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Breakdancing is back!
From nightclubs to the street, b-boys and b-girls draw attention whenever they bust out moves, and local crews are bringing new life to this worldwide, hip-hop movement. We interviewed three members of the 808 Breakers crew — Jin Laihook, a 26-year-old waiter from Kalihi, Reece Miller, 22, of Pauoa, and Jeff Wong, 19, of Kahalu’u — about the local b-boy scene, hip-hop and their driving passions for the dance.
Tell us about 808 Breakers. How long has it been around, and what are its origins?
Laihook: 808 Breakers was started in 2005 by a group of very talented b-boys who were, I would say, probably the best at the time. One of the guys from L.A. Breakers (b-boy Justice) moved to Hawaii, and then helped found the crew.
There are a lot of b-boy crews on the island. How are 808 Breakers different?
Laihook: What we’re trying to do is be more organized than the other crews. A lot of crews in Hawaii form out of friendships in high school, and then as soon as they graduate, (they) break out in a crew. Or they form a crew on a whim, and it falls apart within a year... As long as we stay dedicated to this crew, we believe that we'll become the strongest.
Wong: I think the other thing that sets us apart is that we all come from different places on the island. We’re kind of like a mixed plate.
What first got you into breakdancing?
Wong: It appealed to me in so many ways, mostly because it was a positive way for me to express myself... In high school, I had a lot of friends who would party all the time, do drugs and hang out with girls and stuff, and personally, I didn’t really want to do that... When you’re dancing… you can take on an alter ego and you can express who you really are.
Laihook: I came from an underprivileged background, and it was one of the things I could do for free, and one of the things I could do anywhere on my own time... What a lot of people don’t know is that b-boying is … either taught by friends, or you hang around people and pick it up, or you just do it on your own. The object in hip-hop is to be an individual. If everybody was boxed into doing something one way, everyone would look the same, and it would kind of defeat the purpose. You don’t want to look like every other b-boy, you want to be noticed as yourself.
Which clubs around town have you performed at?
Laihook: A lot of different clubs; some of them aren’t around anymore. I used to go to The Wave Waikiki, Velvet Lounge and Dave & Buster’s... I’ve been to all the clubs, I think. Thirtyninehotel, NextDoor... They’ve been cool to us (and given us) a lot of support.
Whenever a breakdancer starts busting out in public, a crowd gathers to watch. What do you think is the universal fascination with breakdancing?
Laihook: B-boying is something that’s very unique to the time period we live in. People are inventing moves every year that human beings have never done with their bodies before. I think people are very fascinated by that, to see something they’ve never seen before, to see humans doing amazing things, expressing their bodies in totally new ways (and) being artistic.
Do you think there's been a renewed interest in breakdancing in Honolulu?
Laihook: Yes, I think it’s bigger than it ever was, actually... I want it to get to the point where we have a b-boy park. A lot of other countries do... where thousands of attendants go out to watch b-boys battle.
How did you learn to pull off those harder moves, like the backflips and one-handstands?
Miller: We weren’t trained by professionals who’ve been doing it their whole life, and had a studio with mats and springboards; we all learned on our own.
Laihook: You gotta just tell yourself that eventually you’re gonna fall. You just have to accept that and then just go for it. We’ve all had broken bones, but it is worth it.
Have you ever been seriously injured?
Laihook: I broke my thumb and my left foot.
Miller: I broke my toe in half, and I broke my finger. One of the worst was when I pulled a muscle and it hurt so bad I ended up not being able to do that move again.
Wong: I was spinning on the ground and ran into a speaker, and I had to get six staples behind my ear. I still have a really long scar where it gashed my head open. That was fun. When they took them out, they said, ‘don’t hit your head anymore,’ and I said … 'ok.'
What did your parents say whenever you guys came home with injuries?
Laihook: My family doesn’t know that I’m breaking. My mother died of lung cancer, and my father’s in a veteran’s hospital in California… Nobody really knows I dance. It’s kind of just for me and my friends.
Do you ever get paid for dancing?
Laihook: Occasionally, if we have the right connections. I think for the most part…clubs are happy to have us, because it only makes their club more interesting. I don’t think any b-boys get paid …our payment is just the chance to break.
Wong: We’ve performed at Neal Blaisdell with Supercr3w, we performed alongside Jabawockeez, as their opening act, and we didn’t get paid.
What's your favorite music to break to?
Miller: Funk, for me. Even Earth, Wind & Fire. And disco. I love it when they mix it all in one song and make it sound really good.
Laihook: I like breaking to any type of music as long as it’s moving me at the moment, and…as long as it has the drum beat and the rhythm. But I do really like early 80s hip hop… like LL Cool J and Grandmaster Flash, NWA, Fabulous 5, KRS 1. A real b-boy can dance to anything, but… it has to appeal to our souls.
How much would you say b-boying is tied to the underground hip-hop scene?
Laihook: I would say it’s very important. B-boying comes from the underground scene, and has kind of stayed in the underground scene… to this day.
There hasn't been a lot said in recent years about the Hawaii b-boy crews. What's been going on?
Laihook: Hawaii hit a peak (in the 80s) where every kid was popping and breaking. That’s when a lot of the crews got started, like the ABC Breakers, and the Jam Street Team, and the Hawaii members got into the world-famous Rock Steady Crew. And then from the mid 90s to the late 90s, there was nothing. But while the American b-boy scene was dead in certain parts of the decade, other countries have been doing it consistently. Japan, Europe, it never died out for them. So a Japanese b-boy came to Waikiki, and as far as I know he was the first person to put on a helmet and just slide on his head up and down the strip. From a few b-boys… who came over from the Mainland… ABC Breakers started up again in early 2000. It didn’t really blow up until this guy named Matt started Funky4Corners, and started throwing multiple events per month in Waipahu. All the Filipino kids started seeing it and learning the moves, and it just blew up. When I started there were less than 100 b-boys on the island, and now there are hundreds, maybe a thousand b-boys.
Do you consider it a sport, or a hobby or something else?
All: It’s a lifestyle.
Laihook: It’s not just something we do when we’re bored... It’s much more. I eat for it... I sleep for it, breathe for it.
Miller: I dream about it, think about it when I work too. That’s how I came up with my name.
For "outsiders," how would you sum up what breakdancing, and being a b-boy means to you?
Miller: I have a feeling I’d probably be doing something really stupid if I wasn’t dancing... getting into trouble, looking for something to do.
Wong: It’s an honest expression of yourself through dance. Because when you look at b-boying, all these moves have come from so many different people…and what they were doing was just what they felt. It’s a freeform art… inspired by whoever you are and what you want to do. For me, I think it’s the truest, most honest form of dancing and self-expression.
Laihook: I’ll go out on a limb and put it all on the line now. I want to say that there is only one true hip-hop dance, and that is b-boying. I want (people) to know that all the dancing you see in hip-hop today came from guys on the street who made it up themselves... I think b-boys are the best dancers in the world. We have such an understanding of teaching ourselves, and moving our bodies in extreme ways, if we put our minds to it, we could commit to any type of dance… It’s spiritual for us. I think this is the dance of the future. This is the dance that brings communities and people together... It comes from yourself. It comes from the streets. It’s not paid for, it’s not bought. My point is that I want people to think this is real hip hop. This is as real as it gets.
Members of 808 Breakers (and their b-boy names)
Jin Laihook - "Solid"
Jeff Wong - "Jeffrey"
Reece Miller - "Dream"
Jared Shiraishi - "Red"
Andrew Rodrigues - "Phase 1"
Kalani Mow - "Shoyu"
Patrick - "Enji"
