A half century after the birth of Hip-Hop among mostly Black & latino, working-class youth in the South Bronx, breaking makes its debut as an Olympic sport. For longtime breaker J-Rebel from the Supernaturalz Crew, who helped develop and co-taught a course on the art of breaking at York with AMPD dance professor Mary Fogarty, he’ll be watching the competition on Aug. 9 and 10 with a mix of emotions and criticisms. 

“There is a political side of Hip-Hop — it comes out of particular socio-economic conditions, right? I think a lot of that can easily get washed out, when the focus is around just who's winning in the competition says J-Rebel, who lives and works in the Jane and Finch community. “But those things are intertwined in breaking — the politics, the cultural aspects, race, class & gender  etc.

J-Rebel, who teaches kids breaking and has traveled the world by competing in international breaking competitions comparable to the Olympic caliber, picked up the practice himself decades ago with peers and in community centres in Jane and Finch, Lawrence Heights, Malvern where he grew up & lived. He says that while breaking is more accessible to the youth in his community — predominantly low-income and working-class — than a sport like hockey or football, there are still barriers to who might be able to compete at the highest level due to social inequalities that are still present in marginalized communities in Toronto. 

“It's not necessarily a predetermined thing because youth from these particular places have had to become resilient out of necessity , but your proximity to privilege and having resources is going to give you a better chance at developing your competencies. 

J-Rebel is available to comment on: 

Origins and connections of breaking to hip-hop; roots in New York/Toronto and Black diasporic cultural expression.

*Why the Olympics need breaking and not the other way around
*Technical, cultural and social aspects of breaking 
*Ensuring access to breaking and sport in marginalized communities. 
*History of breaking in Toronto

105.5.9 interview with B-Boy J-Rebel of the Supernaturalz Crew

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