Percee P Lung Collapsing on #MusicMonday
My first introduction to Percee P came while I was getting to know various songs by Lord Finesse. One of those songs is more of a battle, where Lord Finesse goes verse for verse with Percee P over the classic James Brown Funky Drummer sample.
I was immediately enamoured with the nasty flow and clever lyricism on display, and from that day forward whenever I saw one of their names on a track that I was unfamiliar with, I made sure to give it a listen.
So you better believe that recently when I spotted the new-to-me song Percee P ft Pharoahe Monch – Lung Collapsing in the Related Videos sidebar on YouTube, that I clicked on it with the force of a thousand air flares!
My only disappointment is that Pharoahe Monch doesn’t have an actual verse (he only does the intro), but otherwise this track delivers just what I wanted: a classic early 90s beat with Percee P slinging metaphors with astonishing flow and pace.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVNqSNGwKsg[/youtube]
Percee P and DJ Ekim – Lung Collapsing [lyrics]
For those who like to know the story behind the music, here’s a short interview where (description from YouTube):
Percee P talks about being on Big Beat Records in 1992.. Mentions Now They Wanna See Me, Lung Collapsing Lyrics, Putting Heads to Bed release.. Yes You May.. Stretch & Bobbito.. T Ray… Lord Finesse.. Big L.. Pharaohe Monch.. DJ Eclipse.. Tells story about being with Akinyele and Nas and recording with MC Serch “Here it Comes Again” and a Unreleased version of “Back to The Grill”.
Check back next week for more #MusicMonday goodness! Feel free to share your recommendations with us too!
Jimmy Fallon celebrates hip hop dance and rap
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon has been celebrating Black History Month with some fun videos! This week two hip hop elements, dancing and rapping, caught my attention.
First there was Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing (w/Jimmy Fallon & Will Smith), where Jimmy and Will Smith take us through the history of hip-hop dances. You can spot a number of old school hip hop moves plus a toprock “cameo” of sorts during the move “the I’m About the Breakdance”.
Two days later I came across the very well edited video Brian Williams Raps “Rapper’s Delight”. In it I watched NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams rap The Sugar Hill Gang classic Rapper’s Delight — and, yes, he brought two friends along.
[This video is private.]
Did you like the fun hiphop dance and classic rap videos? Which one is your favourite?
Personally I’m a fan of Will Smith and love to dance, but the Rapper’s Delight clip was so well done I think it’s my fave!
IAW helps Western U prove breakdance supremacy at BCAT
This past weekend there was a different kind of aptitude test on campus; The Breaking Clubs Aptitude Test (BCAT) at Hamilton’s McMaster University. Members of Ill at Will joined forces with Ju Rock of Ground Illusionz and Derrick of UWO Breakers to bring home a ‘W’ for Western University aka the University of Western Ontario (UWO)!
Final battle: Western University (UWO, London) vs University of Toronto Mississauga
An excited Rob Loebz, who was also celebrating his birthday, shared the following on Facebook:
It’s the finals y’all. Though we won for Western University, honestly the winners of this event are Stephen Fleg (FLEG) on the One’s and Two’s along with Adrian Bernard (Switch B) on the Mic. Both of them killing it. Respect. Thanks to competitors, organizers and fans. Check it out!
You can see a different angle of the final battle here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGCk8p7Ux5Q
The semifinals battle vs York was also hype and can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isxhsd_-Smc
Did you go to the BCAT breakdance battle in Hamilton? What was your favourite moment?
If you didn’t have the pleasure of watching BCAT live, do you have an official breaking club or even just breakers at your school? Post and let us know where you represent and if they have bboys & bgirls there!
The Dancing Dead (a Walking Dead parody)
With AMC’s The Walking Dead back in full swing it’s like the zombies have taken over again! Although the usual variety of weapons remains the classic choice to dispatch of the walking dead, a few survivors have found a funkier way to do battle.
Warning: The following videos contain fake blood, gore, and disgusting dance moves. Viewer discretion is advised.
So many dancing zombies, Michael Jackson would be proud! #Thriller
This video, released just last week, is a collaboration involving DragonHouse and the following dancers:
Survivors:
BluPrint: http://www.youtube.com/bluprint01
RainO: http://www.youtube.com/RainODancer
Input: http://www.youtube.com/inputcanthuman
Boris: http://www.youtube.com/2crucial0
Bam: http://www.youtube.com/BamTheDancer
Zombies:
Chibi: http://www.youtube.com/Chibi247
Dizzy: http://www.youtube.com/drewchr7
ET: http://www.youtube.com/ETProductions11
GG: http://www.youtube.com/GGdadon
KiloByte: http://www.youtube.com/nancytran1994
For another take on The Dancing Dead check out the below video from Daniel “Cloud” Campos! Just a single zombie this time but he’s got an arsenal of moves from krumping, to Elvis, to gangnam style.
