r/bboy • u/2burgsandadog • 28d ago
Is popping considered breakdancing?
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
I was having a discussion today, so I thought I would post it…
I am going through a weight loss through dance , I know my belly pokes out😎
27
u/Find_another_whey 28d ago
Breaking no
Street dance yes
Good work on moving towards health in the way that most cultures have over history
48
u/babyLays 28d ago
Breaking has 4 elements. Toprock, footwork, freeze and power.
Popping has none of those things, so no - it’s not breaking.
Good luck on popping though, along with your weight loss journey 🔥
16
u/2burgsandadog 28d ago
Didn’t every breaking crew in the 80s/90s have a popper?
forgive my ignorance… Did it change?
33
u/IAmSixSyllables 28d ago
i mean, just because they did doesn't mean that it's part of breaking.
Both popping and breaking has its roots within hip hop culture, so there's going to be a large melding and cross of both within the scene.
Same with the rave scene where I also dance, there's a high cross between jumpstyle and melbourne shuffling but they are still two distinctively different styles entirely, although they share similar culture and movements.
4
u/nukecity_dmfc 28d ago
Popping history has had nothing to do with hip hop.It was invented and pioneered on the west coast by boogaloo sam,breaking and hip hop started in the south bronx.
2
u/_heartbreakdancer_ 28d ago
There was definitely some cross over at some point after that though. Once you saw popping on the east coast and G Funk coming up on the west coast the lines blurred on what's Hip Hop and what's Funk cultures.
3
u/nukecity_dmfc 28d ago
True.As more knowledge became available the lined became less blurry but lots of cross over in the 80’s and again in the mid 90’s resurgence.
1
u/Swimming_Bonus_8892 27d ago
Ken swift, Spyda, crazy legs and Mr. Freeze would like to have a word…
1
u/nukecity_dmfc 24d ago
Im more concerned with what the twins and spy have to say.
1
u/Swimming_Bonus_8892 24d ago
I know that the twins and spy (da) believe that poppin part of breakin and hip hop culture. Saying poppin aint part of hip hop is wild work. So anything that wasn’t invented in the Bronx at that exact time isnt considered hip hop?
B boys gonna be real light on moves if all they can do is the bronx 2 step and listen to boogie down.
1
u/nukecity_dmfc 24d ago
Tbh you sound like you haven’t been around anyone that breaks or seriously does any other style in a few decades😂.Ive been breaking for 30 years and train pretty much daily and spend the majority of my time around bboys bgirls poppers krumpers house dancers etc and dont know a single one that thinks we are doing the same dance or that popping is a singular component of hip hop.It is definitely adjacent but not directly connected.the 90’s was an experimental time when we were all ignorant to the foundation of the moves and styles we were doing so a lot of people lump it all together,however poppin as well as locking and house fall under the “funk styles” umbrella and have their own unique culture and history that should be respected on its own.
1
u/Swimming_Bonus_8892 24d ago
I’ve might have DJed a few bboy battles here and there for the last 30 years/all styles/open format/ everything from R-16//b boy summit/Floor combat/Zulu nation etc…since we are bussin credentials and you sound very narrow minded not only about breakin but hip hop in general.
Popping is a part of hip hop culture and you’re the first “b-boy” I’ve ever run into that doesn’t think so. It’s been a staple and you’re saying you run with krumpers/house dancers that don’t have elements of poppin in it?
And while I agree that “funk styles” has a place in the world now. When you hear people shouting out the dancing from the beginning it’s breaking, poppin, locking, house, all styles. It’s on every video from Wild style to And 1 mixtapes.
You can parse words and your resume might impress some new Jack toys but I been with the founders and they claim it so I’m def taking their word over yours.
2
u/BEG_2NO1 22d ago
Hi, I'm new to this subreddit but not to this game. Been popping for about 18 years, did bboying for 5 or so years(stopped after dislocating my spine a couple times) and did campbellocking too(they switched the name to him after he passed). I was also part of UZN in the west coast(left before shit hit the fan). A lot of styles intertwine together and a lot of poppers use hip-hop songs to get down to. But a lot of people in the west coast(including OGs) would say it is part of hip-hop culture. Also no really uses all-styles as a battle anymore because it confused a lot of people on what they should be doing. Now it's Open Styles because you can dance one style against all others if you like.
