areas). The other thing is that it drives competition and helps everyone get better, cuz the more crews you have to compete against the more you gotta stay on top of your game.

But the problem is, of these crews that are popping up, a very small percentage of them will last in my opinion. This isn't hating on them. But just from observing the way they operate, they are doomed to failure if they don't start making some moves in the right direction.

You got crews out there that are adding new members like they are adding Myspace friends, taking on pretty much anyone that will join 'em. These same crews are changing their crew name every other week. Then they are switching their line-up. Or this common scenario where Dude#1 in the crew has a problem with Dude #2, so now Dude#2 gets kicked out but then they add Dude #3 and 4 right after that and change to a new crew name, etc. etc.

Solidarity Folks!

Do not get people down in your crew if:
1) You barely know them
2) They share no common mind frame with the rest of your crew
3) You aren't able to stand hanging around that person outside of practice/battle
4) They got a massive pile of issues and baggage associated with them

Just because you think someone is kinda fresh, and has a few dope moves does not make them a worthy candidate to be down in a crew. You gotta treat it like dating or a marriage. Take some time to get to know the person, make sure them and you and the rest of your crew click well before they become a member. Otherwise your gonna become like all the other one-night-stand crews where your moved too fast and wound up with a mess on your hands.

The other thought on that same note is about repping:
So many crews I see out there aren't repping very hard. This correlates with a lack of crew solidarity, so its somewhat expected. But man! I see all these new b-boys and new crews popping up and I can't keep track of any of them or tell the difference between them and who's in which crew because none of them are really doing anything to rep hard, stand out, and differentiate themselves from any other crew in the scene.

Hardly any crews come to a battle rollin up as a crew, rockin crew gear, and reppin together in the cyphers. Instead they're all in different spots and all of them are dressed completely differently (and i'm not talking just different t-shirts. You got crews out there with one kid dressed all emo, rockin girl pants, dyed purple bangs and slip-on Vans in the same crew as some dude trying to be b-boy thuggish wearing Dickies shorts, a 2XL tee, and Jordans). Some of these "crews" when they stand together look really mismatched, like they had a random drawing to put the crew together.

The other thing that is weak is when you got a "crew" there but then people in that crew are entering the battle with people that aren't even in their crew. So you got a bunch of mix-matched b-boys that are all over the place. How's any one gonna find out who you are and what your crew is if you aren't actually reppin with them when it comes to battle time? You have to have pride in your crew mates and your crew name and rep that.

And a lot of the crews and b-boys are dancing all the same. It's real easy to see the Youtube/Bboyworld influence in a a lot of these crews. That's to be expected though.
I realize that for a lot of the new jacks, the only way they learn is by trying out what they see (which, in this case, is clips of Zulu Kings and Korean b-boys).
And I know it takes a lil while for bboys to start to be able to build their own style, but you got some out there that have been in it for a few years and still are constantly trying make their style be like whatever the current trend of the month is. Once you start getting a basic foundation of moves figured out its time to build, create and innovate. Take everything and start to make it unique and your own.

The whole concept of having a crew is that you're making a differentiation between those b-boys that ARE apart of it and those b-boys that AREN'T. Your crew is a group of people that is a separate unit from everybody else. If you want your crew to get recognized and for people to know that you even exist and that these specific people are apart of it, then yall got to start reppin AS A CREW in all those way previously described. You have to do things to make you and your crew recognizably stand out from all the others out there. Cuz the more crews that pop up, the more everyone's gonna get lost in the crowd...

-Mighty Moves

DJ Wicked + Crooked i = FIRE brought to you by two of the illest in the game

New Crooked I and DJ Wicked collaboration....

"Jackin' For Beats 2009!!!"

Hear it now on DJ Wicked's Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/dj_wicked
(While you're there, add DJ Wicked as a friend!)

Or download it for free at:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/5806322443ea098d/

Our own Steven Lopez aka Frustr8 = making some HUGE moves

That's right. One of our very own.
Frustr8.
AKA Steven Lopez.
AKA Slopez.
AKA the guy that wears that thing on his wrist when he paints.

Is making huge moves, check out his latest work.
A collaboration art piece with none other than the Goddess of Soul: ERYKAH BADU!!!

Go to Aftermidnightsoul.com for more details.....



Erykah Badu and Artist Steven Lopez collaborate for social change from Steven Lopez on Vimeo.

Def Con 5 Crew

Started in 1992 by Tazroc, Frustr8, and Crime, Def Con 5 is a hip hop crew with members throughout the West Coast.
Current members are:
Tazroc
Frustr8
Task
Surface to Air
Woody
DJ Wicked
Deff Ro
Mighty Moves
Steez
Big Sid
Souicide
Che


This blog will consist of posts by crew members about various topics of interest: crew activities, shows, thoughts and random other stuff