IT WAS 1973, AND the earliest rumblings of hip-hop were being felt in New York, Los Angeles and, believe it or not, through the miracle of television, Leeward Oahu. Breakin’ Reunion
heralds hip-hop
vitality in islesBy Shawn 'Speedy' Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comKalani Young, an 11-year-old from Waipahu, watched in bewilderment as the Lockers, a troupe of street dancers from L.A., boogied across his TV screen. Wearing ear-to-ear grins and near-comical outfits, they skipped and strutted to a wickedly funky track with wrists twisting, fingers pointing and limbs flying this way and that. "I remember I was eating dinner when these guys came on TV, and as I watched them dance, it was so ..." Young's voice tightens with excitement at the recollection. "I still get goose bumps talking about it now, but nothing I'd seen then or since could compare with that moment. I remember thinking afterward, 'What in the world was that?'"
The wide-eyed preteen had just been privy to the Campbellock, or "locking," a dance form named for its innovator, Don Campbell, a street-dancing legend whose crafty footwork is now considered the forerunner to "popping" -- the fluid dance style also known as "electric boogaloo" and break dancing, its wildly kinetic descendant popularized by hip-hop movies like "Breakin'" and "Beat Street." It would be a good 10 years before VCRs were integrated into most American households, and Young, without even a mirror to practice with, watched the shadow his bedroom lamp cast from behind him as he aped the moves he had committed to memory.
Today: Preliminaries, 5 p.m. to midnight, at Pearl City High School; $10 with two canned goods for Hawaii Foodbank, $15 without. All ages invited. BREAKIN' REUNION 2001
Tomorrow: Finals, noon to 7 p.m., same place and admission. Official party, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Wo Fat, 115 N. Hotel St.; $8 21 and over, $10 under.
Sunday: Closing ceremonies, noon to 5 p.m., at Ala Moana Beach Park; free, all ages invited.
IT TOOK SEVERAL years of practicing alone before he gained the confidence to share his skill with others, but by the age of 14, Young had successfully gained entry into the Silver Lockers, a respected dance clique who, despite their ages (none were past their midteens), were considered by far the tightest in the Islands. "The other groups were really gunning for us," he remembers with a chuckle. "Some would copy our routines move for move and even our uniforms so that we could never keep the same ones for long. The older 'touch dancers' at the discos hated us because we would enter the same disco dancing contests they entered, and we'd win a lot of 'em, too."
In the years following high school, Young relocated to California, performing and studying the art of locking with Quik Style, a collective of world-renowned street dancers whose satellite members included Poppin' Taco and Boogaloo Shrimp of "Breakin'" fame and future members of gangsta rap outfit Boo-Yaa Tribe. His associations eventually brought him in contact with his idol Don Campbell, with whom he shared a long-distance correspondence.
Upon his return to Hawaii in 1995, he began teaching Campbellock classes at Nix Dance Studio in Aiea, and through mutual acquaintances met hip-hop promoter Clark Cuadro of Lord One Productions. Cuadro, inspired by Young's involvement with the old school, offered to fly Campbell to Hawaii for a hip-hop event last October.
"This was someone I never thought I'd meet in my lifetime," reveals Young, who entertained Campbell during his visit last year and brought the icon face to face with his own legacy. "I showed him a video of my class at the studio, and when he saw kids from the ages of 6 up to 18 dancing, he started weeping like a baby," he recalls. "He was so touched to see a new generation doing something he invented. He just cried."
It is with an undying passion for the urban arts that torch-bearers like Campbell, Young and Cuadro perpetuate the long-standing traditions of hip-hop. The once-marginalized society -- which counts emceeing or "rapping," turntablism (deejaying) and aerosol art (graffiti) among its contributions to pop culture -- is now a worldwide phenomenon. Even break dancing, or b-boying, once regarded as a passing fad, is stronger than ever, with new legions of young dancers taking the original forms to new extremes.
Cuadro, promoter of this weekend's Breakin' Reunion 2001, believes his three-day event will serve as testament to the vitality of hip-hop in Hawaii. A competition, celebration and benefit (canned goods get you a discount at the door) covering all facets of hip-hop culture, BR2001 is expected to draw competitors, performers and hip-hop enthusiasts from around the world. Although Hawaii still has a way to go before being considered a major hub of hip-hop, Cuadro, fresh from break-dancing prelims on the neighbor islands, has a news flash for nonbelievers: "Look out for the guys from Kauai," he warns. "I think they could take it all!"
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