URBAN GAMES B.BOY / B.GIRL BATTLES

Friday 27th July through to Sunday 29th July saw this years Sprite Urban Games, which featured an aray street culture such as B.Boying / B.Girling, Graff, Skateboading, BMX, Blading, Turntablism & live music ranging from Hip Hop to Punk. After conversing with a member of the Funking Pussy sond squad, i agreed to review the B.boy / B.girl tent. Sadly things got off to a bad start before i even got through the gates. The fact a simple thing like a press pass hadn't been sorted for me made me wonder about the organisation of the day.... & i'm giving this dam event publicity!!!. Whoevers responsible needs to realise this  (although no matter how many times this is said they dont seem to listen or give a dam)  Its people like myself who have helped build the Hip Hop scene from Scratch in this country over the last eighteen years without straying, continuing to put back in & build the scene we know today (as i am doing now). Whoever is at fault major drinks companys, club promoters or skate companys have to realise without people like myself there would be no UK Hip Hop scene today... or large events like this to generate capitol from. I mean it would be wrong of me or anyone else from the old school to demand apprecetian.... but a little respect wouldn't go amiss... AAAH now ive had my moan ... lets get on with the review... l.o.l

Thousands turned out on the Saturday to witness the strength of UK street culture at its best. Hundreds of meters of top quality Graff being painted before are eyes, Huge half pipes & ramps for the skate crews, various stages & sound systems & of course Funkin Pussys B.boy tent where the majority  of my

time was spent. The sun was blazing down & i was comforted by the shade in the cramped but well layed out tent. The floor was spirit leveled & provided just enough room for two crews to battle at a time. On reflection i have to say the tent itself was too small for such a popular event but on this smaller personal scale i found the expierience more pleasurable. The whole event boasted a positive & friendly atmosphere bringing together competitors from all corners of the UK & Europe. Saturday was the heats for representing the UK in the 'UK Breakdance Championship'... which is really a world championship... oh well... lol There was a wide range of new crews & old masters ready to battle & claim the prize. With this great turn out of competitors to me this was proof our UK scene may begin to strengthen, making it all the better to see new crews & the younger generation coming through.  As usual there were a lot of familiar faces such as disbanded members of the Scarecrows showing up to form new crews.  Some intresting names 'Major Props', 'Foundations', & 'Children of the Monkey Basket' (whats that about???? .. lol) Nice to see some old school crews representing like 'Under Attack' & 'Second 2 None'. I must confess i was a little disapointed to see only two members of Second 2 None turn up (come on boys sort it out!!). One of the UKs new crews the controvertial ............

'Chunks of Fun' split under two different guises and battled each other in the first round, the most memorable name being 'Children of theMonkey Basket'. Some people close to where i was sitting acused them of splitting up to increase chances of getting through , but personaly i thought they had to split due to the amount of members .

Watching the UK B.boy scene over the years my view is that as a whole the UK are not capable of taking on the rest of the world. All the strongest people seem to be spread out & down with less superior crews who are all together not as strong as them. Back in the eightys , o.k things were different & maybe a less advanced but we had crews where every member was strong  such as  'Rock City', 'Broken Glass', 'G.M.C', 'Live to Break', 'Second 2 None' & 'Twighlight Rockers', who could definitley give most US & Europeon crews a run for their money. Maybe all are best B.boys & B.girls should just form one super crew & then once again we could whip ass. This year there were a noticable increase in the number of up & coming B.girls & i was impressed with the standard. From listening to a lot of what people were saying particularly the dancers, the feedback i had was that the floor was good but the music a majority of the time unappropiate for the battles, Perhaps employing some battle dj's may of been a good move & having the residents play between battles. On the whole Hooch & the Funking Pussy crew kept the event running smoothly throughout , sticking to a strict time schedule & keeping the crowd well informed. The judging panel was made up of two of our

own UK b.boy legends EVO & PETE PERVEZ plus a couple of US b.boys (didn't get the names). Later when speaking to Pete it became apparent there were times when there were conflicts of judgement. I must admit there were a few occasions where a guy would bust some incredible gymnastic freeze, backed up by some of the sloppiest footwork i have ever seen. It sounds bad saying these things but after being involved in the Hip Hop scene for eighteen years i believe i have every right.

Being fare there were a few people who backed some crazy moves with truly awesome dancing. For me 'men of the match' were  Little Tim (Major Props) with his fast combinations & devasting 1990's,  Wayne (C.O.T.M.B) with his unique windmills, Adam (second 3 none) with his unpridictable mad moves, Care Bear with his 'care bear twist'  (one handed ufo) & Mouse with his sick freezes.    This year saw  stronger female B.Girls coming through such as the girl from Under Attack who demonstrated good mills & pumps, Kel FX  (Force 10, Sinstars) whos style & aggression wins me over everytime & Lady Bug (Foundations, Sinstars) coming through stronger everytime i  see her, plus some other new faces.  It was great to see so much youth entering this year , this proves that there is hope for our scene continuing... us oldies can't do it forever.. lol. Battle after battle saw 'Children of the Monkey Basket' securing first place after a very  tough battle with 'Under Attack', well done boys.           On returning Sunday i entered the packed

tent once again, very delayed i might add after problems getting in again.. oh well .. This was the day of the 'two on two' battles where anyone of any nationality could enter. We saw participants entering from Italy, Denmark, Sweden, the UK & many other countries. Many crew members from the Saturday returned to enter the two on two battles including some members of my own crew SINSTARS.... don't look at me ive got an injury..lol.

With this added foriegn element competion was a lot stronger. A highlight for me was the battle between Adam & Junk of Second 2 None against two Italian b.boys. Unfortunately the odds were againt Adam who's wrist had given in seconds before the battle. Competition was very tight & intense but the Italians proved to be the stronger crew, however the panel decided that Second 2 None had won the battle. Hearing this Adam & Junk(second 2 none) grabbed the mic & told the audience they felt the Italians had won.This was a great show of strength on Second 2 None's part, & with permission the place in the two on two finals was awarded to the Italians, who went through to battle 'Little Tim' & partner plus 'Sonic' & partner (Denmark). Another intense battle took place with Little Tim proving to be on top form some more great combinations & another amazing 1990. The Italians proved to be too tired from the previous battle but no one could compete with 'Sonic' (Denmark) & partner who went on in top form to win the two on two battles. All in all the Urban Games was a superb event & the weather was excellent. The Graff was of amazing standard & besides my critisizms Hooch & crew worked hard, The price of tickets at £10 per day were very reasonable.... But why the bloody hell did  can of Sprite sell at £1.00 a tin?...

REVIEW & PICTURES BY PRONE