Rock Steady Crew

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Rock Steady Crew is a group of breakdancers from New York. In 1977 the b-boys Jimmy Dee and Jimmy Lee started the group in the Bronx, the borough where hip-hop emerged in those years. Breakdance, or breaking, was the dance element of hip-hop culture there, alongside rap, DJing and graffiti. In 1979 Crazy Legs and B-Boy Fresh started a chapter in Manhattan. Crazy Legs became the group's best-known face. The New York Times later called the Rock Steady Crew the most important breakdance group in the world.

Music and breakthrough

In the early 1980s the dancers ended up in films, such as Flashdance and Beat Street. As a result young people outside New York saw for the first time how b-boys showed off their skills on the street, with spinning moves on the floor and on their heads. In 1983 the group even got a hit of its own: (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew, from the album Ready for Battle. The song was a top ten hit in Great Britain and in many other European countries. It was electronic dance music with a cheerful chorus, made for dancing.

Influence

The Rock Steady Crew grew into a kind of brand, with groups in other places. DJs and rappers such as DJ Qbert and Rahzel also belonged to it. In the 1980s the crew helped spread hip-hop culture all over the world.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1984Ready for Battle

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black Planet^NL Reader
• Mixtape 7: The 1980s^NL Reader