Hip Hop Cinema's "The Freshest Kids: a history of the B-Boy"

Did you know that "B-Boy" is the term preferred over "Breakdancers" by those who are adept at popping and locking and getting down-right dirty on the floor as they twist and spin in ways that we sometimes can't believe is humanely possible?

Were you aware that B-boying actually pre-dated a lot of what we now refer to as "hip-hop"?

Hip-Hop Cinema, a solSource DC production, treated us this month with their monthly film installment that took a historical look at the history of the B-boy. After the in-depth documentary, attendees were treated to some dance moves by the Beat Ya Feet Kids who are based in DC, Grey Matter-- a b-boy and emcee and b-boy Giovanni Galleno(http://www.myspace.com/geosnap). A forum discussion was moderated by Kobie Nichols.

(All photos by Khadijah Ali-Coleman--please link back to this site if you use the photos)

A Hip-Hop Winning Weekend in DC

This weekend, for old-school hip hop lovers, Almaz Restaurant is getting the party started with old school hip hop on Friday Night dj'd by the female spinmaster DJ Earth 1ne. Serving authentic Ethiopian food and delicious drinks, gather your friends to come chill and reminisce as you enjoy the sounds.

On Saturday, during the day from 2pm-5pm, Hip Hop Cinema returns this month at the Historical Society Museum located on 7th & K in northwest DC. solSource is doing their thang this weekend as they present the hip hop cult hit The Freshest Kids which documents the lifestyle of hip hop dancers known as b-boys.

The 90-minute documentary is full of early history of the artform and features legendary dancers Crazy Legs and Ken Swift.

The Freshest Kids is the first documentary to explore the mostly unknown history of hip hop's first dance and its early pioneers.Known by many names—Breaking, Rocking, Burning, Going Off, B-Boying, Break Dancing—the style was born at DJ Kool Herc's South Bronx house parties in the early 70s, catapulted to worldwide fame in the 80s, and evolved through the 90s into its latest gravity-defying incarnation as a thriving underground movement.

After the film, you are invited to participate in an audience discussion with some of the best B-Boys, DJs and Emcees on the DC Hip Hop Scene. Kobie Nichols of Hot Topic TV/DCTV moderates.

Later that evening, don't forget to check out Saturday Night Live @ Almaz, featuring Farafina Kan starting and then Sunday, enjoy some stellar organic soul hip-hop by checking out the debut of the G-Spot.

Props to solSource for Their Trailblazing Hip Hop Cinema Event

This weekend was a busy one for me and I was battling back pain which made it even tougher to make most of my appointments. On Saturday, I missed Mace's and I weekend four hour-long meeting to plan for this year's Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest and I after taking a muscle relaxant and crashing for three hours, I managed to miss the inaugural Hip Hop Cinema Cafe which kicked off at 2pm on Saturday. I arrived around 5:30pm as people were leaving.


The show wasn't over, however.


On the steps of the Historical Society of DC, MCs Enoch the 7th Prophet, Labtekwon and others got to rippin a freestyle cipher that warmed up the space, smoke literally rising from the circle's middle. I was able to link up with one half of solSource, Kimani Anku, and get a rundown of what I missed inside but let him know wholeheartedly that what he and his partner Brandon Felton are creating is a true legacy for our DC metro area.


Here are some photos I got while the brothas were spittin: