I've always been a huge lover of funk music but I never realized how many of my favorite songs are b-boy anthems. First of all, there are many different kinds of funk. The rhythms are decidedly different as we move from Sly & The Family Stone to James Brown to Parliament to Curtis Mayfield to Rick James and Prince. The funk rhythms we will be focusing on today are bona fide b-boy jams which means they are very fast and often contain tropical bongo layered percussion that is perfect for their art form.

They are also a sucker for the JB's!

STOP! WAIT! WHAT'S A B-BOY?

Okay, a b-boy or a 'break boy' is a dancer who traditionally waited for the 'break' in the record to take over the dance floor / sidewalk with some crazy moves that syncopated with the beat of the drummer. B-Boys and B-Girls are dancers who do the 'Toprock' and then make their way to the floor for a stunt as well like a freeze, headspins, windmills, etc.

SO YOUR TALKING ABOUT BREAKDANCING?

Well, the term 'breakdancing' was a media created word actually. It was traditionally just called 'breaking' but in order to lump together 'B-Boying' with 'Poppin' and 'Lockin' (which are three completely different things) into one target name for bad press stories, the media came up with "breakdancing". I mean seriously....does this sound like a word they came up with on the streets of The Bronx?

While on the subject of the media, why did they dump on a culture that preached non-violence and instead opted for settling squabbles with a dance battle? They had disenfranchised kids dancing in the streets instead of much worse stuff like selling drugs or robbing people and they made it seem like a public nuisance. I'll never understand that. It has so many positive redeeming qualities and it has natural born street cred. Kinda makes ya think, "what the fuck?" don't it?

If this list WAS for Poppin' and/or Lockin' songs, we would see a very different style of song, ones more closely resembling that of Afrika Bambaataa which has sharp digital pointed 'popping' sounds!

IS THERE A MOVIE OR SOMETHING WHERE I CAN GET THIS INFORMATION IN A MORE ENTERTAINING WAY?

Oh yes there is! I'm not talking about Breakin' or Beat Street either. If you want the genuine article, you can check out the amazing 2001 documentary The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy. The only legit movie about Hip-Hop from back in the day is Wild Style. There is also a NEW documentary coming out called, "Planet B-Boy" which I haven't seen yet but it comes out on DVD on November 11th.

If, however, you would like to see the one scene that single-handedly shot breaking and b-boying into the global mainstream, look no further than this classic from Flashdance featuring Crazy Legs of the original Rock Steady Crew!

The Basics

The TOP TEN Greatest B-Boy Joints Are...

• 1) It's Just Begun - Jimmy Castor Bunch

• 2) The Mexican - Babe Ruth

• 3) Apache - Incredible Bongo Band

• 4) Rock Creek Park - The Blackbyrds

• 5) Runaway (I Wouldn't Change A Thing) - Coke Escovedo

• 6) Cramp Your Style - All The People

• 7) Funkier than a Mosquitos Tweeter - Nina Simone

• 8) I Believe in Miracles - Jackson Sisters

• 9) Dance To The Drummer's Beat - Herman Kelly & Life

• 10) T Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye

Let's Keep the Circle Going!

• Greedy G - Brentford All Stars

• Shaft in Africa - Johnny Pate

• Night of the Wolf - Al Foster Band

• Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield

• Last Night Changed It All - Esther Williams

• Running Away - Roy Ayers

• Think (About It) - Lyn Collins

• Life on Mars - Dexter Wansel

• Space Funk - Manzel

• Sesame Street - Bowfly

• Congas - African Music Machine

• You Can't Even Walk in the Park - Johnny Pate

• S.W.A.T. - Rhythm Heritage

• Smokin' at Tiffany's - Funk Inc.

• Humpty Dump - The Vibrettes

• Brothers on the Slide - Cymande

• Pastime Paradise - Ray Barreto

• Root Down and Get It - Jimmy Smith

• Soul Drums - Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie

• Drummer Man - The Brady Bunch Kids

• The Panther - Manu DiBango

• Sport - Lightning Rod

• Shootin' the Grease - Jesse Graham + 3

• Cloud 9 - Mongo Santamaria

• Amen Brother - The Winstons

These are just the funk records that they love. There are many different styles though that work for B-Boying like Swing or Old School Rap. I will have a new hub soon with all of the Freshest Old School Hip-Hop jams too.

There are dozens more but these will do for now!

This is just an introduction!