After a few weeks of popping and locking, time for Legendary Hip Hop to return to bboying! This post, we go to Battle of the Year (BOTY) 2005. If you've watched the movie Planet Bboy, you already know what I'm talking about. For those who don't, BOTY has two parts: a showcase and a battle round. The top showcases get to battle each other for a chance at the battle round to win the whole thing. While Ichigeki (reppin' Japan), didn't win the overall battle vs Korea's Last For One, they did win the best showcase. And by golly what a showcase, still considered by many to be the best ever at a BOTY.
First, to understand why this is legendary, you must realize that for a long time, powermoves tended to rule routines. In general, crews would take pre-mixed songs and choreograph a series of powermoves (largely a set of solos or duos), and perform that. While crews before have branched out some to explore other aspects of presenting a routine (such as previous Legendary Hip Hop featuree Expression crew in 2002, and Firework crew in 2003), few have taken it to the level that Ichigeki did. Largely seen as underdogs in the competition, their mix of mixed-from-scratch music, combined with a tribute to other aspects of hip hop culture (specifically DJing), and the whole focus on musicality, creativity, and a storyline all helped contribute to this routine which shows the more artistic side of bboying.
To conclude what is probably the longest Legendary Hip Hop post, I point to my favorite part of the routine - Katu's solo right after the mad headspin at 4:55
First, to understand why this is legendary, you must realize that for a long time, powermoves tended to rule routines. In general, crews would take pre-mixed songs and choreograph a series of powermoves (largely a set of solos or duos), and perform that. While crews before have branched out some to explore other aspects of presenting a routine (such as previous Legendary Hip Hop featuree Expression crew in 2002, and Firework crew in 2003), few have taken it to the level that Ichigeki did. Largely seen as underdogs in the competition, their mix of mixed-from-scratch music, combined with a tribute to other aspects of hip hop culture (specifically DJing), and the whole focus on musicality, creativity, and a storyline all helped contribute to this routine which shows the more artistic side of bboying.
To conclude what is probably the longest Legendary Hip Hop post, I point to my favorite part of the routine - Katu's solo right after the mad headspin at 4:55