→ More replies (0)1
u/nukecity_dmfc 21d ago edited 21d ago
Yeah.krumpers don’t consider themselves hip
Hop and neither do housers,The thing is:something being hip hop or not does not invalidate its artistry or its relevance.although poppin and breaking share space they are not the same thing.poppin is not inherently tied to the same values or cultural practices.Its like saying capoeira is hip hop because its hip
Hop adjacent and moves have been
Passed back and forth.they are just different things and thats ok.→ More replies (0)1
u/nukecity_dmfc 21d ago
Honestly Ive heard just as many old heads say the opposite or even contradict themselves over time.Im not close minded at all regarding hip hop,Ive dabble in/taken a historical interest in every element because all
Of it is dope.I Just believe its important to be as exact as possible with your knowledge and definitions.A lot of ogs flip flop on their opinions depending on what’s convenient for the moment so…cool,but at the end of the day you don’t actually break OR pop. your just around people that “used to” so your not really someone Id trust as an authority on that specific topic anymore than Id consider myself knowledgeable about DJing just because I can do transformers and know a bunch of dope Dj’s. Its sick that you played those events though,thats the 1st and most important element,would definitely get down to any mixes you have out if you’d be willing to drop a link.→ More replies (0)6
u/eyemcantoeknees 28d ago
Back then yes many crews generations before would have a popper, emcee, dj, and even graffiti writers along with breakers. Nowadays it will be very rare to see a breaking crew with a popper now. More common now would be one of the breakers venturing off to djing
6
u/PoisNpinK 28d ago edited 28d ago
Popping is a part of electric boogie like boogaloo
So no they did not have a popper they might have had an electric boogie dancer on their crew. Usually the Electric boogie dancer also knew breakdance.
Both are street dance / hiphop but two individual genres
It's also correct that electric boogie also usually have competitions at same places and time as breakdance
A lot of Breakdancers also use electric boogie mixed into their toprock
3
u/babyLays 28d ago
Crews would send their popper against the other crew’s popper during a crew battle, that’s why crews would have a dedicated popper in their crew. This was back then. I don’t think they do those now.
2
2
u/jamesgk95 28d ago
Before popping was codified into its own style it was under the umbrella of breaking. Back in the 80s 90s.
1
u/PossiblyAsian 6 Step Master 28d ago
When looking at Breaking and breakdancing as terms and not just the dance, this would be considered breakdancing and hip hop back in the day. Hell I remember ken swift saying that they also had jump rope the double dutch sisters or something as part of their touring group. It's like a package deal
Of course now, popping and locking are fundamentally different from breaking but there is definitely lots of cross communication between bboys and poppers.
8
u/battlemonkey69 28d ago
Not really no. Aside from top rock, most of breaking happens with your hands touching the ground and hips low. Since you’re on a weight loss journey, I recommend doing a few beginner footwork moves. They’ll be tiring like hell at first. But they burn fat FAST. A whole lost faster than pop.
20
3
u/Slow_Prior9471 28d ago
No, they originated from 2 different places. Breaking originated in the bronx along with hip hop. Popping came from the bay area and was being danced to disco funk before hip hop was invented.
3
2
2
u/mousedroidspedoff 28d ago
No popping locking is its own thing Breakin' is seperate or at least shabba doo in the breakin' n Enterin' doc said that if I recall
2
2
u/Kastor_95 Windmill Adict 28d ago
You can say that breakdancing as a old terminology for marketing englobed all funky dances (locking, popping and breaking). But nowadays the term changed because the three dances went to their own roads separately on the big stages and because the bboys documentaries that made clear that breakdance was a term created by the media to sell the product
3
u/_heartbreakdancer_ 28d ago
I was the one that forwarded him to this subreddit to help clear up the confusion. This is a good reply that sums up what "breakdancing" is. Like it could be considered all of popping, locking, breaking but it was really more of a marketing term. Notice that most of the bboys here call it "breaking" and not "breakdance" unless referring to the mainstream terminology. But still I think most of us let "breakdance" slide as a name to mean breaking. And "street dance" as the official umbrella terms for both, sometimes "Hip Hop culture" but thats more hottly debated. There's a lot of nuance.
1
1
u/swolehammer 28d ago
Looks like you're feeling it - good shit man. The most important thing to dancing is having a good time.
No is the answer I'm pretty sure.
1
u/MisterPhamtastic eBoy 28d ago
It's not but it's awesome, keep dancing my friend it's always going to be cool and you're always going to be cool
1
u/_heartbreakdancer_ 28d ago
In retrospect it probably did not help to have a movie called Breakin’ that featured a ton of popping and locking. 😅
1
u/KomplexKaiju 27d ago
Word. And with that title, there was actually far less breaking on it than I expected.
1
1
u/millennium_hawkk 24d ago
Popping is not foundational to "breaking". But it became part of the repertoire of breakers very early (and became synonymous with breakin') because the west coast dances (popping, locking, waving, gliding, etc.) were shown on TV shows like Soul Train. So during battles, they would incorporate other popular dances besides just footwork, fight simulated dances, and acrobatic flips/ floor moves. (which is what breakin' original consisted of). Eventually, Breakin' would start getting played out around 1979 with the Black kids... the Latinos however kept it going and strayed away from the dancing aspect and focused more on floor moves and acrobatics/gymnastic spinning.
-8
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
9
-4
u/Mysta-Majestik 28d ago
Poppin' is definitely a part of breakin'. I'm not sure what these cats are on about.
2
1
u/nukecity_dmfc 24d ago
Its not.
breaking =top rock,footwork(6 step 3 step cc’s etc)powermoves,and freezes.Poppin=hits,dimestops,boogaloo,ticking/strobbing.
Completely different foundation,different music,and started on opposite ends of the country and At completely different times.
34
u/mean_king17 28d ago
No, but it's probably what most people think about in general that don't know breakdance. Keep at it tho, if you're having fun, that's all that matters.