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By Steven “Basik Lee” Baumgardner

 Aug. 12, 2024 – It’s here! It’s finally the day! It’s Aug. 9 and I wake up at 9 a.m. like it’s Christmas morning! Today I get to see something I’ve only dreamed about for years, watching Breaking in the Olympics! When me and my crew, Chief Rockaz, would practice for competitions back in the early 2000s we would always talk about how dope it would be to see breaking in the Olympics even if we didn’t know if it would ever happen. We couldn’t even imagine it actually coming to fruition. So when I heard a couple of years ago that Breaking would be in the 2024 Olympics in Paris I lost it! Two days of seeing my dream come true. Yes please!

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For months after the announcement the breaking community was all abuzz with questions. What format are they going to go with (1×1, 2×2, crew battles)? Who was going to judge the event? How many rounds will there be and what will and won’t be allowed? As time went on, more info slowly started coming out and we got a picture of what was to come. My crew hasn’t competed in years but has been keeping up with the scene and the new breakers making a name for their selves. Watching current battles and seeing where the new generation is taking it over the years has been incredible. It makes me and all of my crew remember when we would travel throughout the southeast to battle in competitions. How much work we would put in just to be able to keep up with the other crews we met, what we would learn every time we went to one.  I still to this day go back and watch old footage of the crew and reminisce about how much fun it was to go to a battle and see what moves other people are coming up with. What routines the crews would come up with. It was so inspiring to be in a room full of people who all had put in so much work and love into this art we call Breakdancing. And now I was about to watch it on an Olympic stage!  It still seemed unbelievable, Breaking in the Olympics!

My breaking crew, Chief Rockaz, represented Savannah in competitions throughout the southeast from 2000 to around 2013.  We would also hit River Street weekly to perform in front of the locals and tourist walking the riverfront. Most of us met at college (SCAD), but there were some members of the crew who we met while out dancing at local clubs. We would practice wherever we could up to five times a week. At first it was in the lobby at the dorms, but we eventually found a couple of gyms that had a dance floor and gave us the ok to practice there. We would practice for a couple of hours a day and keep pushing each other to our limit, making sure to not hold back, give it your all. This and River Street really helped us develop as a crew and grow tighter as a family. When we first started hitting River Street there were a bunch of other street performers out fighting for a spot (not literally, of course ha!). 

There was a juggler who also rode a giant unicycle, a bird handler with a bunch of tropical birds that did tricks, a family of African dancers and many other acts. This was before the city put in the permit system.  We would try to get there early because the best spot to perform and get the biggest crowd on River Street was to perform in front of the pavilion so people could sit and watch. We’d go there with our radio and try to lock in that spot before the other street performers got there, we all would do it. There were so many times we would get there and realize we were too late, get a little disappointed, and setup where we could. It became an understanding with all the street performers. We wouldn’t perform at the same time as anyone who was next to you; we would just wait our turn. It became an unspoken rule with all the performers. We’d do a couple of sets (trying to keep them under 30 minutes) and then take a pause, thank the crowd for enjoying the show and introduce the performer next to us who was ready to start. They would do the same in return. During our breaks we talked about the set we just performed and what songs we should use for the next one. Songs with a deep history in the culture of Hip Hop, “Know the Ledge”, “The Mexican”, “Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter” just to name a few.  We would also talk about the depth of the culture and how the four elements of Hip Hop (DJing, Emceeing, Graffiti and Breakdancing) don’t get equal shine in the public eye. We’d discuss the pros and cons of it, whether it’s better for some of the elements of hip hop to be underground. It’s something I still question to this day.

The official birthdate of hip hop has been accepted as Aug. 11, 1973, when Dj Kool Herc thru a back-to-school party in Bronx, NY. Writing about watching Breaking in the Olympics on the anniversary of hip hop was not something I even imagined I’d be doing but here I am, and I couldn’t be happier about it! Knowing that party sent out a shockwave that now has become a worldwide phenomenon, and it’s not even been around that long. To put it in perspective, you’ve got family members that can remember a time before hip hop but there are generations all over the world that can’t even imagine a life without it! And now one of the four elements of this incredible culture has made its way to the Olympic stage. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely excited. This is an incredible moment for the culture. A moment that hasn’t stopped feeling incredible from the start of the first battle.

Day 1 was the Bgirl competition, and they came with everything. I know that people are talking about the performance of Bgirl Raygun but I’m just happy to see her and all the other competitors on this stage. Hearing the DJs throw on some of my favorite songs to dance to. I had to keep myself focused on the screen just to keep from dancing (and possibly hurting myself, Ha!).  The battles were top tier, and they gave everything they had on the floor. It was a great and congrats to the winners (Bgirl Ami, Bgirl Nicka & 671). Also, shout out to Bgirl Azumi. She’s 41 and has been competing since I was back in the day.  It’s amazing to see her still able to kill the floor. Day two was just as incredible and fun to watch. Some of these breakers I’ve seen battle for years! For most of them this isn’t the first time even going against the other opponents. They’ve been at it for years!! Shout out to the winners (Phil Wizard, Dany Dann & Victor)

There are no words that can explain the level of excitement I still feel even while writing this. A longtime dream has finally come true. A door that was once thought forever distant has been opened and now I’m wondering what’s gonna happen next. Will there be crew battles in the next Olympics? Will this inspire a whole new generation here in the states to take it to the next level? I’m not sure what the future brings but after this weekend I feel it’s bright! I’m looking forward to seeing what happens from here. What’s the next barrier that will be broken? Only time will tell.

Steven “Basik Lee” Baumgardner is a musician, DJ and Hip Hop enthusiast who can be regularly seen wandering Savannah’s streets and performing at various venues.

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