If you’ve never seen a breakdancing zombie before, you can now cross that off your bucket list.
If you got infected and turned into a zombie, would you rather be a walker, a running “rage virus” style zombie, or one of the dancing dead? Comment below and let us know!
IAW 2013 Year in Review
Better late than never, here’s the Year in Review from the “illains” who can rock the beat forever.
There are many successes and good times mentioned below, so right off the bat we want to give a big THANK YOU!! to everyone who supported in-person or online during 2013, and a preemptive THANK YOU for your continued support this upcoming year!
Winter
An IAW group shot at Rachael & Richard’s wedding
The new year started with new additions to the family; in more ways than one. Ill at Will performed for and celebrated with Kayo’s family at his brother’s wedding in January.
The Ill at Will fam grew too, as we welcomed 2 new members to the crew, our students and young guns from Space Invaderz, Eric (T-grr) and Luis (Bambino). We couldn’t be more proud seeing these guys develop in the dance over the years, while remaining humble students. Since then IAW has been a dynamic dozen!
A great way to stay warm during the cold Canadian months is to keep dancing, so that’s what we did. On Jan 9 Ill at Will & O.N.E. Hip Hop Dance Studio teamed up once again to run the first after school dance workshop of the year at Aberdeen P.S.!
The very next day we kept the dancing going when the crew & O.N.E. visited Banting for WE DAY 2013. We were there all day then after school did a workshop at Medway Community Centre.
On Jan 18 we had the opportunity to showcase great cars and great dancing when IAW did a performance for Scion Town during a sold out London Knights game at Budweiser Gardens!
Breakdancing on Ice
Remember those young guns I recently mentioned? Well, the newest generation of illains went straight to work making a name for themselves by winning a couple battles!
First it was T-grr, Bambino, and Con-Air winning The Sole Solution 3v3 battle hosted by Unity on Jan 18. You can watch them claim victory in the final battle by clicking here.
Next it was Bambino winning Mighty Muffins Presents: Flour Wars on February 22. You can watch the quarter finals here and the final battle here.
Not quite part of 2013 but close enough was T-Grr wining the 7 to Smoke competition at Western’s PSYfer Style in late 2012. You can watch his winning rounds by clicking here.
Before the winter was through members of IAW journeyed up North to Wikwemikong, Ontario to do some workshops.
Kayo nails windmill to backspin in Wikwemikong, Ontario
Shout out to Bboy Redsky of Wikki for bringing our crew up to Manitoulin Island to his Indian Reserve. It was too much fun! Everyone was so kind up there, thanks again for the hospitality!
Spring
With Springtime comes growth, so we brought in our homie Bboy Puzzles (SuperNaturalz Crew) to teach a 2 hour, advanced breaking workshop at O.N.E. dance studio. On March 16 he definitely dropped a lot of knowledge; always a lot to learn and a lot of laughs when we’re hanging with Savio.
It’s not everyday you get to learn from a world renowned champion! Thanks for the shoutout, Puzzles!
On April 6 Kayo teamed up with Ju Roc of Ground Illusionz to win Kings of the Craft in Livonia, Michigan (just West of Detroit). The victory makes Kayo the first IAW member to win a competition in the United States!
Closer to home, IAW and O.N.E. showcased multiple street dance performances along with simple dance lessons at the Our Street London Block Party. We had a lot of fun dancing and mingling with people on the streets of downtown London.
Summer
We kicked off summer with a bang during the ONE Movement Hip Hop Dance Showcase on June 21. Thank you United Way of London & Middlesex and Crouch Neighbourhood Resource Centre for your sponsorship!
The showcase featured performances by some of London’s most dedicated crews: HBK .. One Up Dance Crew .. HDMI .. ONEsies .. Space Invaderz .. Ill at Will .. Airborne Precautions .. & more…
Ill at Will showcasing The Elements of Breakin’
Over the summer Loebz was invited by the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN) to speak in Grand Rapids, Michigan about his personal adoption story, as well as his relationship between adoption and bboying.
There was exciting news in August 2013 when we announced the Domkey (Lionz of Zion) workshop! The 2012 Red Bull BC ONE USA Champion did a 90 minute breakdance workshop at our studio on August 27. Check out his awesome promo videos on our post here.
Also in August was Artfusion Fest 3: a block party in downtown London, featuring Skratch Bastid! The Canadian DJ and Juno nominated record producer, with three Scribble Jam DJ titles under his belt, headlined the three day event which included a 2 on 2 concrete breakdance battle.
