Review of Freshest Kids, The, A History Of The B-Boy

Introduction

B-Boys. `B` for break, as in `breaking point`. Guys (and gals) reached a certain point where they went over the top, or `breaking point` in their dancing. This normally happened in the `breakdown` of a record. That`s why they call the records `breakbeat`, it`s a part of any record that had a breakdown where all the music dropped out and you were left with the beat. B-boys get so frantic and hyped with just the beat that everybody would just go `off`.

With contributions from Afrika Bambaataa, Mos Def, Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Donald D, various crews such as The Rock Steady Crew, New York City Breakers, Salsoul and The Zulu Kings, The Freshest Kids portrays the history of the b-boy over the last 30 years.

On with the history lesson...

Video

Presented with a fullframe transfer, this was shot entirely on video to keep it low budget. But make no mistake, this DVD is all about content and this is where it scores. The quality of the video isn`t bad and remains glitch/dirt free. There`s plenty of archive material mixed in with `home movie` style amateur clips and it all works well enough. I couldn`t spot any digital artefacting or other problems either, even on the fast moving breakers. This remains very watchable.

Audio

There`s a choice of Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0 and DTS 5.1. I thought it strange that this would be mixed in 5.1 since there really isn`t any need, let alone create a DTS track. From the looks of things, most of the documentary is shot with stereo sound, and this sounds good to me. There aren`t long clips of music or heavy speaker localised sound to make it stand out enough to warrant something like DD/DTS 5.1. Having said this, both 5.1 soundtracks are very clear with dialogue sounding clear too.

Features

There`s a wealth of extras here:

• Music Videos
-S.W.A.Y. - "I`m Saying Though" (2:56)
-Tony Touch f/Total - "He`s the Greatest DJ" (4:50)
-Mr Animation feat. Spontaneous & Sula - "Battlezone" (4:59)
-GrandMaster Caz - "MC Delight" (5:00)

The only poor video here is the last one from GrandMaster Caz. The tune is dull and so is the video, I couldn`t even make it half way through the tune. The others on the other hand are spot on being rhythmic and punchy and definitely make me want to strut my stuff.


• Uncut B-Boy Battles
-From the TV show Farmclub.com (7:39)
-Stylelements vs. The Renegades (15:15)
-Flo Masters vs. Super Dave (11:19)

The first one is the more interesting of the three here. Featuring four b-boy`s, Ken Swift, Zulu Gremlin, Frankie Flav, Ronnie Ruin and the beatjunkies, these guys just just improvise their own routines trying to outdo one another and it`s very watchable. Some very good skill on show! The second one is a more traditional battle between two crews and while there are some very skillful b-boys here, some of the stuff they perform is very repetitive and lacks inspiration. The last battle between two guys isn`t so hot. They merely taunt each other and battle but it`s just not that interesting to watch after about eight minutes.


• B-Boy Spotlight
-Original Style - Prince Ken Swift (2:51)
-New York City Breakers (12:55)

Ken Swift of The Rock Steady Crew is reckoned by many to be the best all round b-boy around. Cool footwork, innovative style and technique, swift by name, swift by nature. Too bad it`s a short clip. New York City Breakers (Speedy, Powerful Pexter, Action and Kid Nice), originally known as The FloorMasters, rehearse their moves without actually doing much. Just a bunch of blokes messing about for the first half, then you see them in action. They look kinda big, but they perform their old school routines well enough to look decidedly average in today`s money.


• Interviews
-Trac2 (7:18)
-PopMaster Fabel (5:55)
-Kool DJ Herc (6:39)

Trac2 talks about who he considers to be the godfathers of breaking, on who made up the moves and his mentors. I found this to be dull as he just reels off names that would only mean something to someone who`s heavily into the scene. The interview with PopMaster Fabel (Rock Steady Crew) is mildly interesing, but the recorded sound is poor and needs boosting. It`s split into three short segments where he talks about grafitti, rhymin and mcing and hip-hop. Kool DJ Herc, the `Father` of hip-hop is an interesting character and talks about growing up, music and b-boys.


• The Hand of Hip Hop - The DJ, Donald D, The Breeze Team, Breaking, Direction. A picture of a hand has each of these five parts on each finger and thumb and last from about 30 seconds to a few minutes each. Nice idea, but poorly executed since the menu for this extra isn`t logical (read frustrating) and doesn`t show anyything that hasn`t been seen elsewhere on the DVD.

• Breaklife Promo (0:32) - A short promo for the forthcoming release, "Breaklife", the first ever b-boy series.

• Gallery - 20 stills ranging from the 70s to present day.

Lastly there are sleeve notes that give you the b-boy timeline from the early 70s through to present day. It should be noted that none of these extras or the main feature have subtitles.

Conclusion

If you`re into dance, contemporary or classic, then I`m sure you`d appreciate this DVD. It`s packed with interesting info and battles and even I still shout respect at the screen, there`s some awesome talent on show with moves that simply defy gravity. In my day it was old school moves, mainly toprocking (no floorwork as such) which soon developed into something different with the advent of getting down on the ground. Films like Flashdance (1983) where The Rock Steady Crew performed their little bit was instrumental in catapulting b-boy into the U.S. mainstream where it then spread through the media reaching all corners of the globe. In November 1983, HRH Queen Elizabeth, asked Rock Steady Crew to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in aid of the Artist`s Benevolent Fund. Everyone was doing it. Breakdancing, body popping, locking, everyone had to have a go at a backspin. If you didn`t get carpet burns, you`d try spinning on your hands (or worse, your head) and bruising your nearest and dearest. And you`d keep trying, and trying...

Breaking films include, Wild Style (1982), Beat Street (1984), Breakin` (1984), Breakin`2: Electric Boogaloo (1984). To be honest, apart from Wild Style , these films aren`t good. You`re better off with something like The Freshest Kids!

"But I thought breakdancing was dead?"

That`s what the media would probably have you believe. The late 80s saw breaking go underground in the U.S. but thrived in places like Germany (as does David Hasselhoff) and Japan. Some thought of it as a fad, but it wasn`t. The early 90s saw b-boy events begin to pop up again where it slowly built itself up to getting back to its rightful place, a dance artform that melds effortlessly with breaks and beats.

Breaking in the 90s doesn`t really seem to garner any respect. It`s a danceform, a very skilled dance, that a lot of people freely copy from, but who shrug off breaking as something a little passé. It`s not just people throwing themselves on the ground! If you look at the kind of moves performed in a good routine, you`ll see it`s more akin to gymnastics than just plain `doing the robot`. In recent years it has picked up again from the underground, notably here in the UK, thanks to sponsorship from Sony through the PlayStation brand which has some credibility in the urban hip-hop underground, and the annual breaking championships are going well.

This is an enjoyable 95 minutes without any boredom whatsoever setting in. The programme is well thought out and put together starting with b-boy origins in the 70s right through to present day dancing. Add to this some good extras too and it`s a good all round package so much so that I`ve watched this twice already! If you`ve ever caught yourself dragging out a bit of lino to practice your, ahem, floorwork, then this could be for you. Be warned that there are no tutorials here since it`s a straight forward documentary. The Freshest Kids is heartily recommended.

If you`re interested to know more, check out:
http://www.rocksteadycrew.com/
http://www.b-boys.com/