B-Boy City: An Urban Oasis of Funk

Last weekend the weird capital of Texas was host to the largest breakdance battle in the South, B-Boy City. In its thirteenth installment, Romeo Navarro’s beat culture brainchild has blossomed into a full-fledged hip hop festival by virtue of its own popularity, attracting not just dancers, but also DJs, emcees, and tag artists from all over the US and beyond. A battle between two Mexico City b-boys sent up a flurry of Mexican flag do-rags in the crowd, and a pop-locking princess named Anastasia had traveled all the way from Moscow, sadly only to be served by the cleverly named Dr. Robotnikka.

Navarro filled the pauses between the battles with stories of the old competitions, when the clubs that hosted them would close down and they would literally take it to the street. This year the biggest breakdance battle in the South was blessed with the sponsorship of Red Bull, the patron saint of high-energy activity, as a recruiting call for their Beat Riders training program. Over the last few years the energy drink has been taking steps to transform the underground into an institution, and the results aren’t yet impressive, but very promising. A fellow DJ in upstate NY name of Panzah Zandahz was schooled at their DJ Academy in Rome under the tutelage of such greats as Cut Chemist a few years ago, and has since landed a remixing deal for Radiohead. The Red Bull Beat Riders seek to gather thirty “hungry street warriors” from around the globe to learn from legends like Crazy Legs, to redefine what the human body can do with just a beat and a dance floor, and most importantly, to make sure that the hip hop don’t stop.

One weekend in a warehouse was testament enough to the power of this culture that knows no geographic or cultural bounds, and its ability to bring people together. As Navarro kept pointing out, the past, present and future of hip hop were all there enjoying the summer festival atmosphere, where spunky ten year olds can take on mature b-boys in the ring. The competition was fierce on the dance floor, but at the end of each round they always shook hands like the highest caliber of athletes. If Red Bull ever gets around to founding its Beat University, we may be seeing b-boys in the Olympics yet.

Contributed by BH Shepherd. Check out more of his writing on Myspace!