Previously unreleased footage of Scratch Bastid getting busy at the Artfusion Fest 3
The Stripes Back 2: Road Warrior BBoy/BGirl Battle was DJ’d by Skratch Bastid, which was a real treat because he’s got a great ear for jams that the dancers like. The winners of the cash prize were JFX & Nasty Nick, narrowly beating out Stringray and Loebz, so it was an Ill at Will filled final battle!
http://instagram.com/p/dvjbGWzTE6/
At the end of summer the crew celebrated a milestone at the IAW 5 Year Anniversary BBQ. I got all emotional and posted the following on Facebook:
Over the past few weeks I’ve enjoyed a series of jams, BBQs,
road trips, and parties with my crew and our friends.
Ill at Will formed five years ago and we’ve picked up new members and countless memories along the way.
I’m so I happy I get to dance and tackle life’s adventures with this group of illains and our fam.
IAW… We serve with pride!
And so summer came to a close, but there was still a quarter of the year left to tackle!
Autumn
Fall involved a couple significant trips to Toronto, one of which involved Ill at Will helping release the Nokia Lumia 1020 phone at Design Republic. Check out the blog post for more details on that product launch.
The other TO trip happened on Nov 11 when the crew opened for Pete Rock & CL Smooth along with Camp Lo! Kayo, Logic, and TigerBomb hit the stage and took the picture to the right before the night was through. VIP and autographed tickets, baby!
However, we’re not just about the flashing lights, sometimes we like to get down for a good cause too. Also in November was the Scotiabank StairClimb where IAW not only climbed the all 472 steps once, we actually did it twice, just to prove a point… and to support the United Way of course!
Staying on a feel good kind of vibe, let’s mention the post titled He Started from the Bottom Now He’s ILL. Despite the title I’m not talking about Drake; I’m talking about our crewmate Nasty Nick!
This post was made after Nick, who was born in Holland, received the good news that he can legally work in Canada and will become a permanent resident in December. You can read the rest of the story in that post.
The last thing I want to mention from 2013 is the event filled weekend at the end of November.
http://instagram.com/p/hUnigLzTEw
Not only was there the Grand Opening of the Family Centre in Carling-Thames arena, during which IAW teamed up with O.N.E. and some of the Dynamic Dozen youth to provide a hip-hop / breakdance workshop & performance.
That weekend also had TWO dance jams going down: The first was Western’s Fall Cypher, where JFX (ill at will) won the All Styles competition for the 2nd straight year and Kayo (ill at will) / Ju Rock (Ground Illusionz) won the 2 on 2 breakdance competition.
The following night O.N.E. hosted their 2nd annual dance-driven, charity-supporting, fun-filled Movembreaks jam! It was great to have choreo dancers, freestyle dancers, breakers, house dancers, and more all jamming in the same circle. By the power of their moustaches and many generous donations, Loebz (ill at will) and DTWB (the DJ!) raised over $1000 for prostate cancer and mental health awareness!
I’ve included a couple Instagram clips from those nights here but check the blog post to see a dope recap video and more details.
http://instagram.com/p/hXQ91BTTGx
What a rare treat it was to have 2 breakdance events in 2 days in my home town! At the risk of sounding old I want to point out that back in the day London bboys always had to travel if they wanted to compete because London jams happened maybe once a year. It’s great to see the scene come so far.
2014
Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me. Now it’s 2014 and we’ve got another fresh year ahead of us! We’ve set some personal and crew goals… do you have any dance or fitness related goals?
Also, what is your favourite Ill at Will or O.N.E. memory from 2013? Post it below!
Yes I Dance Survey – Canadian Council for the Arts
The Canadian Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council are conducting the first-ever, nation-wide online survey of dancers as part of the Canada Dance Mapping Study; a study which aims to enhance their understanding of the dance field.
All dancers, choreographers, and dance teachers 16 years of age or older are invited to participate. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you can find the survey by clicking here.
The results will be shared through reports and graphics on the Canada Council web site.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24oQntErlfE[/youtube]
Do you dance?
Whether you practice African dance, ballet, ballroom, folk, highland, hip hop, jazz, powwow, square dance or any other style, you are taking this survey to count yourself in!
Do you know someone who dances?
Share the survey link – www.ekos.com/yesidance-survey – with your networks.
Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #yesIdance!
Also of interest is this interactive, searchable map of dance in Canada. The map already pinpoints more than 900 dance-related organizations in various genres, and in the coming weeks and months they aim to triple the number of entries!
The mapping microsite is an initiative of the Canada Dance Mapping Study.