What is Hip-Hop?

Earlier, we - Skittlez Crew - had the great honor and privilege to be taken under the wing of none other than one of the founders of Filipino hip-hop, Jmasta.

Aside from the bboy foundations, hip-hop history and culture, and tricks he taught us, he shared some amazing pearls of wisdom that isn't just for the random street dancer. He taught us how to 'keep it real', really.

Over 20 years on, and still rocking.

Note: These are not verbatim; I have kept the spirit of the lessons alive (even if synthesized for clarity), if not the exact wordings. Any and all errors of fact are mine alone.

On Knowledge

"Hip Hop isn't just about choreography or the dance itself. You have to know your roots and your history. The years when hip-hop was born, its roots from disco, its music from rock, the first important events, even historical hip-hop places. You have to know all of these to know hip-hop."

"To truly know hip-hop, imagine you're entering a big box. Inside that box are all the styles ever created and invented, all within the big thing called hip-hop. Bboy, locking, popping, krump - they're all part of the big hip-hop entity."

On Battles

"You can't be a hip-hop dancer if you haven't been battle-tested on the cypher; you're just a toy. The cypher is sacred; when you dance in it and you have no idea what you just did after (and no one else does) - the spirit of dance took over."

"Losing is never an option. When you do anything, do it to win. When you do lose, that's okay, learn from it because it shows the things you need to improve on."

"If someone in your crew is weak, it's everybody's fault. You dance as a team, you learn as a team. No man left behind. Everything is done as a team."

On Hip-Hop

"You can never ever say 'I was hip-hop'. Years from now, you may be older and working already, dressed in your corporate attire.. but when you hear a beat and your head bobs to it, you're hip-hop. You never left; it's in you forever."

"My generation is getting old. I'm giving these knowledge to you guys, and I pray that you continue this, continue teaching and giving knowledge to the next generations. One day, one of you will teach my kid hip-hop.That's how hip-hop works because we are all in a family.

"I've learned not to ask for anything when I give knowledge on hip-hop. Why? Because these things, they are small stuff here on Earth, but they're big things for God, and He rewards with many blessings."

"The things every hip-hop practitioner must know are the four elements and the four pillars. The elements are emcee, bboy, DJ, and graffiti. The pillars are peace, love, unity, and have some fun."

*

So what is hip-hop? I think more than a dance and a culture, it's also a rich and sacred living thing present in each and every one of us. It's something we just know when we feel it.

We're proud and so humbled to have him call us 'family'. It wasn't simply inspiring; it was a call to action for us - the new generation of hip-hop artists - to make sure the torch is passed on and the rich culture and history kept alive.

Jmasta is from Battle Crew International and Zulu Nation. He gives workshops to aspiring and experienced dancers alike all around the country, and is heavily involved with bringing the love of hip-hop to orphans.

Skittlez Crew holds open training sessions almost daily at the Yuchengco Lobby, De La Salle University. No experience necessary. All you need to bring is an open mind and the hunger to learn.

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Dance and Fear

What enables a dancer to freestyle? What opens up a dancer's mind to a limitless sky of creativity and a never-ending well of move after move after move? After spending almost four years dancing, and learning so much from so many people, I suppose I have some semblance of an answer.

Not a care in the world.

The Mind/Heart Killer

Fear, not just in dance, kills the ability of the heart and mind to act in unison. Everything that we do passionately, I'd like to believe that it is because we consciously love doing and learning it (the mind) and we will subconsciously feel incomplete and dissatisfied without it at all (the heart). Fear brings doubts, and doubts raises self-consciousness to such a level that a dancer feels s/he "needs to impress" and "look good" in a session. Fear of negative comments, laughter, and getting labeled as 'wack' creates a dancer that thinks too much of rejection and 'not being good enough'. Fear's essential impact is preventing a dancer from sharing his/her entire being (feelings, emotions, skills, etc.) on the dance floor. In other words, a dancer who feels s/he must prove something to someone ends up not being able to freestyle with a limitless mind and a sharing heart.

The Opposite of Fear

In the book Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield (which, by the way, is my favorite book of all time), the Spartan general Dienekes (of "We'll fight in the shade" fame) teaches his young warrior-squire Alexandros the meaning of fear and its opposite. While defending Thermopylae (of "300" fame), Alexandros - exposed to the horrors of war at the young age of 18 - eventually discovers the opposite of fear. It is also the exact same answer that I've learned from several individuals I respect highly in the Filipino dance community. The opposite of fear is love.

Unconditional

Love doesn't judge; it doesn't have an opinion. All it does is be. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. When a dancer loves his/her art so much that the world ceases to exist around him/her, something magical happens. A dancer in love with everything about the art will not care  S/he hits every single beat every single time, moves that flow into each other materializes one after the other smoothly, and best of all, a story is told. Freestyle is considered by some to be somewhat of 'a test' on whether or not a street dancer can really dance. No practice, no choreography, no pre-sets. Just the music and the moment. Love for the art, love for one's inspiration(s) (be it one's Faith, a life-changing moment, or someone important), and love for one's self all brings out the dancer in his/her best form. A dancer just dances. Love doesn't care who wins or loses, who's amazing or who's wack, and it definitely doesn't have a standard of 'good' or 'bad'.

Just dance.
Out with the fear, in with the love.

One love, chyeah.

Jay~

This post is inspired by my experiences with my beloved Skittlez Crew, a group of friends that have grown into a huge family that inspires many Lasallians. Also much inspiration came from my dance mentor Michael 'Decky' Decano, first Papi of Skittlez and a leader not just in the crew but of people as well. Many thanks go to Phillip Pamintuan aka Adrum the Warrior of Murda Fam and Krumpinoy, a titan in faith and in the dance community. I have so much love and respect for crews that freestyle out of love: Unschooled, Krumpinoy, UPM Indayog, and Bandila Fusion, among others.

Picture courtesy of morethanastance.com; retrieved on January 31, 2012.

"Just Dance" quote courtesy of Phillip Pamintuan, 2012.

Motivation

The best words that I have ever heard from one of our physical therapists:

"You run five kilometers everyday, train weights for one hour, then dance and train with Animo, including conditioning, and still manage to get up in the morning with barely any pain or strains and do it all over again..

You are very well-conditioned."

Thanks. :)

Jay~

Genius of Bush

Hey readers!

Let me start off June with a post on memorable George W. Bush quotes. In case you didn't know, George Bush is the current president of the United States of America.

Yes, I know.
I couldn't swallow it either.
LOL.

I couldn't trace the dates for some of them, so I apologize in advance.

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."
- August 11, 1994.

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."
- September 15, 1995.

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy -- but that could change."
- May 22, 1998.

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
- November 30, 1996.

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

"The future will be better tomorrow."

"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."
- September 21, 1997.

"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
- To Sam Donaldson, August 17, 1993.

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."

"Public speaking is very easy."
- To reporters.

"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it."
- May 20, 1996.

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."
- September 22, 1997.

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
- September 5, 1993.

"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."
- September 18, 1995.

"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that George Bush may or may not make."

"We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made."

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."

The last one killed it.
You simply must love this guy.
ROFLMAO.

Jay~